Public School Is Not Just The Cheaper Version Of Whatever School You'd Send Your Kid To If You Were Loaded

        This post was originally written on 1/5/2012

        I rarely get the opportunity now to see a political attack ad on television and have it piss me off.  That's cause I got pissed off enough at my cable company after a series of rate hikes that jumped my bill by 35% in 2 years that I cancelled my subscription a year and a half ago.  But thanks to the wonders of the internet, occasionally there will be an ad that is so stupid- so offensive- that it does cross my path.  This time it was a Rick Perry ad.  Basically whining about how he hates living in a country where gays can be soldiers, but cute little God Warriors can't pray or celebrate Christmas at school.  Vote for me and I'll shove all those freaks so far back in the closet they'll turn into albinos from lack of sunlight exposure.
        Anyone who has been paying even the slightest bit of attention has probably noticed that I'm not a fan of the current crop of GOP candidates, or really even Republicans in general.  For the record, I judge every candidate on what they say, what they do, and what they've done.  I don't give a shit about what they say they will do, and that applies no matter which party they belong to.  I admit that I judge Republicans with more scrutiny, but that is because there are some pillars of the GOP platform that I feel need to be dynamited.
         Anyways.  My particular beef with this particular ad is about the public school system, and what it is and is not.  This seems to be a big area of debate, and that debate has been getting louder and louder during my lifetime.  Here is my view:  public schools exist to provide ALL students with the information they need to grow up, get a job, and support themselves well enough that they can stay alive and maybe even have some of the stuff they want.  That is what they are there for, and it's the only thing they are there for.
         We educate our children so that they can become independent of us.  Over time several different options for them to obtain their education have evolved.  Initially, individual states set standards for how much education was enough, and what that education needed to include.  These standards are primarily based on what is deemed necessary to get a job and not be a drain on society.  The more that employers require, the more that states require.  When some states proved that they were not requiring enough for their children to be able to move to another state and thrive, or that their schools were not designed for the benefit of all students regardless of race, color, creed, or socioeconomic background, then Federal standards were enacted.
          Public schools are one option that we as parents have for educating our children.  They are supposed to be the one size fits almost all option that get the job done and that's it option.  They exist so that every child in our country has a chance at competing in the workforce to provide for themselves.  Parents and politicians who do not recognize this have corrupted the idea to make it seem like public school is an educational option that each parent can customize to meet their own personal ideas of how THEIR child should be educated.  It's not.  It isn't about sports, or art class, or music class, or this club or that one because my little Johnny is interested in that and I think that his school should offer him the opportunity to experience that at no cost to me.  It also isn't about your child sharing the information you have taught them about subjects unrelated to the curriculum with their peers.  If something isn't a part of the curriculum, it is because the people who specialize in crafting that curriculum have deemed it unnecessary for the goal of educating a large group of students from varying backgrounds so they can grow up and find a damn job.
         So many people today expend so much energy talking about how America has become a nation of people who feel entitled to things they haven't earned.  Most of them are right, but they don't realize as they say this that they are just as guilty of exactly what they are railing against.  Our great grandparents would think that we were aliens from another planet if we showed up in the schools they attended to explain to them that they had the right to the type of public education we feel our children should have today.  When they attended school, education was what they were there for.  They learned to read and write, and if they were lucky, they had teachers who could teach them other subjects too.  The fact that our children's days are now filled with music classes, archery instruction for P.E., baseball, football, soccer, and synchronized swimming is not because educational standards have improved, it is because whiny ass parents have taken a free service that existed to meet a goal, and whined and complained until it met all the goals they used to have to pay for.
         Before you climb on your soapbox and complain about how the public school system is failing your child, or it isn't fair that your child isn't learning enough about what you feel is important in their school, remember that it is YOUR child.  Because public school isn't just about your child.  Sure, there needs to be some variations to meet the needs and goals of all the students whose parents choose the public option, but you can't please everyone all the time.  Parents need to realize that not everything that your child learns in life needs to be taught to them by their teachers at school, and not every child needs to be taught what your child learns if it has nothing to do with them growing up, getting a job, and living their life.
          Back to the point.  Rick Perry.  Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with our children learning anything that they will be able to turn into a marketable skill when they are adults.  It is a holiday that is celebrated in many different countries and in many different ways.  Many people don't celebrate it at all.  Santa Claus is make believe, Jesus and the cute little story about his birth on Christmas in the manger has absolutely no basis in fact that can be confirmed, so it doesn't even qualify as history.  This is why schools no longer celebrate Christmas.  They have taken the reasonable position of letting kids burn off some energy around the holidays by having little parties and making arts and crafts that are respectful of all beliefs, because they are little kids, it's the end of the grading period right before a long break, and it's FUN. When you insist on making it all about the kids who celebrate the way that you do, it's not much fun for the kids that don't share your tradition.  Plain and simple.  The Holiday Program is meant as a cute little thing for the kids to dress up and have their family come to ooh and aah.  If you want the nativity scene, go to a church and watch their play.  They'd probably be glad to have your child participate.  If you want to see Santa, fine.  But Santa needs to share the stage with the iconic symbols of the other kid's traditions, cause it's their school and their program too.
       Finally, if you want your kid to pray at school, fine.  Encourage them to do so whenever they have the time between doing the tasks that they are there to do.  Quietly, to themselves.  And understand that while they do, the other kids have a right to go on about their day without joining in or giving them a moment of silence with which to speak to their Maker.  Because public school is a state institution, and we have a very clear separation of church and state.  Same thing goes for religious education.  Let them take their bible for free reading time, but if you want them educated according to your beliefs, then you should choose an education option for them that provides that instruction, not expect every child to learn your beliefs when there is no measurable benefit for them to do so.