Public School teachers who send their own children to private school (demand, expensive)
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No, I don't think it is hypocritical at all. I'd be much more "concerned" if a PRIVATE (non-religious) school teacher didn't send their kids there, since they get the huge benefit of free tuition... so if you have free tuition for a private school in your pocket, there must be something very wrong to not use it. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, of course, like the kid has special needs or a custodial parent living elsewhere.
But when it comes to public schools, not all districts are suitable if you have other options. Teachers, on the other hand, take the jobs they can get. Just because you accepted a school at *insert district*, that doesn't necessarily mean you'd want to send your kid to that school. My mother worked at a low-performing inner-city HS in Washington, D.C. when I was born; and we (my sister and I) would NOT have been sent there if we were in high school at the time. It wasn't even in our home district, since we lived in the Maryland suburbs; and since our father made good money, we all did end up going to private schools. Why not?
If you really, truly believe the school system is wrong or broken and you can do nothing to fix it, why would you work in it? I could never work in a system that I didnt either believe in or that I didn't believe I could fix. Not on my watch.
Because the bills have to be paid? Some teachers have a second (spouse's) income, but even they still usually need to earn a living... so you go where the job is offered, especially if you're fresh out of college. In this profession, if you held out for the PERFECT job in the PERFECT school, you'd be homeless before that ever materialized.
I know teachers who homeschool their own kids and then go back to teaching when their own kids are done homeschooling.
Not hypocritical at all. Everyone needs to make the choice that’s best for their own family. Being a teacher does not obligate you to send your children to the school you teach at. .
I'm not a teacher and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but know a couple who do send their kids to private school. They're very open that the reason is quality of education is higher. They don't see the irony in advocating for a public school education for others kids while sending their own to private school. At least your friend the principal does.
That's because there is no irony. If someone advocates for LGBTQ rights, are they a hypocrite for not being LGBTQ themselves? One can separate matters of public interest from their personal lives, ya know... and if your own children would benefit from attending a different school, any parent (who can manage that) would choose that option.
When I was school librarian, there was a married couple teaching in the same school. They didn't live in town. The reason? They wanted their kids to get a decent education and it wasn't going to happen in this particular school system.
They were both wonderful people who did everything they could for the students. But nothing was going to fix the issues in that town except new administrators who cared about the kids. At least the administrators have some power to change things.
Teachers are people too. They have bills to pay. If teachers are to be held to such a high standard that we'd refuse a job in a school that wasn't good enough for our own kids, then maybe we'd better start getting really high pay and tons of respect, instead of groveling for pay and enduring cruel and inaccurate comments like, "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach."
This is the one subject I don't think I have EVER seen on this forum before: What are your opinions on public school teachers who send their own children to private schools? Do you think it's hypocritical? Why or why not? Personal stories and examples are welcome!
My sister and her husband sent their three children to "Christian School", K-12, all the while teaching at North Carolina public schools.
They are arch right wing conservatives and Fundamentalist Pentecostals. They are actually againstpublic education because "Jesus has been kicked out of the class room".
My sister teaches American History, which is scary in itself. Let's just say she's no Constitutional scholar.
ETA - my own take on these southern "Christian Academies", is that they sprung up as a way to avoid segregation.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldhag1
Throughout my husband’s military career whenever we could we lived in post housing, no matter how crappy, so we could send our kids to the on-post school. We knew our kids would be best off there if for no other reason than DoDDS schools had almost no racially based achievement gaps, and as minirities that matter a great deal to us. To be honest, that success was based more on the attitudes and work ethic of students than the quality of the educators. I, on the other hand, was able to get jobs far more readily in the local or nearby school systems, some of which were not schools I would have willingly sent my kids to - again, based more on the quality of the peer groups than the quality of the educators. It was the right choice for us and I really don’t care if others think it is hypocritical. It is bad enough I was expected to sacrifice my own wellbeing as an educator, I wasn’t about to sacrifice my childrens’ wellbeing also.
Good input and perspective, thanks for sharing.
My friends who teach in DoDDS have their own set of problems, but they LOVE it, and their students, and especially the incentive / desire they have to learn, respect for teachers / authority / peers..., broad Demographics (Cultural, financial,) & REAL 'comprehensive' world experiences and engagement of staff and students.
Of course the values / responsibilities / service that these students bring to the classroom comes from HOME, and often through generations of shared similar values!
Oh to consider how trite we treat the 12 - 16 yrs of education of our own kids...
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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RE: teachers who homeschool...
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
Define "many".
Of the 300+ kids in our small town Homeschool group... near 50% of the parents (one, other / both) were previous / current teachers, and likely 25% of our students became teachers or similar. Six of our kid's peer group are still teaching internationally (15 yrs after homeschool).
As mentioned, 100% of our extended family (14 teachers) homeschooled their own. From all over the USA and a few international locations. (which brings much higher scrutiny / challenges.) Also, we volunteered in PS, and the PS students were amazed we (as a family) would take the time to tutor / mentor / listen / be an example of service to them.
To have our kids sit down and diligently work out learning problems with the PS kids brought the teachers (and students) to tears. Many students are placed in PS as a 'babysitting' service and have never had a sibling or parent sit down and help them learn or read to them or intently listen to them.
Pretty sad.
I would do it again in a heartbeat (sacrifice our very busy homeschool learning schedule to teach others). As we know... that is where the learning is (in being able to effectively teach others and grow their desire to learn.)
Good luck, keep up the dedicated work. (and YES teachers make ALL the difference in the world, in good or bad districts. ) Every delivery of info is a personal choice to either 'broadcast'... or embed, convey, & enrich..
As Homeschoolers, we didn't take 20 yrs out of our careers to come up short on our purpose to nurture our own and the many in our Homeschool co-op / extended networks we serviced (often the elderly and physically disabled).
Was so rich to watch the 16 -18 yr old mixed age / race adoptee children come to the aid of their homeschooling parents when the family was hit with multiple crisis (including the ALS disability of the wage earner parent.) 20 yrs later... still caring for each other and thriving.
This stuff happens. be prepared to meet your next challenge.
That's because there is no irony. If someone advocates for LGBTQ rights, are they a hypocrite for not being LGBTQ themselves? One can separate matters of public interest from their personal lives, ya know... and if your own children would benefit from attending a different school, any parent (who can manage that) would choose that option.
Not the same thing at all. A more equivalent comparison would be someone who publicly advocated for LGBT rights while at the same time teaching their children to discriminate and sending money to work against it.
Or in the case of schools it would be sending their kids to private schools arguing against things like charter schools and vouchers which would provide other kids the same opportunities. Hypocritical.
I believe in the importance to the country of a public education system. So I put my money where my mouth is so to speak. My kids attended public school. The oldest just graduated from a public university (oh the horrors that it wasn't Ivy League, though they do have a pretty good football team ) while the youngest is currently in a different public college.
I'm an advocate for increased pay and education improvements. But it's awful hard to do when teachers keep shooting themselves in the foot. Because this sends two messages to the public. One, that teachers themselves don't believe in the quality of a public school education, despite what they say in public. And two, that teachers must be overpaid if they have the money to send their kids to private school.
Teachers are overpaid if they send their kids to private school? Are teachers supposed to live in poverty? Is it okay if they go on vacation, or does that make them overpaid as well? What kind of thinking is that?? Since it would be difficult to fund private education on a teacher’s salary, is it okay to use private school if the other parent has a good job?
I homeschool and I still support the public school system and think public school teachers should make more than they do. The system works well for some kids/families. And many families have no choice, so I want the schools to be as good as possible. In addition, I do pay taxes that go to the school, so therefore I’m entitled to a say, as is everyone else, including those who pay for private school in addition to those public school taxes.
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) while the youngest is currently in a different public college.
