Private vs. Public

I know that part of the mission of this program is to "reverse the achievement gap." I can't help but feel a little conflicted about the social justice aspect of this program. After all this drill about the importance of high expectations all I see in the world of these troubled kids is low expectations. Most teachers dealing with these kids freak out and quit immediately or burn out and dumb down everything, likely causing the students to internalize this feeling and act accordingly.

We had a guest speaker who talked at length about the importance of stimulating a child's curiosity. (This man had a background in psychology) And in response I shouted, "How the hell am I suppose to stimulate their curiosity when I am forced to cover a shit load state standards and make them pass these ridiculous assessments!"

I am in it for the pure joy of teaching, the joy of the discovery of new knowledge. My dream would be to empower all these fine youngsters with the necessary critical thinking skills to become morally developed and inquisitive young citizens of society. I absolutely hate all these damn state standards and assessments. That is not learning. We are teaching these kids to regurgitate a very limited naively pro-American perspective. Most students aren't even aware of half the things they learn because they have not been allowed to interact or fully contemplate the material, let alone themselves in relation to their education.

In my travels I've met a few people who attended these wacky free-spirited private institutions and they are like twenty times smarter. They actually understand and use what they learn. Private school might be the right environment for me. I would give up all my union benefits, the tenure, the damn pension I don't agree with, to have the freedom to actually educate. It's all about education. I'm starting to think that the private schools are more geared toward actual learning than the public system which offers these amazing benefit packages, but forces a watered down and uninspired state wide curriculum.