Guest blog by Leslie Lehr
Planning a college tour for my daughter raises the same issues that have been tearing at my gut since she entered kindergarten. Do I encourage her towards the cultural education of a gritty urban universities or the privileged class of students at a pastoral private college? My younger daughter is just entering high school and I have to admit there's a part of me that wishes she were going to the ritzy school across the country line - and not just because it's actually closer to home.
As I watch friends choose private schools that offer smaller classrooms and personal attention and - be still my heart - field trips, I am jealous. I want that for my kids, too. The financial excuse is easy, but if I really wanted to pull it off with scholarships and whatnot, maybe I could.
That greater part of me, the one that believes that every kid has the right to an equally good education, gives me pause. How can that utopia ever happen if I don’t participate in the experiment? And isn't spending six hours a day immersed with children who speak seventeen different languages the best education of all?
Then again, don't I want them to get into a good college? Make lifelong friends who happen to have tremendous business contacts? Am I sacrificing my kids for the good of the country? Does the country even notice? Will my kids?
I read something last night that might help. A parent's primary duty is to ensure your children's souls are saved. I know it sounds ultra-religious, and when one thinks of the soul, that is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But a soul is also very much of this world. It will go where it needs to go. The doors will open to my children whereever they might attend school or who they know. There is a story of Virgina Ramirez. She was an 8th grade drop-out who later became a community organizer and spoke before the US Senate in the Clinton/Gore years. She didn't have the contacts, or the resume that many had. But she had a caring soul. Our souls will find a way to shine, and as parents our job is too foster this soul in our children. Sometimes the best way is not the most glamorous way. I hope this helps. PS For those that don't have children yet, it is never too early to start learning.
Posted by: gavin at July 25, 2006 11:05 AM