RECAP - Education: Public, Private or Home Schools?
Is there anything more important to a child's future than education? Aside from the basics, like food, shelter, clothing, and parental involvement, not really. How our children will be educated is one of the most important decisions we will make as parents. It isn't a decision that should be abdicated entirely to a public, or private, school system.
I had a charmed childhood. I thrived in public schools, had great experiences (for the most part) and loved school. My little brother wasn't so lucky.
B didn't fit the teacher's pet mold. Although very bright, he was slow to learn to read and a bit immature for his age. This is pretty typical for boys, and even for some girls, when starting elementary school. Unfortunately, my brother encountered a teacher who shouldn't have been teaching anymore. One who ridiculed him, humiliated and punished him in front of the other children, and basically told him (and my parents) that he just wasn't good enough. At the critical age of 6. That's right. He was 6 years old.
When B misbehaved as a result, my parents were told that he needed drugs for ADHD. Of course, he'd never actually been seen by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist. But the school and the administration claimed they knew what was best for B. Better than his parents.
Is there anything worse that can happen to a child just starting out in school?
Because education is such an important issue, the moms on the Silicon Valley, Chicago, D.C. Metro, New York, 50 Something, and New Jersey Mom Blogs are all blogging about education today. Even though our sites have tackled education generally before, today we'll be discussing public, private, and home schools.
Here is a recap of the posts from that day across sites.
Silicon Valley Moms Blog
Are school buses a thing of the past?
Considering a parent participation/co-op school
The Beginning of the End of the California Public School System
The Gift of Education - A Child by Child Choice
A Teacher Fretting About School
The Private School Snob Celebrates Public Education
Our School Decision Has Nothing To Do With You
Chicago
The Power of Early Intervention: My Son Didn't Talk
Special Ed to Mainstream School: Making the Leap
An Inclusion Preschool Experience
Lockdown in a Mountgomery County Public School
DC Metro Moms Blog
Education: What Makes A Summer
Why Our Kids Are Public School Kids
From This Student: What Makes A Great Teacher?
Why So Much Testing and So Little Love of Learning
Why Mama is a graduate student
New York City Moms Blog
Working for Great Public Schools
The Few, the Fortunate and the Secret of one (Not Really) Public New York School
Admissions of an Admissions Survivor
Public School and the Public Interest
Because School are important - PS 234 Overscrowding
New Jersey Moms Blog
Opposite Side of the Table: From Teacher to Mom
On public education: An opinion that gifted students deserve more support
50 Something Moms Blog
Public or Private School: Both Can Be Stressful
Which School -- College Edition
(Click here to see Lawyer Mama's Full Post)
In our family, we had options. When B began struggling in school and sabotaged by a bad teacher, my parents pulled B from the public school system. At the time, we were living in North Dakota, where my father was stationed in the Air Force. Here's the kicker: home schooling wasn't legal in North Dakota then. In fact, people had been prosecuted for home schooling their children in the state.
My parents sent B to New Orleans to stay with family for a few months so my mother could get herself licensed to teach in North Dakota and avoid arrest. Luckily, she was already a teacher in Louisiana, so her path was easier than most home schooling parent's.
In a fairly short time, B was reading and on track academically. He went back to public schools. But the damage, to his self-esteem and self-confidence, was done. Even now B looks back on school, particularly his elementary school days in North Dakota, with something akin to horror.
Clearly, things are different now. Home schooling is accepted and much more widely practiced. Many parents choose to home school, not because their children are struggling, but because they can give their kids more time and attention and allow their children to progress more rapidly than they could in a traditional classroom. But some people are driven, like my parents, to home school out of frustration with the public schools.
I have always assumed that I would send my children to public schools. I attended public schools, as did my husband. Moreover, I think that parents need to support public schools with their involvement and their children's attendance. If all involved parents flee the public school system, it can only get worse. I've blogged about this issue before.
Well, those were nice viewpoints. In theory. Before I had kids.
Now, I watch my 2 boys and I can already see how potential problems in school could play out. My oldest is a bit behind in learning his alphabet, colors, numbers, and shapes. Will this continue with reading and other traditional academic subjects? My youngest is a bit, um, high spirited. Will he be slapped with an ADD label and dealt with as a "problem" child?
Clearly, all of this is speculation on my part right now. My oldest is in pre-school and my youngest is only 2. But my trepidation at this point already tells me that I will need to think long and hard before sending my children to public schools, simply because of the experiences my brother had. Yes, there are wonderful public schools, teachers, principals, and administrations out there. But there are also those who are determined to be "right" rather than do what is right for each child, just as there are in every area of life.
I'm lucky. I have choices. My children have choices. What about those who don't?
Stephanie also blogs about rough mom decisions at her personal site, Lawyer Mama, and about politics at MOMocrats.
This is an original D.C. Metro Moms Blog post.
