Negative Viewpoints about Alternative Types of Schooling

      Today in class when we were talking about alternative types of schooling, such as choice schools, charter schools, and home schools, I started to realize how negatively our typical society today views these alternative methods, and it is truly a shame.
      By trying to keep choice schools as almost a "secret" in many districts, we are basically concluding that they are a bad thing and are something of which the district should be ashamed or embarrassed... but why? Just because it's something different doesn't mean it's less effective.  Shouldn't we be proud of our district's ability to graduate even more students from high school because of these alternative options?  After all, without these programs, many of the students who benefit from them would instead simply drop out of high school.  We should be proud of alternative methods if they are effective, and an increased graduation rate definitely qualifies as being effective in my opinion.
      We have to face the facts... not all kids are able to learn in the every day school environment.  This does not mean, however, that they are simply unable to learn all together.  Different types of learners require different types of teaching, and this is exactly what choice schools and other alternatives can often provide.  Two of my closest childhood friends went through an alternative way of schooling, and it amazes me how negatively people view their method of education.
      One of my friends who has had a lot of psychological problems went in and out of 3 different high schools by the middle of sophomore year.  She was near failing out of her third school when her parents decided to send her to Cradwell, a unique school for students who have trouble going to school and learning in the typical school environment.  There is no doubt about it, Cradwell is definitely viewed as inferior schooling in my community.  People thought that because she only went to school for half of the day and had one-on-one teaching, she wasn't really learning anything like people at "normal" schools were.  This always really angered me because the fact that people look down on alternative education probably causes more and more students to try to stay away from it, when a different school could probably help them tremendously.  The choice program worked great for my friend.  Cradwell was able to cater to her learning style, and without it, she probably would not have graduated on track like she did...and maybe not even graduated at all.
      My point is that different is not equivalent to inferior, and our society needs to stop creating and encouraging this belief.  Alternative schooling is a wonderfully effective thing, and it is something for a district to be proud of rather than ashamed.