As I read both Kosut and Delpit's essays, I found things I could relate to. For as long as I can remember, my husband and I have had an ongoing debate. The debate is public vs. private schools. I am a child of public, whereas he is a product of parochial. I have never received any private education, and he has never received public education of any kind. Based on the education I received, I am a strong believer in the public education system. I never felt as if I was not getting the best education possible. One of the policies public education is known for is their choice program. This means students from all walks of life, privileged or not are able to get the same education. My husband has a hard time with this. Not that he believes all students shouldn't get a fair shot, but he wonders how students with so many different backgrounds and educations can be taught successfully at the same level, and each child will comprehend the material.
You see, when my husband was in school, parochial schools did not have the choice program. Since we all know there is a significantly higher cost for private education, we know it takes dedicated parents to send their children into these types of schools. He feels students are all coming from a similar background and therefore puts the students on the same playing field. They have an advantage, per say. Everyone follows the same curriculum with no room for choice. Each child comes from the same type of lifestyle with the same expectations. This reminds me of the underlying cause of Kosut and Delpit's essays.
Delpit especially shows us the struggles students from underprivileged homes have to face when getting an education. They do, in fact, face teachers and faculty that believe they just can't do it. These students have to work twice as hard to prove themselves, because of their backgrounds. I can't fault my husband for the way he feels because he has never known anything different. The crazy thing is, he has fought for the freedom and rights of this country in this current war we are fighting and he now serves our community as a firefighter. Two things very important to our country. However, the same problem lies with him as does with many people... they are too closed minded. Yes, there are students that will need extra attention, but that's what I love about public schooling. Anyone and everyone are given the same opportunities to succeed. And if they are struggling taking on their secondary discourse, help is almost always available.
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Hmmmm, I think I'm somewhat neutral on your debate. I went to public schools also, for elementary I was in MPS and for middle and high school I was in the Wauwatosa District. Although both are public, there was a very drastic difference in the amount of resources and the demands of the curriculum. School for the most part has always come easy to me, but upon entering middle school, I had to work very hard to keep up with what was expected of me in the suburban school. Maybe this is how your husband feels about the difference between public and private schools? Perhaps if I didn't come from an educated family, with the advantage of a father who was a teacher in the district, I may not have been successful in maintaining my grades. I guess the comparison you guys are making would have to depend on specific public and private schools, on a case by case basis. In support of you, I had an excellent public school education!
ReplyDeleteI think your post was very interesting, because this is a debate my parents have had since I've been in elementary school. My dad was fine with my siblings and I attending public school and my mom always wanted us to attend private school. The reason same as you and your husband. My dad attended public school his whole life, and my mom attended private, all girls schools up until college. She always felt the education was better because you recieved the best teachers and attention. When in reality, actually attending public school throughout elementary, middle and high school, I always felt that I was getting almost identical educations to friends I had in private. I think with this argument it's all a matter of opinion. Some people, like my mom feel strongly about private schooling, because she experienced it. I felt like my education public was perfectly fine :)
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