Years ago I was buried in the decision making process of whether to continue to pay tuition at a small but exceptional parochial school or on the other hand, to "bite the bullet" and enroll my children in a public school. While still preoccupied with all the agonizing details of the decision, I pulled my rattling red, high mileage jeep into the "carpool" line and was immediately surrounded by a plethora of brand new Escalades and Navigators...and, I had an epiphany. "What was I doing?" Despite being blinded by all those shiny cars reflecting the bright Texas sun I clearly saw that THIS was not the real world. The school's curriculum was exceptional; the teachers extraordinary; but the student body, while being racially diverse was definitely not economically different. I realized that my children needed to be surrounded by peers whose backgrounds reflected the community in which they lived. Half of what our children learn in school has to do with academics...the other half of their education revolves around developing social skills and learning how to intereact with the world around them. Glass bubbles provide a temporary safe haven...but ultimately they break. Removing special needs children from mainstream schools deprives them of 50% of their education.

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Published Online: October 1, 2010 | Published in Print: October 12, 2010 | Vol. 04, Issue 01, Page 7

A recently released annual survey on student engagement has found that, in the grand American tradition, high school students continue to be bored.

The 2009 High School Survey of Student Engagement, conducted by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University, reveals that 66 percent of the students surveyed said they are bored at least on a daily basis in school, with 17 percent reporting that they are bored in every class. Two percent of the students said they are never bored in school, raising suspicions that they could be Russian spies. (Kidding about that last part.)

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