This past weekend the high school my wife graduated from held it’s 25th anniversary celebration with a prep school alumni reunion (it was a college before becoming a prep school). The weekend culminated into an awards cerimony of sorts where they honored the staff and faculty that had been a part of the school since its inception.

Speeches were made, plaques were handed out and current students provided entertainment. All in all a great event, but it got me to thinking about my own high school experience. I’m sure I’ve blogged some about how I hated school before college and how I felt like my education was basically useless, but it was nice to see a group of folks who had a different experience.

When one of the teachers who had been with the school since the beginning was given her award she recieved two standing ovations from her former students, which got me to thinking: If this were an alumni reunion at my High School, who would recieve a standing ovation? The sad thing is, I can’t think of a single person who wasn’t a coach and even then they would get one because they took us to the playoffs and not because they were a really influential part of our lives. Ann’s school has graduated about 5oo kids in the last 25 years and based on what I know there are probably about 80-85% of them who have a special place in their hearts for Saint Bernard Prep. There isn’t a school on the planet where 100% of the people like or even appreciate the influence it had on their lives, but I would say that the percentage of folks who feel that way about my High School are exactly opposite. My best guess is that maybe 15-20% of the students hold FHS in high regard over the last 25 years. Maybe back in the day when my parents were there it was the best education around but in my lifetime the quality of education has gone down, as have most public high schools.

I stood outside of the gym where they held this banquet and listened to some of the former students talking about how they really treasured what SBP had meant to them and how special that place is in their life, and honestly there was a part of me that is incredibly jealous. As their former English teacher left the building she was bombarded by people who stopped her to tell what a positive influence she had on their life. One person even chased her car through the parking lot (in high heels no less) to try to catch her before she left. This is a puzzling phenomenon to me, because I can’t think of a single teacher (even the few I liked) who I would chase down in a parking lot to thank.

When we got in the car, I told Ann just how unreal this all is and how blessed she is to have been given the opportunity to get a great education in an environment where someone actually cared about your future and not just about your next standardized test score.
Looking back, I’m sure I could have put more effort into my education and I’m sure at times I didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities available to me. Like I told Ann last night though, nobody else seemed to care so why should I?

Thankfully I’ve been able to overcome those years and through college and a lot of self education I feel like I’m pretty well rounded. There are some teachers who I admired and who I looked up to, but overall I get the sense that too many of them were just there to draw a check.

I say all of that to say this: We were never intended to have a government funded education. We were never supposed to have our experiences and knowledge shaped by a government we aren’t supposed to trust, and I believe the constitution was framed in a way that placed an inherant mistrust of the government. Sadly, because too many people take things at face value we have become a nation educated by the government, for he government. I believe that it is at the root of our problems as a nation now, because we’ve been sheperded into believing that our rights are granted by the government and not the other way around.

Give careful thought to where you send your kids for their education. Private, parochial or even home schooling is so beneficial and you can’t replace the life lessons you’ll give your children by placing them in an environment that is invested in their success. We’ll be facing that decision in a few short years and I pray that we’ll be able to give our child the same benefit Ann recieved: A quality education that makes a real and tangible impact on his life.