Information Related to "Making the Most of Public Schools"
| Audio/Video |
Making the Most of Public Schools By Becky Bennett Although public education has a bad reputation, there are still reasons to feel good about choosing public schools.
ummer is almost over as I write, and this one has been an interesting one. Having moved to a new part of the country, our family has been learning about the native birds and studying their songs from tape. We've gone on nature walks to pick leaves from trees and then learned more about them from our tree book. My daughters Heather and Erica have written several short (and some very long) stories and read many books. Heather, my 9-year-old, found a tape and book for learning Italian and has been trying out new phrases on the rest of us. As you may see, learning isn't pushed aside during our summers, so I was surprised when my daughters said they could hardly wait for school to start! But you know, I had to agree with them. I too am looking forward to our new school. Like other schools our children have attended, this new school seems to have teachers and administrators who care, and who support values of cooperation, kindness and respect towards others. Overall, we've enjoyed teachers who are well-educated and have the skills, creativity and desire to teach. Remember your devotion to your first teacher? My daughters have come home from school full of "My teacher says...." Their teachers' most simple advice, such as how much glue to use (a dot's a lot), how to cut things out and leave just one piece of paper to throw away, how to take care of crayons, etc., is repeated in awed tones because they are from a fresh, novel source. At the higher grades especially, public schools offer the expertise and resources for specialized courses, such as chemistry, calculus and computer science. Even at the lower grades, though, I've appreciated the educational resources our schools have offered. The school libraries have been stocked with a wide variety of books. The computers have had some excellent software packages. Our last art teacher really knew her stuff! Assets such as these have provided a rich, multi-textured way of learning that I would have a hard time duplicating. Positive Peer Pressure Another positivie thing I'm looking forward to is peer pressure. Surprised? While usually noted for its negative influence, I've found there can also be positive pressure to learn. When I ask my children to do review work during the summer, they sometimes act like I'm singling them out for punishment. But during the school year there's no whine--everyone's learning their multiplication facts! My daughters have found classmates who are as good as they are, or better, at math and it's spurred them to work even harder! Being in a new neighborhood, I'm anticipating getting to know others through school. Sending our children to public school has been an opportunity for our family to be "a light" showing God's way of life in school, a small microcosm of the world. True, this has had its challenges. We've had to deal with a system that is not geared to our beliefs.
For instance, our family does not participate in Halloween festivities. The customs and their sources have always seemed unbecoming for a Christian and we ask that our children not be required to make witches, haunted houses and the like. My daughter's first grade teacher accepted our request without comment, but months later, she asked about our religion and wanted to learn more. It is always my prayer that God will give us the right words in "bucking the system" and help us to represent His way well so that as the apostle Peter said, "That whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12). Even young children can be the "salt of the earth"--a positive example to others around them. I've noticed that family rules and standards can be attractive to other children if they are accompanied by a visibly warm, loving family. And children can surprise us by their acts of compassion and kindness to others. I remember Ricky, a young boy in Heather's second grade class. Ricky was an extremely troubled child who had been abandoned by his drug addict mother while she was visiting her latest ex-husband. Ricky's problems affected his school life, too. He had trouble learning, refusing to even try. Most kids made fun of Ricky, but I was proud when Heather's teacher told me how Heather had helped Ricky with a report and actually persuaded him to contribute. I've felt like we're helping other people's children simply by opting for public school. One reason that public education as a whole has been reluctant to go with the "school voucher" system that many have advocated is that it could pull out the best and brightest, leaving problem schools even more problematic. Abandoning the public school system might be fine for my children; but if this attitude is multiplied many times over, where would it leave the children who have no choice but public schools? A Battle on Many Fronts I still have my concerns about what my children are exposed to in public schools. It's a battle that takes place on many fronts. And yet I think staging the battle at this age has advantages. I am able to give them exposure to the world while still providing the protective environment of our family. I'm not going to be able to protect them from wrong influences forever. There is an advantage to being able to expose them to the wrong things of this world while we as parents are still there to give guidance, insight and God's direction. But I readily acknowledge that there is risk involved here. It is our responsibility as parents to continually make sure the dangers are not too great. These dangers vary from school to school, from child to child and even from age to age. While I've chosen to send my daughters to public school, I haven't relinquished my ultimate responsibility in their education. Cheri Fuller in her book "Helping Your Child Succeed in Public School," compares a parent's role in education to that of a general contractor who subcontracts various jobs in building a house. Parents are "in it long term, from kindergarten through college. The child may have many teachers along the way, but his parents are his primary instructors and guides. Parents 'sub-out' parts of the educating task, but they must oversee, provide support and resources, take the initiative to keep in touch, and hold school personnel accountable for their part of the project." Helping at School Helping out at school has helped me stay aware of my daughters' school life. When Heather entered third grade last year, her teacher really intimidated her. She brought home reports of harsh rebukes of her classmates and strict rules that made her nervous and worried. Due to circumstances, I wasn't able to help in the classroom until more than a month after school started. I was relieved when I spent my first morning in class and found that Heather's teacher, while insisting on high standards, was patient, creative and encouraging. I relaxed, knowing it wouldn't be long until Heather would get used to her style and have fun learning.
I've also gotten to know other parents who volunteer. They're not all stay-at- home moms. Maggie used to help out every couple weeks for the 20 minutes she had before her work shift started. Henry worked full-time from the home, but adjusted his schedule so he could help in his son's class three hours a week. Naomi worked the night-shift as a nurse, but still spent four hours a week training kids for a cross-country program. Even a small amount of time helped these parents develop a team approach with the teacher and the school. Our Home Is the "Home Room" Though we've committed some of our children's education to others, it's helped me to remember that we really do home school. Our home is the real "home room," and my husband and I are the main teachers. We have a responsibility to review the work of the other teachers and supplement it where needed. We've encouraged our daughters to tell us about what they're learning and experiencing at school. The conversations have been interesting and educational and many times have provided us a jump-off point to give God's perspective on a topic. There's one other thing that my husband and I do, which I think has been the major source of our positive public school experiences. We pray about it. We pray about the selection of a teacher, that there might be a good match of teaching style to our children's learning styles. We pray for our children's safety and protection--physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We pray for them to have good friends who will be a positive influence. And we pray that God will give us wisdom and guidance to teach our children (really His children) and "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Useful Resources
Copyright 1999 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||
Related Information:
Other Articles by Becky Bennett
Origin of article "Making the Most of Public Schools"
Keywords: education public schools
Education: