We Don't Need No Education

Remember that line from the classic Pink Floyd song "Another Brick In The Wall"? Great song, I'm sure teachers and school systems across the country were crunging when that song became a hit. Not only because of the double negative that is used ("Don't need No"), but because of the implications of the lyrics

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

People will read into this song in any number of ways, but the idea that some teachers (and systems) attempt to strip children of their free will or free thought through crappy teaching methods was a powerful statement. I now hae to view education systems from three points of view: as a parent, as a student, and as a potential teacher. Today I will approach it as a parent.


From a Parent's Eyes


So this week (sort of) marks the end of our search for schools for our son Justin. On February 28th the application for DC Public Schools is due. Here in DC they started using the lottery system in order to give everyone an equal shot at getting into a "good" school. Basically the way it works is like this, everyone has a neighborhood (Boundary) school. Your child will automatically get accepted into that school. But we all know that all schools are not created equal, therefore if you live in a neighborhood where the school is not-so-good, you have the opportunity to apply to an "Out Of Boundary" school that is a "good" school. What constitutes a "good" school is clearly something to be defined by the individual.


What's Good?


Some of the things we were looking at were (in no particular order) test scores, neighborhood, teaching philosophy/special program, and parental involvement. Test scores are one indication of how well the students are learning. It isn't the be all end all, but it is definitely important. The neighborhood is important because let's face it do you really want to drop your kid off in the hoody hood? There was one school that is a really nice school, and many people want their kids to attend it, yet it is on a street right between a liquor store and a strip club. I wasn't feeling that as a parent, but fortunately they are opening a new school for Pre School through 2nd graders.


We Don't Need No Thought Control


As far as teaching philosophy and special programs go, their are a number of programs and philosophies that don't try to cram a bunch of (useless) information into a child's head. These programs look at the child as a whole being and try to engage them to bring out what is natural to us. The programs/philosophies use more creative curriculums and tend to be much more inclusive of the children as partners in education, as opposed to the standard "I'm the teacher so you will learn what I say you learn" approach that has worked so very well in this country (sarcasm...sarcasm...sarcasm). Emilia Reggio, Montessori, Language Immersion, Magnet Schools, and a few others are some of the popular methods of education today, and this was one of our major factors in choosing a school to apply to. Parental involvement was an important factor because in a school where parents are really involved in their child's education tends to be a school where the students excel.


More Choices


So on March 1 the DCPS will hold their lottery, and on March 3rd we will know whether we got into any of the six Public Schools that we applied to. But wait, there's more! In DC we have Public Charter Schools as well. These schools are independently run, but are free to the public. Charter schools are the ones that tend to use the special programs, alternative curriculums, and newer teaching philosophies, so they are clearly the more popular choice for many parents to try to get their children into. The challenge with the "good" schools, whether public or charter, is the fact that the demand is great, but the slots are limited, hence the lottery.

Wish us luck!

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