Private School: Lessons Learned Outside of Books

I came to private school with a lot of expectations. My mind was filled with urban legends and stories I had heard from middle school lunch tables. Visions of ruler-wielding nuns, daily Mass and affluent boys armed with trust funds and SUVs became tales that engulfed my head on my first day of Catholic school.

My parents sent me to private school because they thought it would be a safe environment. I had never considered private school before my eighth-grade year, but my parents sold me on it — almost. Then any reservations I had disappeared after the first day.

Private schools offer a sense of community unlike any public school I have ever attended. The people at private school, for the most part, want to be there and want to learn. That’s not something that happens at magnet or community high schools.

During my first English class the instructor asked us to pull out the summer reading and start reviewing for the quiz. I was amazed as 27 boys reached into their bags, grabbed a book and started reading without groaning or cursing. I sat in my desk amazed at the sight of kids doing exactly what a teacher had asked of them without protest and with haste.

Faith is a major part of the sense of community that is present in private schools. Some might think that it is strictly organized religion. But the ability of teachers to talk about God (or even talk about spirituality at all) in an academic setting is something that is missing from public education. The role of faith in students’ lives transcends religious studies or doctrine classes.

The way classes are conducted in private school differs in nearly every subject, save physical education. English teachers can discuss the Christ imagery of “The Chocolate War” without the specter of the ACLU hanging over their shoulders. Math teachers can take time out of class to discuss the personal loss of students while praying for the departed. I remember praying for my father, who had been hospitalized the week before, during a chapel service for my football team. I wouldn’t have mentioned such a thing in any other circumstance but my teammates showed me tons of support and wished my dad well. Faith strengthens communities in ways pep rallies and winning sports teams cannot.

Most of the reasons I like private schools are those my parents also value, but the most important reason in their eyes for sending me to private school is the safe environment. Fights and drug use, all too common at public schools, are not such big issues at most private schools. I have seen three fights in four years at my school. Two of them were started by students from other campuses.

But these schools are not vacuum-sealed from the rest of the world. Private school brings in people from all classes, cities and creeds. The diversity that is divisive at public schools is celebrated at private ones. The aspect of private school I appreciate the most is the geographic and socioeconomic diversity.

Before I went to private school, I lived a life centered on my hometown. But now I spend time all over the region.

And I have found out the stereotype of the uber-rich boy does not exist; neither does the gang-banger. I have met people, not caricatures.

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Derek Sagehorn is a senior at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif.

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(c) 2007, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

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