I care about my children, as I’m sure other parents care about theirs, and I want what’s best for them. As someone who cares about education in particular, of course I want mine to get the best possible education. And I love my own children better than anyone else’s children, so doesn’t that mean I want their education to be better than everyone else’s children’s education? No, it does not. We cannot say “all that matters to me is my own family, and nobody else.”
I posted a link yesterday to a video about some of the people behind the crusade against public schools. Wisconsin was the first battleground in the privatization wars, even before the current attacks on public school teachers here. The people who have tried taking control of the government here have tried pulling some of the same stunts in North Carolina. There are even some people who support their efforts. The argument these people continually offer is that parents who care about their children need to take them out of “government controlled” schools, which are failing them, if they want them to get a quality education, and put them into private schools instead, at the taxpayers’ expense. People who don’t have children in public school shouldn’t be taxed to support these institutions, they say. It’s not fair to make families pay for two educational systems when they’re only using one.
Having sent my children to private school for a total of thirty child/years (37½ if one counts preschool) before sending them to public high schools and universities, I can certainly understand these parents’ point of view. I would certainly have loved having help from the government with their tuition, especially since my daughters didn’t attend the local public elementary school.
But saying “I shouldn’t have to pay to support a school unless it’s my own child’s school ” makes as much sense as saying “I shouldn’t have to pay to support a fire department unless it’s my own house they’re saving ” or “I shouldn’t have to pay to support a police department or judicial or prison system unless it’s my own mugger they’re arresting and prosecuting,” or “I shouldn’t have to pay to maintain roads I never drive on or parks I never visit.” The public schools are there free for every family to use. Our city, Milwaukee, has some excellent public schools where I would have loved sending them, but I wanted them to receive religious instruction that they could not have received in public school. Parents who prefer to use other schools, as my husband and I did, make that choice freely, and choices come with responsibilities. Because we chose a private school, we faced our responsibility and paid the tuition. We did not ask the taxpayers to do so, because we knew it wouldn’t be fair to punish them for our family’s choice.
Whether one has children or not, public schools are an essential institution in one’s society, and good public schools are in everybody’s interest. A business owner wants employees capable of doing their jobs well and consumers with high enough incomes to afford the business’s goods or services. Property owners want their neighbors to be sufficiently well educated that they could afford to buy their own jewelry and electronics and not think of stealing from others.
Assuring that other people’s children receive good educations helps my family. My children all love books and music and movies. They have a personal interest in assuring that other people’s children learn to write well, play music well, and make good movies. My children want to have decent homes and modern transportation infrastructure so they can get to work. They have a personal interest in assuring that other people’s children grow up to be good, well-educated architects and engineers. My children sometimes get sick. They have a personal interest in assuring that other people’s children become excellent, well-educated physicians. My children plan to live in a state with a government. They have a personal interest in assuring that other people’s children grow up to be wise and capable legislators.
My children don’t need to compete with your children for academic honors. My children will lose nothing if your children win.
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