[sam_paine]

..that means she learned her excellent writing skills IN her public school.......

Non sequitur. "That does not follow." It may mean she retained her natural writing talent in spite of public skoolz.

[ohioWfan]

Our kids all possess a natural ability to write. They all read before they got to kindergarten, and we continued to read to them, and encourage them to read throughout school. We used advanced vocabulary, and insisted on correct grammar at home......down to the detail.

That being said, it was in school that they learned 'how to' write. Their teachers helped them discipline their writing skills, organize their papers, do proper research, write cogent opening and concluding paragraphs, use correct punctuation, and in general become excellent writers (our oldest daughter has submitted a graduate paper for professional publication).

We created an environment at home that encouraged them to become good writers, but they learned their writing skills IN a public school, taught by excellent English teachers.

I'm not here on this thread to disagree that there are many public schools that are just plain awful........I am here to say that there are still schools that are excellent, and to caution against the common broadbrushed condemnation that occurs so frequently here on FR.