13 Reader Views on Directing Tax Money to Private Schools
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Last week I asked, “Should America go ‘all in’ on public schools, or should parents have the ability to direct the tax dollars that fund their child’s education to the public or private school of their choice?”
Mary is a former teacher who sent her children to public schools, believes in their mission, and now favors school choice. She writes:
I have a master’s in education and even though I stopped working when I had my children, I have given my time for years tutoring reading in a nonprofit after-school program. This opened my eyes wider to what I have always known and am ashamed to say: that public schools are filled with systematic racism! They have held down minorities for decades. Why is it not okay to call out and demand change for a system that has failed our most vulnerable population? People of means are able to move on to better options for their children. We need to give those same options to all children. Would you keep calling the same plumber if he repeatedly didn’t fix your sink? Maybe we ARE all racist if we continue to not demand better for those who can’t afford a change.
Helga wants to go “all in” on public schools:
As a first-generation American whose father’s formal education was derailed by WWII and refugee life during his formative years, I was raised to view my public education as a gift from my country and a unifying force for civilized discourse among the citizenry. Taxpayer-funded private and religious education on a national scale would be Balkanizing.
Working in education today, I see the ill effects of a culture of low expectations, poorly educated instructors who collect “credentials” like Pokémon cards for
