Why is school choice not a Democratic issue?

[frazzled]

56. Since you don't have kids, and have never had any direct experience

with the Philadelphia public schools, how on earth do you know that they are "horrible"?

This post reminds me of 25 years ago, when we were living in Minneapolis and my kids were attending the public schools. Our yuppie neighbors (who didn't even have children yet, but were about to) informed us one day that they were going to be putting their house up for sale to move to a suburb: because the schools in the city were so "horrible." White flight. I can tell you that those schools were excellent, and my kids got not only a wonderful education but learned how to appreciate others who were different. Those people knew NOTHING about what was really going on in the schools.

Look, I'm not 100% against charters: certain kids may well need a smaller, specially oriented school to fit their needs. But the whole idea has gotten out of hand. They should not be widely available substitutes for the public schools. Back in my kids' days there was school choice: but it was a choice among public schools (you could choose from regular, Montessori, open, fundamentals, or continuous progress, depending on what learning style and atmosphere you felt was best for your kid). Then there started to be some charters, mostly for kids with problems--kids at risk of dropping out, etc.

Moving to the suburbs is the biggest copout--and possibly not a good choice for your nonexistent children.