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| Image Credit: BES Photos. |
You can't abandon people, especially kids.
Yes, homeschooling, charter schools and private schools are often the best options for a particular family. It's important to keep all options on the table, to defend homeschooling rights, and to allow people to educate their children as they best see fit. It's also true that the public school system in many communities is struggling, corrupted, or has been co-opted as a mouthpiece for sexually perverted ideologies.
Despite what I've heard from many people lately, that doesn't mean we should dismantle or abandon the public school system.
Something I've seen in a lot of Catholic conversation, even conversation from more liberal (ie. aren't gonna vote for Trump) circles, is a deep seated tendancy to at best ignore, and at worst actively disparage, public education. I've heard precious little about defending public education even from people deeply concerned about racial and social equality, and I've heard a lot to the effect that we should discard public education all together.
Here's the problem with getting rid of public schools this from a social justice standpoint:
1.) Even if they were to recieve a full scholarship for tuition, kids and teenagers in economically disadavantaged areas have no way to get to private schools, and homeschooling won't work because their parents are usually both working, unavailable, and/or somewhat illeterate and uneducated themselves.
It is not that uncommon for economically disadvantaged families not to own cars (even in our rural area, we know of a few families with children that only own a bike to get to work). Private schools don't usually have bus systems to get the child to and from the school. Even if tuition and books were covered, this leaves transportation as a very real hurdle for students to get over.
"No problem!" many say. "Let them homeschool! Sure it's a sacrifice, but it's worth it."
To put it bluntly, it is extremely unfair to make a family choose between rent or the electric bill and their children's education. Some families that the school district my husband works for don't even have electricity and water run to their house because they can't afford it. They can barely afford food. How are they supposed to afford books? Or be available enough between their two or three part time jobs in order to teach their children anything?
For children living in urban areas with two parents who work (or with a single mom who works), how exactly is the mother going to keep that child out of trouble during the day, let alone educate them? Child care is an added expense, and when you live close to the line, you can't take on added expenses.
And this is all assuming that the parents have the literacy, or at least the self confidence, needed to teach their children, or know how to find the resources online or at the library to do it. This also takes time, which is something that income stressed families almost never have an excess of.
2.) There are a lot of kids out there who don't have parents who love them or care for their wellbeing.
A lot of people seem to forget this, sadly common, fact. For a lot of kids, the school and the teachers are the only adults they have in their lives with an actual interest in their wellfare.
To name one example, I know of two teenage boys at the school my husband works at, (one of whom was 18) who were kicked out of the house onto the street by their family. They somehow managed to find an old trailer to live in, but had no way to wash their clothes, and had very little. The school found out and was able to work with them to make sure their basic needs were met.
There are several other cases I know of where the school contacted CPS because the children were so obviously being neglected, or even physically or sexually abused by an adult in their home.
Are all public schools going to do this? Sadly, no. But they're often the only ones in a position to do so (other types of school systems don't deal with this quite as often, because the child even being there in the first place takes an investment on the part of their parents or guardian, thus requiring some level of care).
3.) Charter schools and private schools almost NEVER have programs for children with learning or intellectual disabilities.
Part of the reason that these schools have the reputation that they do is that they're allowed to pick and choose their students. They're a fantastic fit for many children, but for children with particular struggles, such as dyslexia, disgraphia, or with a mild intellectual disabilities, they will either not accept the child or they will be completely unequipped to handle their needs.
It's a sad fact, but not even Catholic schools serve these populations. As an alumnus of a Catholic school, I can name one or two students off the top of my head who I watched get lost in the system because the teachers were completely unequipped to handle their needs, yet the school was unwilling to let go of their tuition money and be honest with the parents that they weren't a good fit for that child. Instead, they just failed.
Public schools, on the other hand, have to take any student from their district, and have actually formed programs, programs required by law, to meet these types of needs. Granted, in some cases the schools mishandle these cases, but the fact remains that they are the only educational system widely available who is at least required to try and help them.
4.) Just because you're poor or disadvantaged doesn't mean you should get short shrift.
"Well," some people say when this information is presented to them, "I guess this means we should keep public education for the poor kids. But we should still do the voucher system and people who actually care about their kids should homeschool or send to a private school."
The problem with this statement is that you are automatically creating a two-tier society, where the poor and disabled are stuck with a sub-par education. Rather than creating equality, you worsen and widen the gap.
This is why I dislike the proposed voucher system so much. You're making an admittedly imperfect system worse by sticking public schools with the most expensive, difficult kids to help, and then severely reducing their funding. This makes it even more difficult to hire decent teachers and allot needed resources (something many of these schools already struggle to do, even those with a dedicated and caring administration).
As an aside, that's not even getting into the very simple fact that government funding pretty much always leads to government meddling and intervention. Is that really something we want in home or Catholic schooling? We need those options to remain free of government meddling for many of the reasons that so many families hesitate to send their children to public school now. To maintain a free society, we need educational options that the government doesn't control.
Am I saying that everyone should enroll their child in public school? Of course not.
Public school is not a good fit for many families. Some families have children who perform and flourish much better at home or in a private or charter school setting, and they should have the right to choose the educational model that works best for them. It also bears noting that many school districts are corrupt and badly run, and the schools in those areas just aren't any good. Even if the schools are academically excellent, in some areas the prevailing culture is such that it gives many Catholic and Christian parents serious concerns about how human sexuality and human dignity are presented. These are all very legitimate reasons to avoid public education.
(I find it worth noting that private and charter schools often suffer from the same problems. No one educational model is perfect. Research any school and scrutinize the culture there before you entrust them with your child).
I am saying that there are extremely serious consequences to the idea of getting rid or undercutting public schools, consequences that are antithetical to a basic promotion of human dignity.
Even if the schools in your area are horrible, you have the ability to help make them better.
Public schools are not controlled from a national or even state level as much as they are from a local one. Most of the problems that people have with public education are things that are controlled by the school board: the administration, the sex ed curriculum (or lack thereof), and the allotment and management of funds are all school board controlled issues in the vast majority of communities. Even if you are in a situation where you don't feel comfortable sending your children to the local school, that does not excuse you from the responsiblity to educate yourself about the members of your school board, making an educated vote on their members when they're elected, nor from advocating for those children's academic and moral formation in whatever ways you are able to do so.
The school board is selected by and accountable to the entire community. Hold them accountable. The reason that so many of our public schools have adopted more and more extreme and even anti-Christian views is because the people holding those views have been showing up to board meetings, voting, and making their voices heard. They don't represent your entire community in any other sphere; don't cede this one to them.
This is an important corner of our government. This is an area where you can make a real, tangible difference in your community. Your vote matters here, and directly impacts more lives, far more than it does in a national election.
Even if those children aren't yours by blood, don't abandon them.
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