Parent: Being pro school choice is not being anti-teacher
The school choice debate is hot now, and it should be. The importance of education is shared by all, even if agreement on how to improve it is not. No opinion piece could address all the points, but I wanted to share two points about why I support school choice.
My son has autism. He is smart, curious, creative and kind. But in a traditional classroom, he easily gets overwhelmed. Not only did that make learning for him difficult, it was too demanding on his teacher and a huge distraction for the rest of the class. The process of revising his Individualized Education Plan (IEP) hit brick wall after brick wall.
Frustrated, we uneasily decided to give homeschooling a shot. Our fears were quickly put to rest as we watched our son thrive.
We do an eclectic mixed approach to his education. He does a base online curriculum, but most of his schooling consists of hands-on activities, field trips and exploration. We call it adventure schooling, and we have the ability to flex and adapt what we do as needs change.
Along the way, I have had a front row seat to all kinds of innovation and opportunities in education. Any notions of homeschooling based on experiences older than a decade are seriously outdated. Our family is blessed to have these opportunities, and seeing more families have these opportunities is what drives my support for school choice.
My second point is in response to positions that equate being pro school choice as anti-teacher. I’d argue the opposite.
Last week I stumbled across a movie about teacher Ron Clark. It showed his struggle and personal sacrifices to educate children at an inner-city school in New York. His dedication was truly inspiring, but when the movie ended I felt guilty and a little angry.
What was held up as a feel good story about what is possible, was instead an indictment of unrealistic expectations we place on teachers. God bless Mr. Clark, but just teaching is more than demanding enough. We can’t go on expecting so much from our teachers. Asking them to teach, be counselors, substitute family members, social workers, and fill ever-growing administrative roles is too much. This is especially true when they aren’t given the tools they need to succeed.
I have known many wonderful teachers, and I love them for their dedication to their profession and our kids. But sadly, the challenges they face are growing bigger and spreading to more places.
What we are doing now is not working. But school choice can introduce competition and opportunities for our teachers, and that can reinvigorate education as a whole, including public schools.
Three years ago, the fear of the unknown made me hesitate to make a change in how we educate our son. It took courage to take that first step, but once we did, we have never looked back.
Now is the time for Oklahoma to take a courageous step for our kids' education and make school choice a reality.
Neil Turner is a father of three and previously an agricultural engineer by profession. Now he is a stay-at-home dad and homeschools his youngest autistic son who is a thriving and voracious learner.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Being pro school choice in Oklahoma is not being anti-teacher
