By the way, I grew up in the Kensington area of Philadelphia. I attended St. Joan of Arc.
The tuition at St. Joan of Arc for the 2002/2003 year was $2,383 a year. They closed soon after, due to declining enrollment. ( Probably due to competition from the free charters.)
$2,383 a year is **less** than the cost of babysitting.
In my current state there isn’t the Catholic school tradition, and private schooling on average is somewhat more. (Approximately $4,000/year for elementary school).
Ah, that's more like it. In your other post you wrote:
It costs about $1 a day, or $365 a year.
Typical is more like ten times that. Still, I do believe most people could swing it if they acknowledged the importance of removing their children from bad influences like public schooling for 6-8 hours a day.
There's also discounts, and scholarships out there.
You know how they say, "If you think medical care is costly now, wait 'til it's free!" One could have said the same of public schooling. How much of your local taxes goes to schooling, folks? How much of it would you need to teach your child at home? How much is allocated at every level of govt, to teach your child in school?
Yet those same people who bemoan the health care godzilla coming over the horizon, and criticize the recipients of care at another's expense, are utterly at peace with themselves as they send their kids to public school each morning.
Free education, like free health care, isn't free, and it isn't quality. (Besides, why do you need to choose your doctor? You don't mind having no choice about your child's teachers!)