How do you feel about school choice?

[Guest guest]

I realize this might be a devisive topic, and if the mods want to block this I

totally understand, but I thought it might be good to ask a bunch of people who

have seen the ugly side of public education about how they feel about school

choice. I tried asking this on political sites a couple times before, but every

time I was attacked from most every direction. I was really attacked when I

tried to compare this idea to the idea of single payer healthcare (totally

attacked there).

First off let me give you some background knowledge (this is what I posted there

btw).

A few years ago I worked at a summer camp designed for those with special needs.

At this camp I found many interesting kids, a few of which I have kept in touch

with over the years (all teenagers so don't start thinking anything). One of

these kids was named Z (name being shorted to protect his identity). To quote

the one who knows him best (his mom), " Z is an intelligent, sensitive, generous

young man with lots of energy and opinions on just about any subject under the

sun! He is very curious about things and asks a lot of questions, sometimes in

many different ways, in order to get the full meaning of things. He likes to be

the leader and do things " his way, " but he can also be thoughtful enough to let

someone else lead. He doesn't like to talk or gossip about other people and

tries never to hurt anyone's feelings. He is stubborn sometimes and likes to

think that he is always right! He's a lovable boy! "

Sadly Z had many problems in public school that kept adding up year after year.

He had a pretty severe case of ADHD and a more mild case of asperger's syndrome.

The two really don't go together very well in todays school system as it caused

his teachers to not understand him... and sometimes to belittle him. He didn't

have as much trouble with bullies as others with his disabilities frequently

have, but this didn't exactly make him popular, in fact most of his days were

spent alone. He didn't know how to communicate and that just scared others away.

Finally after years of problems with his school, and his grades gradually

declining (A caliber student getting Bs and Cs, most Cs then Bs as of late) his

mom pulled him out and sent him to a private school for special needs kids.

The problem is that his mom is not sure how long she will be able to afford such

a school. The school costs more then 13,000 a year, and that is a hard thing for

her to afford. He is getting social skills training, has teachers that

understand him and have taken more then one class on how to educate students

with special needs, and is fitting in with his new peers as he finally has peers

who are like him. I have a hard time believing this isn't the best school for

him... though I have seen a few try suggesting its not.

I wish so hard that the government would help him out. They have failed him

already, why can't they help him out now. I don't believe that helping one

student who clearly has a need that isn't being served in todays one size fits

all system, will lead to the privatization of the entire system. I get that his

school is expensive, and hard for the school district to pay for. But so is

educating him in the public system considering that him and many of his

classmates received one on one paras in the old system. I can't imagine a little

assistance would hurt anyone, so why would it be so evil to try?

But it is more then just Z that needs help. I am sure many parents here would

probably love to send their kid to such a school (and many parents here probably

could tell how much public schools are paying for your kid... something they

refuse to believe). So why is it that private schools are considered so evil,

and helping to cover the cost of going there is totally wrong. So anyway I was

just curious how most of you felt about this issue... and once again I

understand totally if it doesn't get posted.

P.S. I am an aspie myself and I have talked to many of you before, just wanted

to post to see what you guys thought.