Private For-Profit Schools... Thoughts?

There has been a dramatic increase in for-profit private schools in higher education.  Will we see this same trend in secondary education?  What are some pros and cons?  Thoughts?  Opinions?  Please share!

Teaching Can Be Tragic

If you teach long enough, you will be exposed to repeated tragic events.  It's a lesson they don't teach in college and one new teachers likely don't consider.  It sucks, but suffering and death is part part of the human experience.  When students die, whether they are current or former, it is especially tragic because of their age.  Coming to grips with this reality can be difficult.  No tips... it's just a path all of us must travel.

Over twelve years, this is a sampling of the tragedy my school has faced:

• Middle school teacher hit and killed by a car,
• Current student killed in a car accident,
• Two former students died of cancer before the age of 22,
• A former student that died by falling off a car, 
• A former student that committed suicide,
• A former student that murdered his mother and two younger sisters,
• A former student that died of a drug overdose,
• A former student that died in a car accident

There have been a few others, too.  Working with kids can be enormously rewarding.  You develop some wonderful relationships with kids; you get the opportunity to make a significant difference in their lives.  With that closeness comes the potential for pain. 

Again, no tips or theories today... just some reflective rambling.