Public vs. Private, Take 2

Well, it's official -- the Obamas have chosen Sidwell Friends School, a Quaker-run institution, as the place where their girls will be educated.  I'm kind of OK with that; I think.  I mean, come on. They have to worry about privacy and security - they don't want reporters harassing their girls and they don't want to worry about their girls getting kidnapped.  Those are definitely reasons to send your girls to private school if you're the President of the United States.  But wait a minute, weren't those same girls in private school in Chicago before their daddy was elected President? What reasons did the Obamas have then? What reasons do most Americans have to send their children to private school?

I've been mulling that question for some time.  A few days ago, I was fortunate to have breakfast with two good friends who are educators and finally had a chance to discuss the topic with them.  One of my friends sends her children to private school, but she is a public school teacher. "Do you really think your daughter is getting a better education?" I asked her.

She said, in her opinion as an educator, she did feel her daughter was getting a better education. The school her child attends requires that every student take an academic test and only those that do well on the test are invited to attend the school.  That means the school doesn't have to deal with children with learning disabilities or low performers.  The school can then focus on propelling those students who arrive with good academic skills already to higher levels.  

She also said she is sending her daughter there because she wants to shield her from the crazy things that happen in some public schools.  For example, she said that at her current school which has a special behavior unit, a boy grabbed a girl by the neck and pushed her against the wall because the boy was angry. That could be scary.  She would rather her daughter not witness those types of events.  

The final reason she gave was because she feels that in public schools, teachers need to focus on the low-performers and the high performers are ignored and that can cause high performers to not develop a love of learning.  

I respect my friend's opinion and all those reasons make sense.  And I guess when it comes to your own child's education, you have to do what feels right for you.   For us, it feels right to send our children to public school.

Both of my children attend the school where my husband is the principal.  It is a Title 1 school which means the majority of the children attending the school come from low socio-economic backgrounds. I think my children are getting a great education.  Their teachers have fostered my children's love of learning. My children love to read.  They love to write.  (My son has his own blog.)  They love science and math.  They are learning to get along with people from different backgrounds.  They are learning about compassion and empathy by seeing first-hand that there are other people in the world less fortunate than they are.  They are cognizant of the fact that they are privileged.  Those are lessons that many American children need. Would they get all that in a private school? Maybe.

Of course, I shouldn't be so hypocritical as I am the product of private universities.  It was exhilarating to be in a school where most students were serious about their studies; where most students could discuss issues in depth; where partying was a recreational activity not a major; where many students felt their lives were to be used to further a cause; where freshman writing seminars consisted of eight students working closely with an English professor; and so forth and so on....but the interesting thing about my private university is that the majority of the students, like me, came from public high schools. Hmm. Go figure.  And of course, I have many friends who got excellent educations in public universities.

But truth be told, if my husband were not an educator, I would send my children to private Catholic schools because I do think it is important for them to get a good foundation in their faith. So I guess I'll stop harassing the Obamas now.  I'm sure they can convince themselves that they have good reasons for sending their girls to private school even before their move to D.C.

TTYL.