Rumor has it that tomorrow’s Oprah will feature Bill Gates and a discussion surrounding the documentary Waiting for Superman, which will be released this Friday.
Some friends and I have batted around the idea of starting our own private school (George Lucas? Warren Buffett? Bill Gates? Wanna help us out?), and while the thought of establishing our own school is thrilling, a small part of me wonders if I’d just be contributing to the bigger problem.
Few people rail against the private school establishment. Private schools consistently have high curricular standards and academic expectations, are often more exclusive in their admissions process, and produce many successful members of society.
Public schools can do the same things, but their dependence on state and federal monies creates bureaucratic nonsense that demoralizes teachers, which can often affect students.
I’ll watch Oprah tomorrow, and listen to Bill Gates, and maybe see clips of the documentary, and wish that I didn’t have to sacrifice almost 3 weeks of instructional time in the name of state testing. And as much as I would love to tell the testing “experts” (because, let’s face it–the people mandating the tests probably couldn’t pass them) to take a hike and start the “Academy of Awesome,” I worry about who would take my place in the public school. Because until people making decisions about public schools start involving the people tasked with executing the mission of public schools, retaining quality teachers will become more and more difficult.
So for the immediate future, I’ll stay put, because I know I’m good at what I do.
Besides, Lucas, Buffett and Gates haven’t returned my calls.
