Wigderson Going Private

James Wigderson’s family faced some unacceptable behavior from staff at his kid’s school and he has chosen to send them to private school next year.

The first time a teacher’s aide told my wife flatly that her husband needed to spend more time in the classroom. My wife was stunned that someone would even say that to her when she is already volunteering at the school, otherwise she would have responded, “I don’t think you want that.”

The second time came from my son’s teacher, who for no reason and with no warning asked my wife why her husband hates education so much.

We had been wavering on whether to put our son in private school before this. After all, there is a financial cost. I actually think there’s a benefit to public schools, especially when they have a program of set standards and goals. And most of the other children in our neighborhood goes to Hadfield.

But after those two incidents by supposed professionals, there is no way we can consider sending our child back to the public schools.

I understand Wigderson’s worry.  My kids are already in private school, but my outspoken opinions about the district would make me worry about how they would be treated in the public schools. 

At the same time, it should be noted that the behavior that Wigderson’s family experienced is not the norm.  The vast majority of staff are professionals who would not behave this way.  But the problem is that it only takes a few instances of this stuff to make a family uneasy that more important things - like the kid’s grades and education - are being affected by this kind of behavior. 

The bigger problem with something like this is that the public school system offers parents virtually zero recourse.  If the parents complain to the principal, the most the principal might do is tell the teacher not to do it again.  If the parent complains to the school board, there’s very little they can do other than apologize and make empty promises that it won’t happen again.  If the behavior is repeated several times, the likelihood of getting the teacher reprimanded or even fired for being unprofessional is next to nil - especially since the teachers union will fight tooth and nail to deny someone like Wigderson a “victory.” And through it all, if a teacher or staff member is willing to engage in such behavior unprovoked, how comfortable can a parent feel that the teacher won’t retaliate against his kid - even if not consciously? 

The other thing a parent can do is request a transfer to another teacher or school, but that continues to disrupt the kid’s education.  That’s not a good solution either.  At least in a private school, the school board and administration tends to be much more responsive to parents’ concerns.  No, they aren’t perfect and bad behavior is tolerated, but if I’m paying several thousand dollars a year in tuition, the leadership is going to listen if I threaten to pull my kid out and/or talk to other parents about my concerns.  Furthermore, if action needs to be taken against a staff member, most private schools are not unionized and action can be taken swiftly.  Private schools are dependent on their customers - the parents - being happy with the product for which they are paying.  This is not a mentality that is generally present in the public school system. 

If teachers want to be treated like professionals, they need to act like professionals.  If they want to be treated like union thugs, they will be if they act like union thugs. 

Good luck to the Wigdersons.  It’s a shame that a family that genuinely cares about their kids’ education and actively participates in their school no longer feels welcome in a school district for which they already pay and feels compelled to spend even more money to send their kids to a private school.  These are the kinds of families that school districts should be listening to and heeding their concerns.