Rogerian Argument

Setting: The dining hall of Renaissance Hotel in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. Where the Education is Our Future Gala is held annually. People are laughing and talking of summer break, the upcoming school year, the public school budget, and the new schools being built. Everyone from public and private schools are invited. The money raised goes all the schools who participate.

Me: My child is four years old, and will be starting kindergarten the following school year. I’m just having a terrible time deciding public or private?

Logan: I hated public school! I switched to public school my seventh grade school year and I’ve never looked back.

Kennedy: Yeah but a major advantage to private education is that your child will likely be challenged to a higher academic standard.

Logan: Maybe? I constantly felt like I was doing busy work, not learning. I can see how you can say that though. When I schools I was on a math level much higher math level than my classmates.

Mack: Who wants to pay that tuition though? Plenty of high school children get accepted to college from a public school, because if you ask me, children in public schools are a little bit more independent and ready for college.

Kennedy: Actually Mack, you’re right about part of that. the student teacher ratio at private schools is much smaller. The students have more opportunities to form relationships with their teachers.

Logan: I can see how that can sound great, but sometimes I would find that some of my teachers had no idea what they were doing, or much less, if you weren't their favorite student, it was harder to blend in with the rest. I found I didn't want a relationship with my teachers.

Mack: What do you mean “they didn't know what they were doing” Logan?

Logan: My history teacher didn't even have a teaching degree!

Freire: I can see how you may think your teacher didn't know what he is doing, but I don’t think he would have been hired if he didn't want to teach.

Logan: I was actually the only class in private school I remotely enjoyed. So I guess that makes sense.

Kennedy: How artistic is your four year old? Private schools may teach the same curriculum, however they have the funding to add extra classes that may not be available to your child till college.

Freire: And how passionate are those art teachers! Able to work with children and their love for art!

Helms: You make a great point about the teachers Freire. You know they are paying the teachers based on the children's grades this year!

Kennedy: Yes I heard! Thankfully students at private schools have to spend little time preparing for those standardized tests, because usually they are much more prepared for them without knowing! A friend of mine says her daughter spends entire days at school preparing for one silly test!

Mack: Really? My son goes to a public school and the grade he gets on the test doesnt even count towards his grade for the class! His teacher told him its a measurement to see how good she is doing, not how well the student is doing in her class. The goverment just wants to make sure the teachers are doing their job correctly. At the end of the day, an extra test should be looked at as extra practice for students.

Logan: I was scared of standardized tests when I first came to public school, because they are made a much bigger deal, however I like knowing that teachers are going to be watched more carefully now. I think they spend more time on it in public school because they can loose their job much easily. The last three weeks consisted of seeing my teachers cry in class because they were forced to change schools and take a job that sometimes wasn't even in their field.

Kennedy: Exactly why private schools do a better job! They are just too hard to ignore. The sense of values that are also taught and instilled there can teach your child to not only be a better student but a better person.

Logan: I went to a Christian private school, so yes everyone is well behaved when their in church. You wouldn't believe your ears if you hear the conversations at lunch though.

Mack: What do you mean?

Logan: Almost everyone at private school write their tuition check just as easily as they give their children tons of cash to go buy drugs and alcohol. Some of the kids are there because they were kicked out of public school. It was hard for me to find a real friend there. Public school was where I found myself and real friends too. Yes there are bad kids at public school, but there are also good kids who chose to be that way themselves instead trying to be taught that way.

Me: So Logan, you are saying that, even with all the benefits private school has, public school was better?

Logan: Yes and no. I only went to two different private schools. However I myself liked public school much better.

Me: I’m afraid I’m still stuck. I want my child to be taught values at school, and I also want him to be able to be independent too. Maybe we should look into bettering our public schools. Maybe the budget should stop being cut, and maybe we could focus more on art and values the way private school does. That way every child has the chance to excel, and if you have the extra money for private school and you wish to send your child there, then do it.

Kennedy: That makes perfect sense. I love the private school that my children go to, but I have no problem with improving the public schools in my area.

Mack: Public schools are a gift one generation of America gave to the next. It would be a shame to not improve if for the generation after ours.

Friere: Yes let’s start with the teachers!

Helms: Yes let’s do!