@PragmaticMom: “It’s easy to forget that public schools also have success stories.”
I love that you wrote that. In many ways I could echo the sentiment that public school education is not a default pathway to mediocrity or failure, but the largest playground ever in which both kids and teachers have no choice about who else is in the sandbox, and, therefore, must learn to play together.
I do think that public schooling on the whole has become a system more fraught with the concerns that inherently have their start outside of the classroom environment, and yet find themselves as symptoms in evidence when kids find themselves struggling with the juggle of home life and school life. I see the difference in what teachers are able to reasonably do without parental assistance, the wariness they must face from too much parental involvement in some instances, and the difference in the time they have to take a personal interest in their students outside of the classroom.
I had some wonderful teachers a hundred years ago, and some that I remember distinctly because of their lack of fit for the job (really seemed to hate kids). Things have, decidedly, been different for my own children on the whole. From a parent’s perspective, I just did not see that what was right for my kids was going to be found at the local school, or within the district.
My scariest moment ever in public school was opening the door to my grandmother’s house in kindergarten to find my teacher standing there. I thought I was in some kind of trouble that even God would not be able to save me from. Turns out she was there to assist my grandmother in sewing the 25 or so tutus and jackets needed for the class dance at the end of the year. My grandmother was delighted to see her, and they were so incredibly friendly with each other. I remember thinking of my teacher, “She’s a real person…”