Amidst the Betsy Devos debates and #productofpublic posts, I had a thought. What did public school actually teach me?
First, I should probably give a disclaimer of my background.
I had the privilege of attending a school district in the Philadelphia suburbs, which holds some of the best schools in the state of Pennsylvania. My high school had facilities that some students couldn't imagine and amazing programs.
However, in a majority of my educational career, especially in the early years, it was not my public school which taught me the importance of education.
It was my family.
My parents are both educated individuals, one is an engineer and the other a dietitian.
My parents also taught me about cultures and things I wasn't learning in school. Instead of going to Disney World, my family hiked up Mount Washington and explored Maine. Instead of beach days at the Jersey Shore, my parents chose small beach towns with history. My parents motivated me to join 4-H. Our family did group volunteer projects.
When my parents were working, my early childhood days were spent in my grandparents' care.
My grandparents both highly valued education. My grandmother began attending University of Pittsburgh when she was 16 and was the first girl in her neighborhood to go to college. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, she went on to get a Master’s in education at Penn State (where she would meet my grandfather). My grandfather, on the other hand, attended the prestigious (public) Central High School in Philadelphia and then joined the army, which aided him in paying for his education at Penn State.
My grandmother always told me stories about how everyone in her neighborhood thought her father was crazy for both allowing her to enroll in college and helping her pay for it. My grandfather always told me stories about pushing through the classes at Central.
My grandmother was the one who taught me to read, taking me to the library multiple times a week. I read my first chapter book in the fall of first grade, at age six, with her encouragement. I remember reading the book, "Misty of Chincoteague", with her on my grandparent's couch. We each read a page and then switched. I later would find that book on a 5th grade recommended reading list.
My grandparents took me on daily walks around the neighborhood or the local parks. They motivated me to explore.
Between their daily influence, and that of my parents, who helped pay their way through college, and didn't take any of it for granted, I learned what education was really about and why it was important.
Because of my family, I understood that education sometimes takes sacrifices.
Because of my family, I understand how privileged I am to be me, and that I always found learning so easy.
Because of my family, I was able to learn about myself and how I learn from an early age.
Because of my family, I have a better understanding of the world, one that my public school couldn't teach.
Public school taught me how to follow a rubric, that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, and what a verb is, but my family taught me the true meaning of education.
Public schools helped me succeed by giving me the teachers that usually helped me grow, but without learning from my family and programs outside of school which they involved me in, I wouldn't understand the importance of education as I do now.
For the most part, at a young age, the public school teachers in my elementary school years were not the ones encouraging me to read when I finished my assignments early. They were not the ones who encouraged many of the creative things I still participate in to this day.
There were a few outliers to this, but for the most part, I wasn't always encouraged to do these things in the classroom.
Public school didn't teach me the importance of education. It contributed to my love of learning, but my real teachers were my family.
