Schooling Soapbox Moment

I heard something interesting the other day on one of my (many) online forums. The participants speak about random subjects but at that moment in time schools were discussed (like, some are good, some are bad, what's wrong with them, etc).

One gentleman said, "Public schools aren't designed to turn out extraordinary citizens. They are there to promote typical citizens. If you want something extraordinary, try private or home school."

Mr. Anonymous Internet Guy has some valid points.

/begin soapbox ranting

Public education was created because the ordinary citizen needed schooling and there was no way for them to get one unless they paid for it. Since the majority of the students living in the country at that time (before the industrialized version of our country appeared) were either sent to boarding schools, finishing schools, had private tutors or were taught at home, there was nothing in between for those who did not have those opportunities. If your parents were illiterate then you were illiterate. If you were (gasp) the wrong color or a foreigner, your chances were slim to none. Even after public schooling was created there was a huge disparity in schools. At this point in time one would like to think that public schools have improved to the point where everyone receives the basic standards of education. The truth is that many of our schools are going down the toilet while schools in wealthier areas are raising taxes higher and higher and once again, the best education is obtained by the wealthiest or upper-middle class in public schools (which, in my district, are considered better than private school).

Now, we have supposed laws that are designed specifically so that it does not happen. Our federal government tells the states to do X, Y and Z so that there is more integration, more money spread around, oh, and by the way, if you do not get your scores up (on ridiculous, skewed standardized tests) then you don't get grants to improve your schools with computers, science materials, math texts and library books.

Don't get me started on that part. My main purpose is to talk about whether or not we are turning out the typical citizen or the extraordinary citizen.

As a staunch supporter or public education, I have to admit that in our previous residence we considered sending Bug Boy to a private or parochial school. We knew that class size was a huge factor in determining where he would go to school and knew that the special services offered to us by that district at that time were not what we were looking for. We wanted him in a regular class with typical kids as much as possible. This is a good school district who turns out some extraordinary citizens, some typical citizens and (like every other district) some not-so-extraordinary citizens. We moved there because we knew the district was decent enough and my husband just happened to go there. We knew our children would be fine.

Fast forward a few years and we have Bugaboo. We knew he was different from the start. It is also about the time we first noticed a few things amiss with Bug Boy. We began having our concerns. A few months later both boys were receiving early intervention services and that is when the real discussions began. We want our boys to become extraordinary. We need help doing that and it will not happen in this district with their ideas of how our children should be educated. We began planning on moving before kindergarten began for Bug Boy.

We ended up moving before he finished preschool. All of the foundations were set. It was the start of something awesome for us and we were excited. Then he began Kindergarten.

The truth? The school has brought him from a frightened, shy, immature, emotionally and developmentally delayed child to a student that cannot be picked out of the class as being any different. This is all we really want for our children, to be like everyone else. But in a way that does not destroy their essence, their uniqueness. And (as a friend told me) we live in a place that everyone is considered, um, unique. So I am not worried that he will be alienated in any way. In fact, it is the NORM to be a total whacko around these parts. Since Darling and I have long been considered oddballs, we feel completely at home.

But, is this education extraordinary? Would he have made this much progress in the former district's program? Would a private school have worked for him? We will never know. What I do know is that once we moved and I started setting things up and requesting services I no longer encountered any issues. No one thought it was strange that my children had these needs. No one assumed that Bug Boy (because of a word on a piece of paper) should be in a self-contained class for autism support. They all felt like I did, that he needed to be around his typical peers to learn the skills that they have. Not to say he hasn't come home with some DOOZIES of behaviors (an unfortunate side of any schooling). Heck, even if I home schooled he would be around other children to socialize and he would pick up things that we do not necessarily care for.

To us the program is extraordinary. It is an award-winning district with an 85% college-after-high-school rate. The curriculum they offer is top-rate. The opportunities are endless. The same can be said for other districts but we felt this one was good enough for us.

Will he be an ordinary citizen? Maybe. That is fine with us. Why didn't I home school? Because, even though I am a trained teacher who desired to work with children with disabilities and still loves to be around children, I feel that others could meet their needs best. I can only read so many books and learn so much in order to learn how to teach my children. And, since Bugaboo has improved by leaps and bounds since he started in his program (still early intervention but soon we will meet to discuss his program!) we feel we made the best possible choice for him.

Did you know that when they were both born I decided right then and there that they would be home schooled?

Yup. It is true. My sister, the other teacher, thought I had completely lost it. I had my valid reasons. I did my research. I showed her books and websites and materials I had gathered. Then things changed. The boys were having so many issues. I did not know how to help them. I was a special ed teacher, for crying out loud, why couldn't I figure out how to reach them?

To me, it was divine intervention. We have many great people in our lives that we would never had met had I home schooled them. I still have this fantasy about Bugaboo being home with me and only attending half-day kindergarten (it could happen!). But the truth is, I know my limitations. I know that spending twenty-four hours a day with them (as horrible as it sounds) would burn me out very quickly. It is the same reason why I will not go back to teaching.

(Yes, I am aware there are special education home school groups and that it is possible to home school a child with autism. After doing tons of research we decided it was not for us. But thanks for asking)

/end soapbox ranting

What did we learn here today? It is possible to receive an extraordinary public education but I feel you still have to have $$. Homeschooling is a great option for many reasons but is not what we feel works for us (yet, I can tutor other people's kids for money. Ironic). Private school isn't always better. Mj is completely off her rocker due to sleep deprivation.