Matt vs. Megan: A Debate About Schooling

Last night Matt and were discussing the pros and cons of certain forms of education. We talked about big schools vs. small schools and public schooling vs. home schooling. We have very different outlooks, my husband and I.

I think it's wonderful that there are still areas of the U.S. that do not require the use of metal detectors, security personnel, or drug dogs in schools. I'm so glad we live in a place where our children can retain some of their innocence just a bit longer than the rest of the country.

Matt thinks it's idiotic to not have these things already implemented, that it's stupid to wait until something terrible happens and then try to keep it from happening again. He says we should start preventing these things before it even touches this community a first time. And while I agree that it does seem slightly backward to have to correct something rather than prevent it in the first place, I still can't help but want to hold onto simpler times.

As I stated earlier, we also talked about public vs. home schooling. I trust our region's teachers; I admire them. They are paid poorly, and they go far beyond what's expected of them. I know this from experience. The teachers in my high school would spend as much time as necessary to make sure each student understood every lesson. This was true of every math, english, music, and science teacher I ever had (including post-secondary). Not being especially bright in math and science, I spent a good deal of time after school hours with my instructors.

I've tried to imagine how my views would change had I been brought up in a city such as New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, or Dallas. I surely would not have gotten the one-on-one attention I needed to grasp certain school subjects. I'd also be numb to things like random drug searches, which doesn't seem like a good thing at all. Would my parents have felt like keeping me at home, educating me in the safety of our own residence rather than taking the chance with the public school system? Probably, and I wouldn't blame them one bit. I'd probably do the same thing with my son.

However, if my husband had his way, Avery would be sent on his merry way to one of those schools I find so frightening. He thinks it's silly for teachers to devote so much time to one student when they won't get the same treatment in the "real world." He thinks it's better - usually - to make children find a way to overcome challenges on their own...that they end up being stronger individuals if they have to find their own route, without a guide.

**This might be the time to mention the fact that Matt is an Army brat. He moved around a lot as a child, to many different regions of the country, having to make new friends, meet new teachers, and walk his little sister to strange schools frequently.**

So, how do two people who have such very different outlooks on education compromise?

You tell us.