AV#189 - Choosing a school for our kids – what a burden!

“… choice policies can also create a tremendous burden for families …”

From Commentary in Education Week, by Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Sept. 19, 2017

“It can be hard to make good choices when there’s an abundance of options. In Washington, D.C., where I live, there are about 200 possibilities, including both charter schools and traditional public schools …. While the lottery makes the application process easier, families still need to shoulder the burden of visiting schools, comparing their offerings, and making an informed decision about which are best.”

From “Six Reasons Why School Choice Won't Save Us” in Forbes, by Natalie Wexler, April 29, 2018

“Can freedom become a burden, too heavy for man to bear, something he tries to escape from?”

Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom

“And they will be glad to believe our answer, for it will save them from the great anxiety and terrible agony they endure at present in making a free decision for themselves.”

Spoken by the Grand Inquisitor, from The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A satire

It is “choice” season for parents in Denver Public Schools. They tell us: “Apply: Create your [SchoolChoice] account here. Then, fill out … submit ….”

“Incoming preschool and kindergarten students must participate ….”

Some choice.

Such a bummer—to have to choose a school for our kids.

Sure I like choosing which supermarket to go to. Glad to know that King Soopers and Safeway aren’t far away, that we can go to Natural Grocers, Sam’s Club, Sprouts, Target, Wild Oats … Can’t tell you exactly why we prefer one—the produce, the cleanliness, the courtesy, knowing we might see friends there ….

But when it comes to schools, the district suggests: “1. First” [First—right away you know they’re going to make it hard!], “First, research DPS schools by reviewing …  2. Prioritize your student’s top preferences and rank them … up to a limit of 12 schools.” 

So much homework! Should I feel guilty if I don’t fulfill all these requirements? 

And who came up with this shopping metaphor for public schools—parents and students as customers? Give me a break.

Of course I like having choices when it comes to the next car. I can laugh at granddad, who called himself a “Chevy man.” He would never buy anything else. His generation was OK back in the old days with the USA's big three. I get why Americans, shopping for a car in, say, 1952, would have resisted the choices we now have from Japan, Germany, and Korea. Not how we see the world, I’m glad to say. Happy we have models from Italy and Sweden as well—and before long, China? And heck, it is fun to look around. Not long after the latest purchase I begin scouting for the next car, even if that’s four or five years down the road ….

But searching through 200 schools to find "the best fit" for our children? Who decided this was supposed to be such a burden? 

I go to the DPS website on choice. It lists 25 Frequently Asked Questions. Half of them confuse me further: “If one of my children ‘choices’ into a school that is not our guaranteed boundary school ….” Good grief. And why all this bragging? Enrollment guides available in 10 languages; “… DPS implemented a unified one-application, one-deadline system to simplify enrollment for families …”; “our online, mobile-friendly application tool.” Friendly? Ha!  

I take a look. Mission, beliefs, goals: “student-centered,” “self-advocacy,” “experiential.” Mumbo jumbo. It gets worse: “empowering students,” “building inclusive relationships,” “hands-on, brains-on curriculum.” I see “traditional” is an option, but who knows what that means these days? Heck, if I could have traditional I’d go back to what works for me: find your neighborhood school and (hit) send.

We changed our cable service again last month. A headache. We investigated so many packages—DISH and Direct TV, Sling and Spectrum, etc.—but well worth it. Funny now to think of The Boss, back in the early 90’s, singing about “Fifty-Seven Channels (and Nothin’ On).” In our research we learned we can now have 500 channels, but geez, who needs that many choices? – 250 will do. Something worth watching is always on. We got a good deal. Just committed to two years, though, since all this stuff keeps changing. Maybe in 2021 we’ll find better options.

But back to DPS. Being told to apply is not enough; it is also my duty, apparently, to visit several schools. Like that will happen! Some fool, I see, gives me 15 questions I’m supposed to carry around during a school tour. I must be too dumb to know what I want.

All so irritating, really, as if I’m being told: This Is What Good Parents Will Do. 

I wish the know-it-alls who came up with this convoluted process understood.

You’re demanding too much.

You’re putting the responsibility on us, just to find the right school for our kids.

Such a bummer.