For all children
The article in the Nov. 25 Post-Gazette by Thomas Sowell, “Democrats Deprive Minority Children,” may not give a clear description of the differences between charter schools and public schools.
One of the founding principles of the nation was that all men (citizens) were equal and the result of this was that education was available to all, not just the elite, as was common in Europe at that time.
Thus, public schools were created to teach all children, regardless of their family background, financial ability, propensity for excellence in development, physical disabilities or deficiencies.
Public schools accept all students who reside within the school district. Charter schools, on the other hand, are able to choose the students they admit. Therefore, they often get the less problematic children, whereas the public schools not only get a mix of all children, but also the ones specifically rejected by charter schools for some deficiency in aptitude, discipline, etc.
So, while it is possible that “opportunities for low-income, mostly minority kids” are characterized as being “denied” the supposedly superior features of charter schools, it is also true that children of all income groups, including minorities, get an equal opportunity for education in public schools.
Someone once described charter schools as private schools financed by public money. If charter schools are indeed as advantageous as claimed by the article, then they should be self-sustaining and should not need any subsidy from taxpayers. The parochial schools achieve this, though they are subsidized by religious organizations. There are many elite private schools that enjoy a good reputation in terms of the scholastic achievements of their students and can point to the success of their alumni (though this success may be due to factors other than solely their education at the private schools).
Public schools do have a scheme of “magnet schools,” which provide a more intense and challenging level of education in academic and artistic fields. Perhaps, if school boards provide more funds for these magnet schools, there could be more of them and more children could benefit from the rigorous curriculum. SAILESH KAPADIA
Franklin Park