Reply #22: No, a public school is not a public place. [View All]

[JDPriestly]

My children went to inner city schools in Los Angeles for many years. The school buildings were poorly maintained and shabby, but the teachers were excellent.

In college, my children competed with students who had attended private schools. And guess what? None of the private school graduates did or could have done better than my children. The private school bit is nonsense. The only advantage you get from attending private school is that you got to school with other kids rich enough to afford the school. That sets you up socially for life. (Although I've seen children who suffered for life because they went to a private school and did not fit in.)

Private schools generally hire less well qualified teachers, do not pay them as well as public schools (especially if you think about pensions and other benefits), do not offer tenure (which is vital to motivate teachers to continue to invest in further education), do not treat their teachers as professionals and suffer from toxic politics at the staff and professional (what there is of it) levels. I base this on knowing a lot of teachers -- both in public and private schools.

The big problem with public schools is that they do not get to discriminate in choosing their students. They have to accept troublemakers and poor students along with the good, and they do not have the money or parental involvement that private schools enjoy.

I view people who send their kids to private schools as foolish snobs or religious fanatics. There are exceptions such as children with learning disabilities or special needs whose parents put them in schools appropriate for their special requirements.

As for safety, we need to protect every child in every school with the same degree of concern that with which we protect the Obama children. The Obama children have a right to be safe and secure at school. But then, what child does not?