by Nate Feinberg

Created on: February 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

Scenario: You've recently enrolled your kids in a private school because a public school wasn't working out. At the public school, your kids' average grades were, in your mind, less than satisfactory. Now that they have been in a private school, even though you have to pay now, they've been doing much better and you are happy with the decision and their position. However, you are concerned as to the reason the private school was so much better than the public school. Your first question you ask yourself is: "How much effort do public school teachers really put into their work?"

In other words... "Are teachers giving 100%?"

Not to knock your situation, but if this is you, your kid's situation is not extraordinary in any way.

They are, in fact, victims of human kind's simultaneous gift and curse: individuality.

If you take a look at public schools, however, you can scarcely judge the teachers for lack of effort into their job. Their payed mediocre wages for break-back work. In fact, their work is, in essence, the future of their country. It IS the next generation; the follow-up meant to top the former generation, and they have nearly no motivation in shaping it. I don't understand how the notion that we should expect more to come out than is put in came from, but it has no use; in fact, it's harmful. It reinforces our neglect towards the problem of teachers' effort.

However, putting your kids in private school is a VERY good idea, don't get me wrong. Yeah, I suppose you have to pay for it, but it is entirely worth it if you have the money to cover it along with the other necessities. Each child has his or her own problems, advantages and disadvantages. However, with 30+ kids in a class, individuality is difficult problem to tend with; so, in order to deal with it, teachers are forced to do what every human does every second: compromise. Majority rules. If most kids learn best by reading, then the entire class will read because there just simply is no way for one teacher to diagnose each of the 30~ kids' most advantagous learning styles and apply them on such a time scale and wage. Just to get the basic, standard cirricilum down, the class must be taught as one, and differences disregarded. In a private school, however, that is not as big problem, abolishing a lot of individualitie's "curse" when it comes to school.

If your kids are experiencing similar problems, such as poor grades or lack of motivation, sit down and talk to them. Keep in mind, however, they do not need your criticism("The work's not THAT hard" or "you're ruining your life, you know!".) Often times, kids know this, but they just need help in aligning their priorities. Especially if they come to you, you need to be sensitive to their problem and help them, not judge it, if you expect them to come to you again.

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