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[quote=Anonymous]I was disappointed in this article, actually.  We are new to private school this year (covid) and have done a lot of hand-wringing over whether moving to, or staying in, private school aligns with our values.  So I came to this with an open mind and read the whole thing.

Unfortunately this is just a string of anecdotes about the excesses of very wealthy parents. It does not make arguments against private schools, other than that there's a huge equity problem in education. The author waits until the final paragraphs to acknowledge that public schools are broken, and that in a just society private schools wouldn't need to exist.  Another way of saying that is that the school situation is a symptom not the problem.

A better article would have looked like this:
1. The state of public schools is indefensible.
2. The existence of private schools is a response to the state of public schools and, even more, to the inequalities we have created while pretending that merit drives success.
3. Both 1 and 2 are the result of profound disagreements in this country about what school is for, and what we are all obligated to do in support of the public good.

There will always be very wealthy, very demanding parents who provide something different for their kids -- in the old days, these people's children were educated at home with governors and tutors. Their existence doesn't need to affect education policy one way or the other, which is why this article's focus on them is disappointing. [/quote]

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