Public Schools

As I was researching different topics of events that I wanted to include in my timeline, I decided that I wanted to focus my research on public schools.  In class, we talked a great deal about Catholic schools and how they began as a way to teach students about the Bible and religion.  I have never attended a Catholic school until now, and have always attended public schools.  I am Catholic, but my parents had me attend nights classes, which we called PSR.  I felt that we focused more on private schools in class and I decided that I would like to look deeper into the history of public schooling.  I think that public schools shaped my education in a major way since I attended them my entire life.  This was also a major influence on my choice of student teaching teaching location this year.  I chose to student teach at South Euclid Lyndhurst over Hawken because I wanted to teach at a public school in my career, so it made sense to student teach at one.  I think there are many positives and negatives to each type of school and I am not saying that one is better than the other.  However, I know that there are many families that cannot afford to send their children to private schools for their entire education, so I do think that public schools are very important in our society.  I think that public schools had an effect on my education in just about every way possible.  I liked that religion was taught to me at a separate place and that we were only taught the major subjects in school. However, I am sure that I would have a different outlook if I had attended private school.  I believe that there is more diversity in public schools, which is an important experience to have.  This was also part of my decision of South Euclid Lyndhurst over Hawken.  I wanted to be around different cultures, races, and students with disabilities, which there will be more of in this school district.  Although I went to a public school, my school was not very diverse, so I figured that this would be a good time to get a more diverse experience, since I am sure that there will be plenty of diversity in my teaching career.  Overall, public schools have really shaped my education in countless ways and have given me the majority of my educational experiences.