As this year’s National School Choice Week wraps up, I am grateful to choose where to work as an educator.
Public schools have a prescribed curriculum that is evidence-based. They strive to achieve high marks on state standardized tests. Their administration is highly respected, yet many have never been in a classroom. Much of the evidence they rely upon is theory. As an educator, this has never sat well with me.
For nine years I strived to be everything a public school system wanted, but didn’t fit in. I was seeking opportunities to make connections with youth, challenging them, and showing them they could do the impossible.
After four months in what was considered a “prestigious school district” I decided it may be time to leave education. As a special educator, I was still expected to use the “prescribed curriculum” and I could not differentiate, even though my students clearly had challenges with the standardized curriculum. If educators are prohibited from meeting our students where they are, what use are we?