<p>A good way to determine fit is to look at it the way we look for employment/employers:</p>
<p>We are all capable of doing many things well if we put our minds to it - but that doesn’t mean we all “want” to do those things for extended periods of time.</p>
<p>If faced with multiple options - fit is a great way to winnow down to the best choice. If faced with only a single choice - then the choice becomes - adapt or opt out. In a job market, the latter may not be an option if you like having a roof over your head. Face with a lousy school environment at home, the same may hold true if you’re bright and need more challenge.</p>
<p>For me - fit is like choosing a spouse. I fit my HADES environment because it was all I knew at the time. So one could argue I adapted to the culture, brushed off what I considered some occasionally “retentiveness” and took advantage of the journey.</p>
<p>However - when it came time to looking at schools with my daughter, I realized that she would have done fine in any environment, but she would not have necessarily thrived in all of them. And in watching the situation at her current school and comparing it to experiences shared by other parents, realized that a majority of what she’s accomplished would not have happened at my own and she’s thriving in ways that I did not.</p>
<p>So I like the spouse analogy better - if you’re going to live with someone, better the one you chose to marry and like waking up to every morning - than the arranged marriage because someone decided that person was a good “catch” on paper. </p>
<p>Adapting is not always a good option, if thriving was the option left on the table.</p>