I also visit a few Christian schools.

Guess where kids are more alert? Better behaved? More engaged?

Not the latter.

My point is that there are many, many wonderful public schools.

I'm surprised that Ms. Reiter didn't query Ms. Loh about the Right's animosity for public schools. If the Right had their way, they'd burn down public education, along with Social Security and Medicare. That the Right hates public education is reason enough to "save" it, since the Right is wrong about nearly everything.

It is wonderful to find that a Mother can still catch fire, in

spite of her elitist surroundings, background, and education.

Public schools can not be saved by volunteers unless these

same volunteers tackle the assault launched by Government

against the public schools. I am an 80 year old grandmother

who volunteers at public high schools - - - in defiance of the

push back by the "system". The students are fine, no different

from students forty and fifty years ago in their aspirations

and, yes, their lethargy! No matter what you pay for "private" schools you will always have individual results. That is how we got so many crooked bankers, immoral CEO's and really bad public

officials.

Flame on, I applaud your efforts.

Because I always check for her name first. I was wondering where she's been, but I guess writing a book-length version of the article on learning to love the public schools is a pretty good trade.

My elder daughter is in a progressive public school that received an F from the board of ed last year. This stuff is very real for me and mine. (Younger daughter in private preschool)

Her school, which is chock full of ESL kids and kids with learning challenges, struggles against the system and "teaching to the test."

My kid is lucky to be naturally curious, to have parents who speak in the language the classes are taught, who lives in a home full of books and can get all the homework help she needs. She'll likely do fine, wherever she is.

I can't fault any other parents in my neighborhood for choosing private or home schooling, or carting their kids to the fancier public schools in "better" neighborhoods. But I am inordinately grateful for the families that make the investment to put their kids in our neighborhood school and to get involved.

And for what it's worth, I believe it's a great school. It could use improvement, for sure, but it's the system I find really shitty.

You wrote:

"Another thing about Special Ed

Most people don't realize that if a student has a severe disability and his or her zoned school cannot provide the appropriate learning environment, the school system has to pay for that child to attend a private, specialized school. Some private schools know and play this game well."

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No, this is really a game parents play. Many parents want a particular type of special education program NOT mandated under FAPE. They then sue their local school board claiming ineffective instruction. This avenue of legal redress has changed since 2007 and it is harder to fight a school district's educational plan as a parent.

Howver, IF a school clearly lacks the means to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education for the severely disabled student, the parent can send their child to a private school- but not just any private school. This school must have the ability to meet the educational needs of the child. In my experience, most parents who have sought out this option were parents of Autistic children. This area of special education is finally catching up in public school systems. Schools now are providing extensive supports in speech and occupational therapy and are setting up appropriate behavioral interventions. This has meant that parents are not able to sue as easily under FAPE.

You're correct about private schools not taking special needs children. I love the way some parents think a private elementary is excellent and yet, get this, their children must take a test (and score well) to get in. As a teacher, I know that this is simply skewing the numbers so as to prevent challenging students from entering through those pricey doors.

However, you are quite wrong about special education students sucking up money from public schools. The mandates ensuring ALL children a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) are federal law. IDEA and NCLB are federal mandates. So, let me know (I'm just a special ed teacher): Where are the federal dollars ensuring that all interventions can be supported by funding? The federal government has never picked up more than about 18% of the cost of special education despite the federal mandates.

In the United States, middle class people like Loh generally have decent, even very good schools to send their children. Perhaps L.A. presents unique problems like New York city might present to the middle-class. However, the reality is that most middle-class people will be able to send their child to a good public school full of other middle-class children. Do we really need a rallying cry for that?

The real problem with public schools occurs at the poor end of the spectrum. Poor people generally have access to the least resources and this extends to schools. Sadly, their children will present the highest needs creating an enormous imbalance in which the "haves" continue to have and the "have nots" slip further behind. Until the day that our state and federal governments gets serious about meeting the educational needs of all children, this will continue to happen.

Public schools are forced to teach towards the standardized tests, and this leaves very little room for actual learning. Generally, they simply teach how to pass the test. There is also the issue of school vouchers, which this article does not address.

Education is the most important gift we can give our children. Yet I work at a community college where the students (high school graduates) don't know how to write complete sentences, how to structure a paragraph, let alone an essay, and are intimidated by any assignment that doesn't come with a detailed outline. Abstract thinking is something they have never encountered. Granted, I'm not encountering the top ten percent of any graduating class, but then I was under the impression that a good education is something every student should be provided with. Condidering my on-going experience with the products of public education, I can't accept the rose-tinted view given here.