At our most recent school board meeting, a parent mentioned concerns with nutrition and (as a possible aspect of health and wellness) presentation of movies rated PG-13, for example, to younger children. In the case of nutrition, on some occasions, students may receive candy as reward when parents would not, themselves, reward their own children with candy.
Very few parents who have worked hard to guide a child’s eating habits would wish that he descend into a daytime Augustus Gloop.
It’s understandable that parent would not want a different standard at school from the one he or she is working to establish at home. At the very least, a school should accommodate a parent’s approach without stigmatizing a child whose family has a specific nutritional standard. The state should not presume to override, or ignore, parental authority about diet.
This a challenge that a public school program — that may fall into a one-size-fits-all approach — may have. It can, however, be avoided — if only there would more choice offered with a public program.
I have contended previously that we would have a better public system if we had a successful private school in town — I think the presence of the private alternative would be a spur to better public efforts. We don’t have that option, of course, and we’re not about it get one. Still, a public program can offer more choices for students and parents within a grade level, or between schools, and thereby offer some of the benefits that choice and competition provide.
If parents had more information about a teacher’s method, professional outlook, and practices, had the opportunity to review these points in advance for the year ahead, and then could request accordingly, some of these issues might be solved. That level of selection surely seems outside the norm for some, but it’s not unknown. Many public districts have specialized schools and classes — it would help us to offer more information as a standard practice, and give parents more selection.
Successful methods could be emulated by other teachers. Academically competitive approaches would be encouraged. Less successful ones would, by lack of interest, fade away. Also, several different approaches — announced as such, and communicated to parents — could co-exist. We can do better than a leveling approach that lumps everyone into the same practices, sometimes against parental standards, and is often a race to the bottom.
Differences in teaching method, more unique approaches offered at the high school, standards for nutrition, a teacher’s views on acceptable film ratings, could be communicated openly for each teacher at the end of a year, so that parents could select among alternatives for the year ahead.