A Case for Public Education

It's the start of another school year, and my year has definitely started off with a bang. It seems that crisis and drama might be the theme of my school year. For those of you who may not know, I am a high school counselor in an alternative education setting within our high school building. During my short time on Steemit, I have read tons of interesting articles about homeschooling and unschooling, both of which I was fascinated to learn more about from the eyes of those who have had experience with it. I don't believe in a "one-size-fits-all" approach to education--private, public, homeschooling, unschooling--I believe there can be benefits with each approach for different types of learners and learning styles. Clearly, I work in an alternative education setting, so I believe there is more than one right way to teach a child. Today, I wanted to share my perspective on the one with which I am most familiar--the public school setting.

Often times, you hear about public schools that have failed their students, boring classrooms, unqualified teachers...and public education comes off as being the devil. I know there are many schools out there that need reforming and overhauling. However, in these past nine days of school, it has become so clear to me that for some students, public schools are sometimes the only safe place that a kid has to find help, safety, food, and a break from the chaos that might make up their home lives. In these last nine days, I have sent a student to the Emergency Department for thoughts of self-harm, made phone calls to DHS, kept a student safe from a group of people who wanted to jump her, and spoken to students about numerous mental health and home life issues--in just nine days. These kids were just waiting to get back to school to have a safe place and safe people back in their lives. Sometimes, the education part is secondary when the focus is on survival.

I read the articles about homeschooling and unschooling and I think about the great parents who are able to give those experiences to their children. That's a beautiful thing! However, even I will never be able to offer my children an unschooling or homeschooling experience, because I am the head of a one-parent household--me working full-time is an absolute necessity. Unfortunately, in my role as a counselor and a foster parent, I work with so many broken families who aren't able to operate in a functional manner. Kids flock to school in the fall and don't leave when the bell rings in the afternoon. You will see many kids hanging out on campus long after dismissal, as the walls of school become their home and the people working there become their family.

I don't have many more thoughts on this topic right now, but the subject matter was heavy on my heart tonight as I heard about a student somewhere that attempted to take his own life. The gravity of the role that I play hit me pretty hard as I was thinking about the counselors at that school working to serve their students during this time of crisis. If only all students felt loved by their families. If only all students had safe homes to go home to at night. How very different my role could be.

Public schools might not be the best avenue for all kids, but for some kids, it saves their lives every day.

(Photos courtesy of pixabay.com)