When you hear the words “public school” what thoughts come to mind?
Most often when I hear those words spoken, they are surrounded with negative words regarding poor funding, limited programs, bureaucratic leadership, biased and inaccurate curriculum, the sketchy-ness of the students or the lameness of the teachers, I’ve heard it all.
Seldom do I hear positive words about public school.
So this blog post is meant to surround the words “public school” with positive.
What I am most grateful for in our years of public school experience is the number of teachers and school staff who have spoken into our kids' lives. These words have carried much weight. They have come not from Mom and Dad or extended family or a Sunday school teacher or a youth leader. They have come from random adults that our kids have encountered in large settings. They are adults who may not hold the same philosophy or worldview as us. They are adults who work with dozens and dozens of kids daily, week after week, all year long. Then they do it again for another year. So when these people speak into my kids, it makes an impact.
Here are three examples of how our kids have been impacted. Only three. I could write several pages from the past 13 years. But these are the reflections I have had from this school year that is coming to a close.
1. Jack, our 4th grader, brought home a note card back in March. It was the last day for the TA in his class who had completed requirements for her teaching certificate. Here is an excerpt from the note she wrote to him: “Seeing you each morning perked me up and just set me up in the right direction…. You are a quiet leader in groups. The students look to you for help and you take the job seriously. You listen to others but you stick with your own ideas when you know you are right. This is a wonderful trait.” Wow! What does that do to a 10 year old’s confidence?
2. Sam is finishing his sophomore year in high school. He’s our family smarty-pants. He remembers everything he reads and is a natural at math. He could take a solid schedule of academic classes and carry a stellar weighted GPA. Last year he dabbled in drama as part of the spring musical. Then the budget for drama got cut. Fortunately, they saw fit to bring in a new drama teacher mid-year and Sam was once again part of the spring musical. But this teacher did more than her obligatory spring musical and teaching electives. She invested heavily in the drama club. Sam realized earlier this week that he has been staying after school almost every day for drama since January. It’s true (just ask this taxi-mom). The spring musical, Shakespeare Festival, and One-Act plays have given him opportunities outside of his academic pursuits. It has opened up his curiosity for the arts. His decision to choose arts electives in his schedule seriously compromises his class rank. I love that. (OK – I’d be proud as punch if he were #1 in his class, but not at the expense of exploring a balance in life.)
3. Last week Chelsea, our senior, walked confidently into her AP Calculus exam. That day I did a lot of reflecting. It was a big deal. You see, math has never been Chelsea’s “thing”. Especially in the few years that we homeschooled. She was always on level, but so often approached math with trepidation. And many days there were tears of frustration. Then she entered high school. We registered her for the year-long Algebra class (as opposed to completing it in one semester.) We checked with the teacher often to make sure she was keeping up. Always he was confident in her. He made math fun – and he saved her the prized seat every day. (I’m not sure what was prized about it, I think it had wheels on it or something.) With each successive math class she took, there was no less confidence from the teachers. And they did not tolerate any negative opinions she had about herself and her aptitude with math. But when we got the call from the school counselor that she had to register for AP Calculus in her senior year because of budget cuts (go figure) that trepidation returned. She never had planned to take AP Calculus. Who wants that frustration in her senior year? I even warned the teacher, as did Chelsea, that this class was forced upon her and she would likely not sit for the AP exam. I vaguely recall a chuckle from the teacher when I said that back in August. So when Chelsea confidently walked out the door last week with her pencils, ready to tackle Calculus for 4 hours, it struck me what an impact the math department, of all departments in the school, had made on our daughter.
In the fall Chelsea will be a freshman at North Carolina State’s Education Department – with an emphasis in math and science. That’s right, she’s going to be a teacher – likely teaching math to elementary kids. I have no doubt she will be best at speaking into to the lives of those kids that freeze at the sight of a math problem.
I used to think, in our many years of exposing our kids to public school, that we were blessed, or lucking out, because of all the great teachers our kids had. 13 years after registering our first-born for kindergarten, I am realizing that there are too many teachers we have “lucked out” on. So perhaps it is not luck. Perhaps there are great teachers throughout our public school system, and the bad reputation comes from the exceptions.
