"We could afford to put our kids in private schools," said the dad of one of my students. "But then we couldn't really afford any of the extras. So we decided to have our kids go to the public school system, and then to augment their educations with special activities like music lessons. We figure that if all the parents who are forking over $18,000 a year for private schools would put even some of that money and some volunteer time into the public schools, we could change the school system for the better."

Their kids are doing great.

As a product of public schools (until my undergrad degree), and as the daughter, granddaughter, niece, and cousin of public school teachers, I agree with my student's dad.

Granted, public schools aren't for everyone. I went to a private kindergarten because there weren't any kindergartens in the public school system where I grew up. (There are now, of course.) There are parts of the country where I'm sure I wouldn't put my kid in a public school, and there are kids who really need a special or different atmosphere in which to thrive. When I hear about incredible Montessori schools, I know the parents have found something very special. And when my cousin failed a year of elementary school, our district wasn't large enough to let her transfer to another public school. To avoid having her be teased by her former classmates, my aunt put her into a private school, which I believe was a good decision for her socially, even though the prive school was lousy and didn't teach much.

But the private schools in Urban Metropolis produce very stressed-out kids. In looking around my studio, my two most fearful students go to schools with $18K/year tuition. My most overworked kid goes to a $15K school. My anorexic student? $10K tuition. My worst behavioral problem? $16K. These are the kids who enter without knocking, who practice the least, who try to call me by my first name despite repeated requests to be called Dr. Terminal, and who pout and whine. They take the longest to learn manners. (Eventually, they figure out what I will and won't accept, and they soon become happier. But it takes a lot of time on my part to help them learn how to Work And Play Well With Others.) Did I mention that at one of these designer schools, the girls can get their own 24/7 parking place with their own street sign on it? For a mere $4000 yearly "donation," of course.

And the music programs at their schools? Lousy. The schools put thousands of dollars into elaborate musicals each year instead of into daily (or even weekly) music classes. They built lavish sets, hire acting and dancing coaches...and then frantically hire musicians from outside the school. (I've played some of these gigs, and the money is great. We make the schools look good, and the parents and donors go away happy.) Many of the music teachers at these schools don't join the National Association for Music Education, so their kids can't participate in activities like solo and ensemble festival, all-state orchestra, etc. They hire "some guy who plays guitar" (as some of my students have described their music teachers) to teach band to about 20 kids who drop out of the music program halfway through the year because the music is so unsatisfying. But at least the school can tell parents and donors that there is an instrumental music program, right?

Again, I know they're not all this way. But I see a lot of kids under a lot of pressure, and I am not convinced that these particular schools are worth the money or the stress.

But most importantly, these students -- who pay to take a battery of psych and IQ tests to get into the designer schools -- just don't seem very balanced to me. They've "done it all" by age 17, but they have no idea how to relax and enjoy life. They'll go on to designer universities and do it all there, too. And I wonder what will happen to some of them when, for the first time, their money can't buy understanding and tolerant authority figures, and when there are no more grades to be earned.

Labels: teaching