In Defense of the Christian Private School Bubble
From the article: “To public school advocates, I’m one of those people destroying the educational infrastructure of America, complicit in wrecking the hard-earned egalitarianism of a public classroom where kids of all creeds and colors can meet together in unity to learn about everything from planets to caterpillars. (Slate writer Allison Benedikt was bold enough to write a manifesto to this effect, declaring in no uncertain terms that I’m a bad person for bailing on the public education system.)”
I’ve seen similar declarations before. Why is it that such charges always seem to apply only in situations in which parents send their children to private Christian schools, but not to, say, the Obamas; whose daughters attend not the District of Columbia’s public school system, but the private Sidwell Friends School?
I do agree with the author that each situation is unique and each parent must choose the right situation for their child. In some cases a bubble might just be what they need. It could even be argued that a Christian education may not always be in a bubble. My children are often faced with the same issues in a Christian school as they did in their public school.
[Larry Nelson]Actually, if you follow the article chain a little farther, you will see that one writer is, in fact, saying that private schools should be banned so that kids like the Obama’s kids, and Rahm Emmanuel’s kids should have to attend public school too, rather than opting out of terrible schools where they live. You just need to go a little more left from the article quoted here on SI.Of course, that’s not to say I agree with that sentiment at all. I sent my kids to Christian school for ~1/2 of their education, and we home schooled them the 2nd half. I’m certainly not on the side of those that think that several generations of kids should be sacrificed so that all schools will somehow eventually be great for all students (as if).Why is it that such charges always seem to apply only in situations in which parents send their children to private Christian schools, but not to, say, the Obamas; whose daughters attend not the District of Columbia’s public school system, but the private Sidwell Friends School?
Dave Barnhart
Discussion