Reply to An excellent article on the Right-wing misuse of classical education

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Part of the problem is the sheer magnitude of wealth disparity. Very rich people do not want their kids having to interact with very poor people.

I grew up in a small city of about 50,000 people. Everyone went to the same school system, feeding into one high school, and it was invaluable. There was a small Catholic school that took K-8, but otherwise, there weren't any private options. Having kids from the richest and the poorest families going to school together helped with the education of all of the kids; kept people out of their bubbles a little bit; and helped the community -- since the education of all of the kids rose and fell together.

It only worked, I think, because the rich weren't enormously rich and there weren't a great number of truly poor kids. Still, in the areas where it is possible, I think that's the kind of cross-section of families and students we should aspire to having in the mix. [/quote]

It’s because there has been a war on poor people. Republicans think they’re lazy fraudsters and liberals think they’re not smart but neither want their kids around them.[/quote]

There's also racism and Puritanism in the mix. Part of the reason we don't have a stronger safety net like you see in a lot of European countries is that "we" don't regard a lot of the members in our society as "us." This is particularly acute when it comes to white and black; and especially in places that historically relied heavily on slavery as an economic model. People are generally willing to be taxed for benefits that they regard as going to other members of the tribe but very unwilling if they think the taxes are going to go to "them" (with "them" being someone outside of what they regard as their tribe.)

Our historical Puritanism plays into it because it's helped us come to regard possession of wealth as an indication of virtue (e.g. industry and thrift) and God's grace; whereas we have come to regard poverty as a sign of vice (e.g. sloth) and of God's disfavor. In this context, a social safety net is a moral hazard - discouraging virtuous behavior - and goes against God's will. [/quote]

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