First, does it matter? Obviously, not always. Lots of assholes went to fancy private schools and grew up to be bigger assholes. And many more happy and successful people schlepped their asses through public schools. So let's frame it like this: if you wanted your kid to get the best possible education, where would you send her?
Here are some data points:
1. Public school education isn't getting any better around here in Texas. Science, logic, and poor Jefferson will soon be bowdlerized into unrecognizable and useless goo. Guns, drugs, football, standardized idiocy testing and pledges of allegiances will continue to bloom.
2. States are running out of money. Public schools are being asked to do more with less, but they will probably end up doing even less with less.
3. Private school are foo foo. The kids are prissy, rich, spoilt, and, ouch - elitists.
4. Private religious schools are great if you favor that religion. Otherwise, they are brainwashing your kid with superstitious mumbo jumbo.
5. Private montessori schools raise kind caring sensitive children who would blossom if the world was montessori too.
And then there's lot of anecdotal evidence on both sides. Two friends whose kids moved from public to private schools seem to be doing better at the private schools. I informally compared curricula from another friend's son's private school to what my sister-in-law's students were doing at their public school, the difference was embarrassingly huge. And then there's an acquaintance whose kids' friends at their private school think he's his kids' chauffeur because he picks them up after school. And I think my own time at school was one of the three biggest influences in my life.
What's a dad to do?
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