My entire life, I've attended a Christian private school, and this upcoming year is my thirteenth and final. Over the years, my school has become my second home and has nurtured me mentally, physically and spiritually through academics, athletics and faith. I certainly wouldn't be the person I am today without my school community. Whenever people find out I go to a Christian school, I get some interesting questions, a lot of which lead to conversations about Christian private school misconceptions.
1. Not all of us are rich, spoiled brats.
Don't get me wrong, private education is expensive, especially if there's more than one child per family attending. But that doesn't mean that all private school kids come from wealth. In fact, like nearly all private colleges, private schools offer generous need-based financial aid, allowing students from a large range of socioeconomic backgrounds to attend.
Furthermore, there are plenty of families who spend a majority of their income on school tuition. Instead of taking vacations, upgrading houses or buying new cars, they might choose to save for tuition. This just means that economically, the one thing all private school kids have in common is that their parents are choosing to invest in the private school education.
And of course, as far as stereotypes go, there are the wealthy kids. But quite honestly, in all my years, I've encountered very few "stuck up" or "bratty" people. I've met more bratty kids from my local public schools.
2. You don't have to be Christian.
Several of my peers are openly not Christian and even more are in the process of figuring out their faith. Obviously, by going to a Christian school, you're agreeing to respect the religion and follow mandatory requirements -- chapel every Friday, Bible classes every year. To outsiders, this sounds overpowering. And it can be.
But I think we would all agree that no one is forcing you to believe anything. No one is judging you because you haven't reached the same belief as them yet. School is a welcoming place when mutual respect exists. I've actually come to appreciate the religious aspect of the classroom because it's opened up so much discussion.
3. Teachers are our best friends.
In such a tight-knit community, our teachers are not excluded from our friendships. All of the teachers at my school are also coaches for sports, sponsors for extracurricular activities or leaders on school mission trips. Teachers are actively involved in their students' lives, not out of obligation, but because they truly care for us.
4. We secretly like wearing our uniforms.
We wear the same thing every single day (except for Fridays when we wear our blazers). Plaids and khakis are an eyesore, and they're not the most attractive clothes either. But we never have to stress over picking out clothes for each day, nor do we have to worry about not having cute clothes. Everyone's clothes look equally great and equally ugly. It's a win-win.
5. We're not sheltered.
Sometimes people assume I'm innocent or naive because I live in a "private school bubble." But that's just not true. We have our events like every other school does -- homecoming, prom, Sadie Hawkins, pep rallies, etc. We know how to "turn up." Even beyond the social scene, we're not censored in the classroom. We're not forced to regurgitate religious knowledge in our conversations. We can have civilized discussions about gay marriage, abortion -- all those controversial topics -- in a Christian classroom while exploring different religions' perspectives.
We learn why people believe what they want to believe, and we choose to believe what we want to believe. At the end of the day, despite movie and TV depictions ("Gossip Girl," I'm looking at you) we're pretty much normal kids. My life has been enriched by my school and I wouldn't have wanted to do it any other way.
