Within each state, there will obviously be highs and lows. Schools around me are quite average for our state and for SAT scores nationwide. Most parents didn’t go to college - only 22% for ages 25+ and the higher the age (aka parents) the lower the percentage. For a fair number, going to college is actually discouraged. For some others, it must be a religious college. And then there are some (not as many) who feel it is ok for guys, but not gals.
The only teachers I know who send their kids to private school send them to a nearby Catholic school because they’re Catholic. We don’t have a ton of private schools around and other than the Catholic school, none I would consider better educationally than ours. The Catholic school is similar to ours stats wise.
If you live in an area with average (for TX) or worse public schools and bountiful better private schools it makes sense that our worlds would differ. Where I live the vast majority consider our schools good - people literally move here for our “good schools” - and there isn’t much else to consider.
On CC few would consider our schools “good” of course. My IRL world is considerably different than what most of CC consider normal - yet my world is actually average academically (or slightly better) for the US according to stats.
Many people in good public school districts who have the means opt for private school. If one is in a financial position to do so, it makes sense for many. More resources, smaller class sizes, more individual attention. I acknowledge that it can be a luxury to do so, but people opt for many different types of luxuries in their lives-for some it is cars, or travel, or jewelry. For some it is private school at the K12 level, no different than choosing a private college rather than a nearby public university.
Again, this is true where you live, not where I live. We get the doctors and lawyers kids in our public school - unless they’re Catholic and choose that option.
One reason I like this forum is to be able to see the vast differences in the US rather than just the bubble I grew up in and the one I live in. For both of those, public school was the norm for the vast majority. I don’t even recall any private schools around where I grew up. One family I knew homeschooled and they did it for religious reasons. It’s far more common where I live, at least in this time period. It could be more common back where I grew up now too. I don’t know.
I do know that 95% or more of those I know who homeschool do it because they don’t want their kids learning “that garbage” the public schools teach. I went online with my homeschooling because I wanted better academics and had to find what my options were. I found my group there, but we were very spread out across the nation (and other countries) TBH. Local homeschooling groups are all about teaching classes from a certain POV. I looked into a couple. I still know people who use them.
If you haven’t looked into those around you, you might be surprised.
My kids went to school in a very highly educated area, we have a lot of PHDs. A lot of us could afford private but we choose public. Not that the private schools are necessarily bad they just aren’t better. The people who send their kids to private are usually recent transplants from the North. They just always sent their kids to private, so that’s what they do.
Homeschooling here is popular among those seeking Olympic glory, or the equivalent. Simone Biles, and others like her, for example. Perhaps there are fewer of those athletes where you live. In any event, this diversion is off topic of school libraries, so back to the OP.
Interesting. Not sure which if any of those reasons correspond to Creekland’s view of curriculum objections. Given the phrasing, the academic answer corresponds to those seeking more rigor as well. And of course parents would have different reasons for private or charter schools rather than homeschooling.
The negative peer pressure (kids/peers not being raised properly, drinking, etc - they don’t want a diversity of peer group), moral instruction, and religious instruction would all be common here. The academic instruction would be as well if it meant teaching evolution or CRT (which isn’t taught, but people think it is).
The “dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at other schools” probably encompasses both the observations that @Creekland saw as well as looking for more rigor or advanced courses that is probably a more common motivation among the forum demographic.
Back to libraries. An educator friend shared the minutes of the TN school board meeting and decision regarding removing Maus. In that case, it wasn’t removed from the school library, it was removed as part of the 8th grade social studies curriculum, with a direction to substitute other Holocaust-related literature in its place and to ensure the Holocaust was taught. There are many excellent books for children on the subject; finding an alternative wouldn’t be difficult.
Our school started with Number the Stars. Loved that.
Both kids read Number the Stars, they also read Night.
I think there is always room for compromise. I don’t think Maus was ever a part of our curriculum, but I’m pretty sure I shelved the book in Middle school.
It’s so hard to get kids interested in reading. I don’t love the graphic novel format, neither did my kids, but I spent so much time cleaning that section up in middle school. It was well used, especially by boys.
My husband taught high school biology for 34 years, so conflicts between parents and curriculum are not new to us, it just seems to have spread to history classes now. The usual conflicts were over evolution and human reproduction. He was given copies of the scriptures of so many different faith to rebut the unit on evolution over the years. But the absolute weirdest was the family that didn’t want their children to hear about viruses. Around the year 2002. The administration asked him to provide a separate unit for those children and they went to the library during class when it was about viruses. I wonder now if they are covid-deniers. This was not too far from where Creekland lives.
The weirdest I came across in person was the family who denied dinosaurs ever lived. They said the bones we have now are all a ruse, either from people who don’t believe in God or Satan. I had no idea this belief was even out there. They pulled their kid out to homeschool after a couple of tussles with the school over what was taught.
Just shocking that a company that markets to children would actually ask child development experts about the content of their books, right? Stop looking for what you want to see.
