Lessons from Privilege by Arthur G. Powell

I was thinking the other day how neat it would be if there were a public school with private school traditions, curriculum, and autonomy free from state and federal standards and policies. How would that impact public education? So, in order to determine if this idea had merit, I decided to purchase a couple of books that pertained to private education. Here is what I found out.

Perhaps the biggest difference between private and public schools is the fact that students themselves are eager to learn, and actually want to be at school. This type of thinking is instilled in children from a very early age where the importance of education is imbued by parents. 

Ultimate power resides with students. The senior concluded that 'the student either cares or he doesn't care. The school cannot determine whether the student cares about learning or not.

So, can a public school learn from a private school? Absolutely. In no way can a public school completely mirror an elite private boarding school, but it can definitely adopt certain qualities such as:

1. Building a sense of community
2. Building a tradition
3. Holding all children to the same high standards and abolishing remedial courses at the high school level. This would take a monstrous effort at the elementary level in order to accomplish, but it could be done.
4. Provide students with choices in courses - again, this would have to be a top priority in terms of funding

Certainly, in the end, a public school is public. Meaning that it really wouldn't have autonomy. Even though this book is a little outdated, it still provided a glimpse into the world of elite private education. It was fascinating to learn the history, and the significant role private schools played in the development of the BIG three institutions of higher education; Harvard, Yale, Princeton. In addition, the book provided a glimpse on how the SAT revolutionized the college entrance admission standards. Overall, private schools offer much more than public schools - chiefly: a better school community, culture, and personalized style of education with exceptional high standards. Now, I also learned that private school have their own set of unique issues - something I can discuss at a later time.

I really like this quote and feel it is germane to public education - 

Perhaps the main task of the American teacher, a task that distinguishes her or him from teachers in many other countries, is the job not of teaching, but of motivating students to want to learn - or at least motivating them to tolerate schooling without revolt. To be asked to motivate as well as to teach is daunting. It is equivalent to surgeons' having not only to operate, but also persuade patients not to walk out of the operating room.