Why I don't like talking about public schools.
Part of it is my own insecurity. The other part is the passion of the topic.
Some time ago my brother asked me to give fuller account of why I do what I do. It was several years ago, at our Aunt Joy's house. No joke I spent time over the next couple years writing a response--for two main reasons. First because I wanted to answer his question but I’m not good at thinking on my feet so I wrote it down. Second because I’ve had a lot of these thoughts in my head for years and I wanted to see if they all connected logically. Hopefully they do. His request made sense considering that he runs a school that financially relies on a policy which I spend a not-small amount of my professional life advocating against. Also, we’re brothers. If one of the two facts above weren’t true we could've probably avoided this discussion forever.
Let me begin by describing why outside of work I’m traditionally hesitant to debate public schooling.
Arguments around public schools in America appear doomed to fail based on the lack of an agreed-upon definition of the purpose of education. Defined purposes of the American public school system are not unlike the folksy wisdom of the discipline of science: “always wrong but sometimes useful.” Because even if a definition could be acknowledged there remains the possibility that not a single schoolhouse in the country would meet it perfectly. What’s left is either some cobbled-together average practice of the thousands of schools or a set of “ideals” that few honest people would agree to. I expect that this blog will rely on the latter.
Now most people, upon hearing that I advocate for public school funding, are content to leave the topic alone. Regardless of the worst fears held in my profession, the average person has a beneficial view of the institution, and if they don’t, they are willing to project onto me the assumption that I’m working to correct whatever wrong they’ve experienced: be it the lack of money, the laziness of teachers or the need for more or less uniforms/reading/math/civics/etc. Depending on how bad of a week I’ve had or (not unrelated) how arrogant I’m feeling at the time I’m usually willing to wait for this moment to pass before shifting the conversation. Because more often than not the complaint on hand is either nonexistent (in my experience) or a result of an individual’s decision—not, as some would believe, a natural function of public education.
Pain points like curriculum choices, superintendent pay scales, and class assignments are personal choices that vary from district to district, or even school to school. I don’t mean to belittle the impact of these on children (or, more often, their parents), but judging public education writ large on something unique to the local school is like deciding someone doesn't like fried chicken after only eating it at a single restaurant. One undeniable feature (or flaw, depending on where you sit) of public schooling in our country is that there is not one “system.” (Here again we find that difficulty in our collective inability to define the public system of education). States, districts and individual buildings can differ quite significantly.
But the above paragraph is boring, so it keeps me silent when I’m cornered to hear about the decision a school has made about, say, bell schedules.
Also, I don’t like talking about my job outside of the job. Some people see the public school system either as an enemy that needs to be destroyed or a wild dog that must be brought to heel. Growing up in the church brought me in contact with many who share these views. Folks have passionate views about public schooling and it’s something that most of the country has experienced firsthand. Passion breeds defensive or bad-faith argumentation in me and others. My Southern upbringing has prepared me for two possible responses to heated disagreement: retreating or proposing a duel. Respectful arguing is not something I know how to do.
This predicament does not mean I am completely unwilling to debate the issue, however. I feel strongly that America’s public school system is one of the most successful applications of good government, and it is worth fighting for. Please consider this blog my attempt to give y'all my “full spiel” for public schooling and why I have dedicated the last few years of my life to advocate for its maintenance, protection and, ideally, growth. I plan to include with, because I believe that they’re inextricably linked, my argument against policies that achieve the opposite ends.
Just know that if we ever meet in person I'm not going to want to talk about this at all.
-Stephen
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on this. I appreciate the work you do to fight for improving public schooling. Here are a few of my thoughts on a Christian case for Public Schooling.
1) The claim that public schooling is responsible for the decline in Christianity in American children is an excuse for failed parenting and the failure in our churches to raise Godly children. This is not the responsibility of schools and thinking it is will only give cover to the real problems.
2) We are meant to live in the world, with all its warts and all, not build an ivory tower to shield us from the world. What lesson are we teaching our kids by pulling them out of public schools, avoiding contact with the world when they inevitably will be working in the world? We are called to be light bearers, and the light only shines in the darkness. What about all the kids souls that cannot afford private education or who’s parents are not Christian themselves? Are we to keep our kids from being light bearers to these kids?
3) Shifting public funds to private schools will only further widen the wealth gap in our nation. Property tax funded public schools is already problematic enough with disproportionate funding across the nation. Pulling further funds from public schools to private will do nothing to address this issue. Do Christians only care about the well-being of their children, even if it means fewer resources for those kids who live in impoverished areas?
4) We are already a divided nation with Sunday mornings still being the most segregated hour in America as King said 60 years ago. Many of the fears white evangelical have about “woke” education is manufactured fear mongering, meant to further divide our nation. This is evident by the fight against CRT that intentionally mischaracterized CRT and makes it into a boogeyman they can fight. Even Christian thought leaders like Voddie Bachman who has been amplified by white Christians, completely mischaracterizes the words of Critical Race Theorists to make his point, that is meant to raise the fear in white evangelicals. Private Christian texts are some of the most flawed literature in schools, so leaning into this will do our children no good.
We are called to be the head, not the tail. Called to be light bearers in a broken world. Privatizing schools will not only fail setting an example for our children but fail the other children who don’t have the luxury of choosing private school. A good public education is part of the American dream, a part that we have failed to deliver on for all our kids.