Because they are indeed exactly that, the education of last resort. They are to ensure everyone in our nation gets at least a basic education.. that is all. They cannot turn away students... They are not the first choice if you wish your child educated.
Public schools are ALWAYS outperformed by private schools, there may be a scam private school here or there, but as a whole, public schools do not remotely educate kids as well as their private counterparts.
For instance in my local public gradeschool, there is a child who literally roams the halls all day long, whenever he feels like it he gets up and wanders around, the teachers don’t stop him and he is violent and frankly mentally unstable. The other children in the class avoid him, and the teacher and administration cannot get rid of him.. he disrupts the class, hinders the other childrens learning, etc etc etc...
Public schools are hamstrung by having to take everyone, including children whos parents teach them nothing... In California, where Asian and Arab families are common, a boy is taught to show ZERO respect for any woman other than their mother.... so guess what happens as these little $hit$ enter school and have female teachers through most of their schooling?
Your child deserves to be educated, not indoctrinated, and not hamstrung by PC nonsense. Public schools anymore produce children who after 12 years of “education” are incapable of making the most rudimentary of judgemental decisions. They may have memorized facts, but are incapable of applying those facts to make rational and reasonable judgements and discriminations in their lives.
Go read “The closing of the American Mind”.
Its no coincidence that those closes to the public school systems, particularly teachers, often send their children to private schools.
And lets not even get into how private schools per pupil are cheaper and produce better outcomes than their public school counterparts. Private schools do not have Unionized work forces, pay, promote and fire based on performance, not seniority, and have absolutely no issue telling a family who doesn’t discipline their child to take them elsewhere and stop wasting the time of every other student.
While I agree that may be the case in many public schools, it is not the case in all. There are many that do not fall into the category you describe and can be selective as to what students they accept.
My daughter is in 3rd gradein a public school, the teachers are not unionized in the classic sense of the word, and the school does not hesitate to expel problem children. Children who are disruptive are disciplined and parents are notified - I should know, I’ve had my fair share of notes and phone calls from my daughter’s teachers about her pention for talking and/or playing when she should be paying attention.
My husband and I specifically chose this school and school district and moved from another state where decent schools, both public and private, have waiting lists because the majority of schools, both public and private, are downright lousy.
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Private schools do not have Unionized work forces, pay, promote and fire based on performance, not seniority, and have absolutely no issue telling a family who doesn’t discipline their child to take them elsewhere and stop wasting the time of every other student.
Exactly how will the private school excel in educating this child where the public school has failed? I do not know the child nor the situation, but it sounds to me as if the child may have some disabilities. And if the child is as incorrigible as you say, what private school would take the child?
Okay, so take the child in this thread, or the child you mentioned. What do you do with the child once the private school kicks them out? Since it is private, they can pick and choose their students, even if the parents can afford the school, the private school does not have to accept the child. Period. They can pick and choose. Fair? Not really, it is business.
Every child does deserve an education, but no school can force a child to learn.
Why did she do this? In her opinion the public school offered a better education in the fields of math and science. The private school was much stronger in languages and English, but weak in music, AP offerings, lab sciences, and upper level math. The highest they went to is AP Calc AB. She can and will go further in her public school.
The result on her SAT showed she made the right choice. Her newest SAT scores were 710 quantitative, 780 verbal, 720 writing and she already has a verbal offer of full ride (including most of room and board) at her 1st choice private college. She is also the 12th ranked FHorn in the state of Virginia. So, we're doing okay with the public schools here in Virginia
All socialized, "last-resort" institutions evoke the SSE from the populace. Public schools are no different.
I'll explain. You know how people are shocked to find how little Social Security pays out? Such people exclaim, "How can I live on THAT??" Well, you weren't supposed to. You were supposed to save for your retirement and Social Security was meant to be a SUPPLEMENT to your retirement, not the retirement itself! "Who knew? I didn't know. I spent all my money on fun things like vacations and the like. I didn't save. And now who's going to take care of me!?!?!" Well, too bad. I hear WalMart is hiring.
So who knew public education was an education of last restort? Who knew that if you could at all possible send your angel to a private school, you should do so? Who knew that public schooling could possibly be a lower grade education than private schools and prepare your children for a career as washing machine deliverer or vending machine stocker rather than engineer, lawyer, doctor? Just because welfare is there, does it mean everyone should go on welfare?
So the SSE is in effect, we pay for it, the schools are there, and we wonder why our children don't learn much. Just like we wonder why Social Security doesn't pay much.
Speaking of last restorts, though it is off topic, the Federal Reserve is the well known "Lender of Last Resort" to the commercial banks, all members of the federal reserve system. Should local banks that are closer to the people get in trouble, and become insolvent, the layers of banks above come to the rescue, with money. The top layer is the Federal Reserve itself which gushes forth with liquidity to "save" the institutions in trouble. It takes a dollar to buy today what could have been bought with 2 or 3 pennies in 1913; could the SSE be why? The federal reserve moved into finance in the same way the public schools moved into education, and social security moved into retirement, and the result has been about the same, for the nation's finances, the nation's education, and the nation's retirement.
The private schools that appear cheaper than their public school counterparts are usually subsidized by religious denominations, and offer fewer services (such as textbooks, lunches, transportation, etc.) than their public school counterparts.
Some private schools in my area merely have students working out of workbooks in cubicles all day. The quality of education there is not very high.
The quality private schools in my area which are not subsidized by churches charge tuition and fees which are equal to or higher than public school per-student costs, and even the Catholic schools have tuition and fees approaching those costs.