General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "If you send your kid to private school, you are a bad person" [View all]d_r
(6,907 posts)but obviously it paints with far too broad brush. As Anne Soderman once told me "you can't sacrifice your children to prove how progressive you are."
I went to public schools. I have two children who are elementary school age that attend public school. But here's the thing. My wife and I chose to rent a home in a specific school zone for a specific school. It was that important to us for our children to attend a school we selected. Other people have different priorities and beliefs. Our choice was based on the diversity of the school population and the teaching approach, we didn't care about things like test scores. Other people have different priorities and beliefs here, also.
But I don't know if they will attend public high school yet. When they get there we will think about their interests, their goals, their strengths and weaknesses, and our family's values and abilities. I know that we will do everything in our power to make the best choice for them possible to them. And I can't hold that against anyone, even if the choice they make isn't on the same criteria I would use.
We have friends with a child our son's age who is a pretty high functioning kid with Down Syndrome. He began a private Montessori school this year because the public school he is zoned for ruled in his IEP that he would have to attend another school farther away in a CDC classroom, rather than be integrated in to the typical classroom. Are these parents bad people because they sent their son to a private school while they fight it out in court? Of course they are not.
From that kind of story it is a matter of degrees. I will never blame any family for doing what they think is best for their children, even if it isn't what I would chose as best.