Reply to The Hidden Burden on Middle-Class Families in Public Schools

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[quote=Anonymous]I think you are missing a piece.

Often the pressure for UMC families to stay in public education comes from middle class families or even UMC families who for whatever reason cannot afford or don't want to go private.

And the reason is not because they want the UMC kids to "share space" with poor kids. It's because middle class families who can't afford private want to have well-resourced peers with educated parents. They don't want to be left alone to struggle through a public education system where they are the minority and where the entire system pretty much has to focus on the neediest students at the expense of middle class kids who, in that environment, are considered privileged.

Thus educated middle class families where the parents are teachers, government workers, nurses, administrators, etc., don't want the kids of doctors and lawyers to abandon public school for private. They know their kids will greatly benefit from a system where they are still "in the middle" in terms of SES.

I also think that among low income families and the people who are focused on helping low income kids, there's little pressure on UMC families to stay in the system. Instead, I think there is resentment towards these families and a sense of relief when they leave, because if you are focused on the needs of low income families in public education, the interests and demands of UMC families can be seen as a distraction and detraction.

I have seen this dynamic first hand at a Title 1 school that was openly hostile to UMC parents who wanted things common in UMC suburban schools.

By grouping middle and UMC families together (where UMC families *can* afford private, sometimes with some sacrifice, and middle class families cannot) you are missing the truth of the dynamic.[/quote]

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