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Strollerderby
They Say: Quit Complaining, Americans LIKE Kid’s Schools
For all the talk about education reform and the state of the American education, here’s a shocker: a major poll showed . . . gasp . . . Americans actually LIKE their kid’s school.
It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but public education got an “at least somewhat satisfied” from seventy-six percent of people polled by Gallup.
I confess I’m not always chipper when I talk about the local public school, but as a product of public schools (which prepared me to enter one of the best colleges in the country), I get my dander up when people get that “somebody farted” look when I announce my daughter will be entering one in about a year.
Considering only eleven percent of American kids attend a private school, she’s hardly in the minority here.
Still, I get that look a lot – more than fifty percent of the parents at a recent birthday party were talking about the upcoming carpools to truck their kids to the only Montessori school in our area, a nearly hour drive from my home. The idea of driving an hour one way to take her to school isn’t something I can stomach – especially with the price of gas, our northeastern winters and the fact that she’s only four.
Add on top of it the cost of tuition for a household where both parents work to make the bills, and it simply won’t work for us. But I can’t believe that I’m failing my daughter by failing to reach the golden carrot.
I can’t believe a public education is THAT bad. Because no matter what happens inside the building, she has two fairly well educated parents, mountains of books, and cultural activities on the side at home. We want the schools to teach our kids, but it’s up to us to supplement that education.
And here’s the kicker: when they checked in with parents of privately educated students, the numbers evened out. About as many parents paying for their child’s education with a check were satisfied as those of us paying via our taxes.
Do you like your kid’s school?
More on Babble:
Check Out our Back to School Issue
Back to School: A Desk With the Write Stuff
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[...] They Say: Quit Complaining, People Like Their Kid’s Schools [...]
Parents Think Schools Are A-OK | Strollerderby commented on Sep 11 09 at 10:02 amJean commented on Sep 06 09 at 3:42 pmI send my children to private school. At my children’s school, all of the children have a command of the English language, all of the parents not only say they value education, but also demonstrate this in their actions. The focus at private schools is not “teaching to THE TEST.” They take a standardized test at the end of the year and score high. However, the year was not spent preparing for THE TEST. It was spent teaching the children. My kids are kids, not numbers or statistics.
Jerry commented on Dec 10 09 at 1:21 amComments
Of course they like the school. They don’t attend themself. Ask the kids who get picked on how they like it. Ask them if they are learning anything.
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