Reflection on Power and Control of Public School Choice

When thinking about when choosing a school for your children a parent must take a lot of factors into consideration. They must think about location, is the school you want to send your kids to in a good area? Do you have adequate transportation to this school? Are the teachers at this school equipped to teach your child? Will you be able to afford this school? Each of these questions will effect a students learning at a particular school. So after considering all these things (plus many more factors), a parent will be able to choose a school fit for their child.

I feel biased when talking about choosing a school, considering I attended public school my entire life. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in public schools. I always felt like my teachers were more than just authority figures at the front of a classroom telling me what to do for 45-50 minutes everyday. Especially in middle school and high school  I felt as if my teachers were also guiding me in more than just school work. I always knew I could talk to them concerning other issues not related to school. Knowing this was an extremely comforting fact. While I did have a few teachers that probably were not the best educators of all time, a majority of them were quite good at their job. I got plenty of opportunities, and knew I could pursue anything in school and somebody would support my decisions.

On the flip side, in my hometown there is a private Catholic school, that has grades K-8. Growing up I did know a few kids who attended this school. I did feel like their were taught in a completely different way than my friends who attended public school. Teachers were much more of authority figures, and were more authoritative. The children were much more disciplined (not that we weren't disciplined in public school, it was just a more extreme type of discipline at the Catholic school), and were also more sheltered than my friends who attended public school. I sometimes compare this level of "sheltered-ness" with being home schooled. The kids who attended this private Catholic school really did not know a lot of people outside of the school. This is also a common issue with home schooled children. These children develop different social skills than children raised in a public school system. This simply means that when attending high school and in college these kids will have to work on developing their social skills.

Finally, I have recently been able to experience the charter school. I am doing my service learning at Bruce Guadalupe Middle School. The children are required to wear some type of uniform (navy pants, and a white collared shirt). They are all required to participate in some form of activity at the school (our tutoring group being one of the activities). And from what I gather they are held at a higher standard than other middle school students. Bruce Guadalupe is not in the best area of Milwaukee, but I can tell that it is like a safe haven for the kids. They feel comfortable at school, and enjoy being there. While some of the kids don't like doing their homework, they are all generally smart students. The teachers at this school do not put up with poor behavior from the students, which I think really helps condition the children for later on in life.

Comparing all these different types of schools, should give a person some perspective on what different schools offer a family and their children. Yet honestly, if I had a child right now I don't know where I would send them to school. I don't think I would ever home school my child, because I feel like they should develop social skills from interaction at school. But there are still a lot of other factors that go into school choice. You just have to decide what method of schooling fits you!