Matt Damon
has been all over the media circuit these past few weeks to promote his latest
film, Elysium. But somewhere in between the entertainment banter, Mr. Damon confessed
that he is sending his children to private school rather than a traditional
public school, citing an absence of progressive education in Los Angeles.
But rather
than criticize what Damon has decided as a concerned parent, we should take
this opportunity to focus on the bigger picture of the conversation. Parents
want the best for their kids and while many parents have the option to decide
which school will work for their children, many others do not share that same
luxury. This ambiguity facing parents at the start of the new school year
creates uneasiness about what their kids will be learning inside the classroom.
But there is a way to quell those fears.
Similar to
Damon, every parent wants to provide their children with the greatest education
possible, and this can be accomplished without employing Will Hunting to put
together an advanced mathematic equation. With great teachers in front of the
classroom, and an empowered support group of administrators and district
policymakers, we can ensure that we will strike a balance of our top priorities
and equip parents with the necessary tools to find the school that can best fit
their child’s needs.
Regardless
of a parent’s preferences, highly effective teachers are ultimately going to
make the biggest difference in a child’s life at school. A child who is the
first in his or her family to graduate from high school as a result of great teachers
may not be the progressive education approach as Mr. Damon defines it, but it
is certainly progress in the right direction.