Parents sharing the process of searching for a school in Greater Philadelphia. What kind of school are you looking for? Charter, public, private, city, suburban?
As I have begun to consider a private school for my son, I have come across some very powerful arguments in the media stating that private schools aren’t necessarily as wonderful as their glossy viewbooks would lead you to believe. In the first three posts of this series, I outlined these arguments that others are making against sending your kid to private school. In part 1, I wrote about an argument that elite education itself is inferior and serves only to produce adults who are disconnected from the real world. In part 2, I wrote about a documentary film that makes a pretty strong argument that there are significant psychological drawbacks to having students in an over-programmed and overloaded school. In part 3, a research study revealed that boys at religiously affiliated private schools are more likely to engage in bullying and using racial slurs.
So what should you do with this information? I can’t tell you that, you have to figure that out for yourself of course. But I’ll tell you what I’ve done.
I have used this research to shape my school selection criteria. It is not that my values have changed, I just feel that now I am more informed about the environment that I want for my children. I’m using these critiques to scrutinize the entire pool of schools am I evaluating. How? I am asking new questions when I am on school visits or talking to parents. What teaching methods are used? What is the school policy on homework? Instead of accepting diversity claims in terms of numbers, I am asking about tolerance and multiculturalism education. Ultimately, the answers to those questions will impact my school choice as a result. I assume that that is what the article author, film director, and research center were hoping for.
Len Lipkin
PSS Community