My Father and Public Education

I am a big believer in public education.

There are many, many reasons why.  Let me start with what is perhaps the most important one - my father.

My father, Eugene Everett Strait, like many of his generation, raised in the depression and reaching young adulthood during World War II, endured many hardships and much sacrifice, building a better life for themselves and for their families.  He grew up on the family farm, and they all worked hard from dawn until dusk.  It was a hard life, without the amenities and comforts those in our generation have grown were used to, but he always spoke of it with a nostalgic fondness.  It was not, however, what he wanted to do with his life.  He wanted to contribute in other ways.

He worked hard in school, and did his best. It took him ten years to get through college.  His own father was not well, and he would often have to take breaks to run the family farm.  He was very good at it, and using modern agricultural techniques,he helped make it one of the most productive farms in the state.  He could have stayed and done extraordinarily well, but that was not what he wanted to do.  He wanted to contribute in another way.

Later, he would try to earn college funds by working at Kellogg's.  He started as a line worker, making sure Rice Krispies had an even number of burnt ones in each box (among other interesting assignments), and worked his way up to the point that Kellogg's wanted him to stay and be an executive.  He was good at it and could have made a lot of money.  But that is not what he wanted to do.

My father wanted to devote his time and talents to public service.  He wanted to teach.  And when he finally got to do it, he was extraordinary at it.  His specialty was in teaching math to lower achieving students.  His ability to communicate and motivate had them succeeding way beyond their own and other's expectations. I'm not sure how his teaching methods would be accommodated by today's world of common core and concentration on standardized tests, but I would like to think he still could have been successful. Turning students on to learning, and making them believe in their own possibilities seems so much more important than any one test.

Later, my father became a high school principal, but he did not take his hand out of teaching.  He and his fellow school administrators taught at least one class a day, because he thought it was important that they stay active in what it was they were administrating.  And what did my Dad teach?  Basic math, for those who were not college bound.

My father left this mortal coil in September of 2013.  He lived to be 91, and never regretted his life in service to the public schools.  Over the years, I have heard again and again from the many students and people whose lives he affected positively.  There is almost no one who leaves a larger legacy than a really good teacher.

My father was a brilliant man.  He could have been anything he wanted.  He chose to devote himself to teaching.  He was a big believer in public education.

And so am I.