I especially appreciate Hamilton's phrasing that public schools are schools "for the public". It's in our best interests to have an educated populace. There's a reason Trump says he loves the poorly educated.
In my view, no parent should be compelled to place their child in a public school & are free to pursue other alternatives. HOWEVER, they must do this at their own expense. They have no claim on other people’s $. I’m OK with refunding any tax $ they’re currently paying into the public system, but no more than that. Additionally, I’d limit their ability to come back into the public system - many returnees have acquired learning deficits or other problems from poor private schools & the public shouldn’t be bearing the costs of fixing the outcomes of poor private decisions.
The simplest argument which cuts through the nonsense is that it is a subset of parents trying to force their preferences on all parents, therefore the "parents' rights" that are being protected are only some parents' rights and not others. This is a problem of a supremacy mindset, where some parents feel that they are in the group that matters and that others are in a lesser group that doesn't matter. It also completely misunderstands one of the main reasons for public education, which is that an informed populace is essential to a functioning democracy. Public education is where most people first directly experience democracy, learning to understand different perspectives and form their own opinions while being around people from a variety of backgrounds who bring their own experiences and perspectives to the conversation. To reduce public education to a conservative political project would be to undermine the democratic project itself, teaching students to privilege the experiences and wants of a few over the experiences and needs of a variety of other people.
I especially appreciate Hamilton's phrasing that public schools are schools "for the public". It's in our best interests to have an educated populace. There's a reason Trump says he loves the poorly educated.
In my view, no parent should be compelled to place their child in a public school & are free to pursue other alternatives. HOWEVER, they must do this at their own expense. They have no claim on other people’s $. I’m OK with refunding any tax $ they’re currently paying into the public system, but no more than that. Additionally, I’d limit their ability to come back into the public system - many returnees have acquired learning deficits or other problems from poor private schools & the public shouldn’t be bearing the costs of fixing the outcomes of poor private decisions.
The simplest argument which cuts through the nonsense is that it is a subset of parents trying to force their preferences on all parents, therefore the "parents' rights" that are being protected are only some parents' rights and not others. This is a problem of a supremacy mindset, where some parents feel that they are in the group that matters and that others are in a lesser group that doesn't matter. It also completely misunderstands one of the main reasons for public education, which is that an informed populace is essential to a functioning democracy. Public education is where most people first directly experience democracy, learning to understand different perspectives and form their own opinions while being around people from a variety of backgrounds who bring their own experiences and perspectives to the conversation. To reduce public education to a conservative political project would be to undermine the democratic project itself, teaching students to privilege the experiences and wants of a few over the experiences and needs of a variety of other people.