An Argument for Public Schools.

Signs of a Super Dad: A super dad does not bark often, but when he does EVERYONE stops what they are doing.

You always hear how the U.S. public school system is falling apart. Cliques and bullies, destroy our children’s self-esteem. Schools are overrun with gangs, drugs, and violence. Teachers aren’t paid enough. Classrooms are over crowded. Meningitis, Staph infections, and a host of all other kinds of disgusting diseases infecting students. Oh, and let’s not forget teachers having sex with their students. Are you scared yet? It isn’t surprising both the NCES and NHERI stated between the years 2003 and 2006 the number of homeschooled children has more then doubled. (I would post a link supporting that fact but I don’t feel like it. So just Google it.) Yes, many of those things happen. I was in high school when the first “suburban” school shootings started. The prospect of placing children into such a volatile situation as the public school system seems terrifying. Am I sensationalizing just like the evening news for ratings? Yes, but my point is this: Are the problems with public schools any different then adult life?

Students in public schools are from all walks of life. Many schools have different races, different social classes, different religions, different everything. It is easy to see how conflict would arise because of so much diversity. Public school is a scary place, but so is life. If you take your children out of public schools because you fear what “might” happen you are setting them up for failure. Sooner or later your kids will be introduced to the “evil” side of life. You cannot keep them away from it forever. Your children need to learn how to deal with complex issues that they are faced with in the public school system. It is not all about book learning, it is about socializing. It is about teaching your children how to deal with a bully, or cliques, or drugs. They need to learn how to interact with someone who thinks differently then them. This is how it will be when they are an adult.

We have to interact with people form different walks of life every day. The same problems that plague public schools do not suddenly disappear when children reach adulthood. If you try and keep your child inside a bubble sooner or later it will pop. By introducing them to the troubles and tribulations in public schools you still have time to teach them properly, instead of isolating them just to bombard them later. Now, I am not saying public schools are perfect, or that they don’t need a lot of work. I am just saying there is more to these “problems”. That these “evils” that go on can be used as teaching tools. Your children sooner or later will be introduced to them anyways. I would rather have them introduced while I still have some ability to teach them how to deal with it.

Naturally you can conclude what my view is on private schools and home schooling. I live blocks from one of the highest rated private schools in the country; I will not send my children there even if I had the money. If I had a doctorate in children’s education and 20 years experience as a school teacher I would never homeschool my children. Children don’t stay isolated for their entire lives. Sooner or later they are subjected first hand to various “evils” in the world. It is my job to teach my children how to deal with those “evils”. The public school system is a testing ground for how I am doing. Hopefully, it will tell me how I am doing before it is too late.