Public vs. Private

I was somewhat ticked off at the Obama's last week when I read an article that said the Obamas are not even considering public school as an option for their little girls.  My first thought was, "What?  Are they too good for public school?"  But then as I read more articles about why the Clintons, and so many other high-ranking officials chose to send their kids to private school, I am starting to understand the Obama's choice a little better.

Hillary said that she was advised by several people to keep her daughter out of public school because the reporters would otherwise never leave Chelsea alone.  The truth is that with the Freedom of Information Act, any reporter could request information about the girls from their public school. That is pretty scary.  

I still can't get over the price tag.  The Washington Post reported that the Obama's will spend more than $50,000 per year on private school tuition for their girls.  Wow.  If a school like Sidwell, one of the two schools they are considering, has 1200 students and each student pays about $25,000 per  year, that means that it makes about $30 million dollars a year.  Can you imagine what a public school could do with that much money?

It could hire more teachers to reduce it's teacher-to-student ratio.  It could invest in a fully-equipped science lab and a science lab director.  It could invest in a computer lab with a full-time computer lab director.  It could fully stock its library.   It could have special ed teachers available full-time...the list goes on, and one, and on...

I am glad for the Obama girls who get to go to fancy private schools, but I am saddened by the thought of  how many more children's lives would be changed for the better if the Obamas decided to send their girls to public school.

TTYL.