Why do I still feel anxious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They may be kind, respectful and caring people, but they have much greater needs than my DS. I totally understand that, to the teachers in those schools, my son is not worth their time.

There are many children at private schools who have those same emotional and academic needs. These children will also take teachers time away from your DS.

[Anonymous]

The kids in my local school have strong needs for remedial English. My son's current teacher said with, the current budget cuts, they removed all the aids who helped them understand the instructions. Unfortunately, the current teachers do not speak Spanish. I don't think they can fire all their long-term experienced teachers and replace them with bilingual teachers. My son's current teacher was very frustrated, and I can not blame her. But, she was trying to do her best for these students anyway. Also, many of the kids, their parents did not go to college and do not speak English. They can not help their kids the way I help mine, just because they do not understand the work. Their kids therefore need extra attention in school, and my son can live without it. I wish her luck, and understand her focus. When I went to the private school, I did not see many students in this category.

But, anyway, I can not blame you for saying I make you sick, because I make myself sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They may be kind, respectful and caring people, but they have much greater needs than my DS. I totally understand that, to the teachers in those schools, my son is not worth their time.

There are many children at private schools who have those same emotional and academic needs. These children will also take teachers time away from your DS.

But, there are fewer children that have the same basic human needs going unmet by their families. Schools with higher percentages of FARMS children need to make sure that the kids are getting basic nutritional requirements. And, the teachers need to be more on the lookout for children that are neglected, be it because the parents have to work too many jobs to keep a roof over thier heads or because the living situations are not safe (ex. homeless)). Additionally, there are many parents in this population that are not English-literate and thus can not provide their child with assistance with homework or otherwise assist in academic areas where their child may be falling behind. This is, of course, not to say everyone in this population has these problems. Nor does it mean that none of the children in private schools have problems (i.e., situations of parental neglect, abusive parents...). But, I think that it is hard to argue that teachers do not have to devote a lot of extra attention to overcome the difficulties of poverty.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this is a more thoughtful/kind discussion that I usually see on the DCPS public/charter DCUM list. Where its often, "You send you child to that school? With that percentage of FARMs? You are a horrible parent." Or "You think your DCPS school is good but that's all smoke and mirrors, if it isn't in upper NW, it sucks."

[Anonymous]

Well, now that you mentioned it...

[Anonymous]

Just because children and their families are poor does not mean that they aren't kind, respectful, caring people who value education. This kind of comment irks me so much. It makes me glad that we are leaving private school for public (where more than 50% of the students are on free and reduced lunch) because it's these kinds of attitudes that make me sick to my stomach.

That sounds great and everything. But as a former teacher who worked with at-risk kids in a low income area, I can tell you that you are very wrong. There are certainly some poor families who are truly committed to making sure their kids get the best education possible. However, the vast majority simply do not care. If you think differently, you are going to be in for a shock. My kids' school had 12% of the kids eligible for free or reduced lunch. That was more than enough.