Do Public Schools, Umm, Suck? By Nancy Flanagan

Recently, my friend and IDEA colleague John Dubie, a high school senior, posted a personal, autobiographical blog entitled "Big Picture Saved My Life." John meant that statement literally. It's his story to tell--and I urge you to read it--but I was stunned by the aftermath of the piece, which was picked up, reprinted and dissected in a number of other blogs. I was especially surprised by those commentaries bearing titles indicating that John's life was saved by leaving traditional public school.

The irony? Dubie spent much of the blog describing the first eight years of his education in a Catholic school, where he was generally seen as a disruptive loser by the faculty. And-- the Big Picture Learning program he credits with making all the difference is housed in a traditional public school, in Burlington, Vermont, and very much supported by the principal there.

Because I'm the person who suggested John tell his story in public, this re-interpretation of his autobiography made me see red. I said as much, in the comments, noting that his generosity shouldn't become a cheap excuse to slam public education again. I said: What I'm worried about here is protecting a young man who graciously shared a deeply personal reflection having his story--and his face-- used to promote the idea that public education sucks.

The response I got: Seriously? Of course public education sucks.

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Comment by Dr. Michael L. Cubbin on January 23, 2013 at 5:44pm: I just finished reading John Dubie's essay. It is a difficult read as I am sure it touches so many of us who lived through the drink and drug fueled days parochial high school in the seventies. His attitude toward school and life was not so unique to those of us who successfully made it through those times. But there are a couple of differences.

You say he is "a young man who graciously shared a deeply personal reflection," while I had a difficult time getting past the anger he still harbors as evidenced in his words. Throughout the essay I kept waiting to read of the next person he would fault and who was assigned responsibility for lowering his self-esteem, or maligning him, or classifying him as a loser. (No, I would not have been overjoyed if I saw his name on my September roster.) If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.... My concern is the anger the young man continues to harbor within at this point in his life.

I can completely understand him becoming a comedian. He was the class clown (to attract attention - not abnormal) in HS and sounded like quite a miserable human being. As we all know, most of our greatest comedians live in a world steeped in their own unhappiness.

I also think both you and he are missing the point on what was the source from where he drew his salvation from. He failed, and he failed miserably. This is the basis for all successes. Drug addiction, mental ward confinement, depression all brought him to the bottom. From the bottom we have but one direction to go, and that is up (if we are lucky.) The Chinese say, "A fall makes you wiser." He certainly fell and he certainly wised up, just as so many of us did both during and after high school. How many of us run into the class clown, the pothead, the drunk and expect to hear the worst - only to find they are living very happy and successful lives that would have been unthinkable had it not been for their "fall from grace."

I would like to hear a follow-up from this young man when he has achieved more hindsight, and a better perspective and after he comes to the realization that the "Big Picture" program alone may not be what he sees it to have been. Perhaps a change of scenery and hitting rock bottom were really the driving forces. I admire your support for him in his quest for happiness and I hope we hear more from him and his life as it grows and takes shape.

Best Regards,

Dr. Mike Cubbin

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Do Public Schools, Umm, Suck? By Nancy Flanagan

Do Public Schools, Umm, Suck?

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