Private versus Public. The Ultimate Fight

I'm in my senior year at Salem State College and I will be graduating in the Spring with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a minor in Educational Studies. Coming to Salem State was almost a mistake on my part, but I fell in love with the new program, teachers, and amazing music courses. I've always wanted to become a music teacher since I was young and share the knowledge I learn. I feel there's nothing better you can do in life than help others to live. I heard Salem State was one of the best education colleges in the state and decided it would be where I would get my education. The problem you ask? Salem State supports every department in the school to go through a Secondary Ed program and recieve licensure at the end......except for music. If you're a music major, student teaching AND the secondary ed minor are not an option. This means that when I leave here...there is no possible way for me to apply for licensure. I will need to either A) Transfer schools and spend another two years persuing another degree to recieve licensure or B) Go to Graduate School for my Masters degree and finish my student teaching there.

However, with many of my fellow music majors exploring these two options...many forget Private Schools. Private Schools look like a dream to many teacher. Private Schools offer teachers

- A job without the binding of state licensure procedures (Bachelors Only required)

- Freedom from state testing restrictions (MCAS etc..)

- Curriculum Freedom... (More private schools allow teachers to design their own course

- Smaller Class Sizes

- Better funding (not state funded, but student funded)

- There are no special education programs, which would result in not putting teachers

in a situation where they would teach an inclusion class with no prior training.

-Easier discipline programs (Students can be kicked out of school for any reason)

So where's the problem? Sounds awesome to me.

The downfall in public schools comes down to three major cons.

1. Less Pay

2. Less Benefits

3. Less Stability

Educators.com states that teachers can expect to earn between 10 and 15,000 dollars less at private schools than in public schools. The retirement isn't considered a "state job" or "public service" therefore there's less money matched in 401K plans and future investments. When i say "less stability" most people probably laugh because public schools, especially in the arts program, have hardly any stability as is...unless tenure. However, Private Schools offer jobs to teachers without licensure and sometimes without topic-specific degrees. Because of this, there are more people available for the jobs and willing to work for less money than others. With hardly any support from the teachers union,,,it's a scary thought. A final con is that many private schools are religious based and this could make private schools more difficult for some teachers who may have different views.

The ultimate debate...public or private.

As someone not getting my licensure with my bachelors...it's easy to see the attraction to private schools. However, many don't have music programs and teachers with higher degrees make more money. Therefore...I choose neither. I choose to continue into higher ed and maybe teach public, maybe teach private, maybe teach college. So many choices. It's a beautiful thing.

Helpful Links:

Education Bug

Educators.Com

Drop Out Of School

Pictures:

Public School

Private School

Do you want to teach for social justice?

Social justice is all about being equal in all senses. Herbert Kohl says that social justice teachers are "those who care about nurturing all children and who are enraged at the prospect of students dying young, going hungry, or living meaningless and despairing lives." The key word is children as these are the students of teachers. Basically Kohl says that social justice teachers are teachers with basic caring instincts.

I feel that social justice is important, but Kohl seems to really exaggerate it. I don't feel that social justice is a big issue because I feel most educators use it. I don't think people "fight" for it because it isn't a major problem in the overall picture. There are more important thinks which are explored in the article "Introduction: Creating classrooms for equity and social justice." The article mentions social justice as an issue, but it also explores teachers inability to control class size and management. The issues of boredom are brought up and the fact that teachers should watch how they teach the curriculum and make it gender, economic class, and racially equal. It's easy to rely on how things are traditionally taught, but to re-explore a situation to explore how other races, classes, and genders react to a certain situation is important.

How important is social justice in the classroom?

It is the responsibility of the teacher to be aware of social justice and a need for equality, but not necessarily to the extremes Kohl suggests. Kohl asks a lot of a teacher demanding a more important life role and creating effective techniques to keep social justice strong. However, he seems to find it a bigger issue than I have experienced in classroom observations. My favorite part of the articles was at the end of Kohl's. He even admits that a lot of his suggestions are overbearing and impossible for any standard person to live up to, but he wants a teacher to "nurture himself" to keep a life outside of the job. I feel this is important to remember how life is and remember that students live the same life in the same world. They experience injustice and it's important as a teacher to make their life and your life a better and more equal situation!

Helpful Links

Introduction: Creating Classrooms For Equity and Social Justice

Teaching For Social Justice

What is Social Justice?

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