Steven Singer, a teacher in Pennsylvania, explains what is most important to him in public education:
Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools
Public schools are under attack.
So what else is new?
It’s been so since the first moment the institution was suggested in this country by revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson:
“Education is here placed among the articles of public care… a public institution can alone supply those sciences…”
And John Adams:
“The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it.”
But as the founders saw public education as primarily a means of securing democracy by creating informed citizens able to intelligently vote, that is only one of its many benefits today.
Compared to its main alternatives – charter, voucher, and private schools – public schools are more fiscally responsible, democratically controlled and community oriented.
However, these are not the most important reasons to cherish our system of public schools. CONTINUE READING: Steven Singer: Diversity is the Most Important Reason to Save Public Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog