For a middle-class or wealthy family, sending their child/children to a public or private school is a decision that closely reflects their values as Americans citizens. Everything from the articles we read to the votes we cast, are private matters that don't place anything of personal value at stake. However, choosing a public or private school puts our children and our reputations at stake. Therefore, this choice reveals a person's core values.
The principles in the Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution define the American values. Even though these documents are imperfect, we can still look to them for the core of what American values can be. Public schools, as imperfect as they are, know what these values are more than any other business or school in our society. They stand for equal opportunity, participation, freedom of expression, protection of the minority, and individualism. .
It's easy to take a single public school and point out that it clearly doesn't demonstrate these values. The image of public schools, especially high schools, is warped. They"re seen as cruel, unskilled institutions of weakness, which simply isn't true. It may be true for one or two of the 476 public primary schools in the country. Even with these misconceptions, no other government or private business, religious or social service organization, comes as close to realizing those American values daily. .
My school, although flawed, has a central belief that every person, no matter what religious, ethnic, economic, or cultural background, deserves equal opportunity, respect, and support. As far away as it seems society is from these ideals, students will never be closer to them than when they are in the public school system. .
Private schools, by their nature, express the exact opposite of these values. There are hundreds of private schools that excel in academics and athletics, and claim to support these values whole-heartedly.