Dan and I went through a great deal of anguish about our decision to pull the boys; it was a very hard choice. LIke you, we believe in the public school system- and then were faced with the fact that for our children, had they remained in it, the system was going to be a disaster, not only failing them educationally, but challenging the very value system we were working so hard to inculcate. We kept CW in public school for two years, and I worked at the school almost daily just to try to help the teacher have more time to teach- and to keep an eye on things! The teachers were for the most part excellent- I would even go so far as to say they were better than many we found in private. But they are hamstrung by the demands made on their techniques, curriculum, pacing, and by the needs of children who are totall unequipped for school and learning. THe problems are severe, not because of the teaching, or the schools, so much as the LEVEL at which schools are forced to function to meet the norm and to meet the demands of special interests.
Anyway, as you know, we moved to the suburbs, returned to a public school system where we do make a difference when we volunteer, and are pleased with our decisions overall.
For those trapped by circumstances in a school like our first, I feel great pity.
The challenges that face the large public school systems are so deeply reflective of the general failures of society in the inner city, that it is overwhelming. Again I don't think it's just a financial need so much as deciding just how much the school should do to replace the family.
I am torn. I don't believe in the government taking on those duties and I don't want them doing it with my children! Yet I saw firsthand that many parents no longer act as caregivers or teachers and if the government doesn't, we all pay the price.
This is why I will consider all options. I would rather give some choice and power back to caring parents than have them be defeated by their inability to make changes. |
