My kids just starting attending a private Christian school. Since my wife teaches there, we are able to put both of our girls in for free, which is nice. I’m really impressed with this school. My first impression is that parents are truly involved. The school has a program in which parents have to achieve a certain number of points each year choosing from a whole bunch of different activities in order to continue on the following year. Some of these activities include sitting in on your child’s class for an hour, maintaining a section of landscaping on the grounds (adopt a ground), teaching a class, attending parent-teacher meetings, helping with fall festival, etc. Yes, parents can get busy and forget about how important involvement in the school is and specifically the education of their child, but I think it goes deeper to something else.
These parents are paying some good money to get into the school. And in addition to those hefty tuition payments, the parents (whether property owners and renters) still have to pay for public schools through property taxes (renters pay through the lease payment). Though taxes are necessary, they become a hidden fee that you don’t see come directly out of your bank account each month. And that is my point.
When you have to put your money directly from your wallet into something you believe in, you darn sure are going to make every effort to ensure that it is put to good use. In the case of the school, parents show up. They spend time talking with teachers. They get on committees. They want success.
Unfortunately, when our monies are taken through backdoor channels like withholding taxes, electronic tithing (which I do), and property taxes, we can lose connection to that money and its purpose. If every American that now paid withholding actually had to pay it out of pocket like we do for gas in the car, there would be an uproar when it rises exponentially. The thing is, we just don’t see it. If we did, I think we’d each take a little more responsibility with how that money is being used. If public school parents were required to pay for their child directly and not through the property tax system, more public school parents would get involved (and not just in how good the football team is or who is the best chearleader). The effect would be more pressure on the school boards to do the right things and not the politically correct things. Teachers would see the trickle down effect of that. Kids that really want to be there would get a great education. Kids that don’t would save their parents the cost of the tuition and could pick strawberries for all I care. There appears to be enough of that work out there that we now need illegals to do.
So how involved are you?
Head on over to Ethos for Watercooler Wednesday. You’ll find some good folks there.
