Comments on: Another Rightie Myth Debunked http://www.mahablog.com/2006/01/29/another-rightie-myth-debunked/ Making the World Safe for Liberalism Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:03:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Freddie http://www.mahablog.com/2006/01/29/another-rightie-myth-debunked/comment-page-1/#comment-528056 Freddie Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:07:58 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/?p=364#comment-528056 <strong>Freddie</strong> I think God approves of you. Freddie

I think God approves of you.

]]> By: A Canadian reader http://www.mahablog.com/2006/01/29/another-rightie-myth-debunked/comment-page-1/#comment-2445 A Canadian reader Sun, 29 Jan 2006 20:07:46 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/?p=364#comment-2445 I have come to the conclusion that private schools ARE good for one thing: networking. It's the "old boys' network" for the new boys in short pants. If you're a high-flyer, you want your children to be with similar people so that when the time comes, your kids can all start calling up their old school chums for favours in the business world. As far as a education goes, there's nothing that beats the "soap and water" of learning: a home environment where reading, discussing and debating take place on a daily basis, where kids are introduced to what's going on in the world and not just when the next hockey or soccer game is. At 49, I look at my peers--many of whom came from well-to-do families but went to public schools--and see interesting adults who have succeeded in many different walks of life. Yet this same generation is now adament that public schools are second-best and that their children will not make it in life without a private-school education. Why has this come about? I think it's a combination of brainwashing and a concerted effort on the part of right-leaning governments to strangle public education by cutting funding and making the environment unlivable for teachers, who then regularly go on strike. My children are thriving in the public system and that's where they're staying! They may not make as much money as the children of our neighbours (both bankers), but I think they're a heckuva lot more intelligent and interesting and they'll make their way just fine, thank you. I have come to the conclusion that private schools ARE good for one thing: networking. It’s the “old boys’ network” for the new boys in short pants. If you’re a high-flyer, you want your children to be with similar people so that when the time comes, your kids can all start calling up their old school chums for favours in the business world.

As far as a education goes, there’s nothing that beats the “soap and water” of learning: a home environment where reading, discussing and debating take place on a daily basis, where kids are introduced to what’s going on in the world and not just when the next hockey or soccer game is.

At 49, I look at my peers–many of whom came from well-to-do families but went to public schools–and see interesting adults who have succeeded in many different walks of life. Yet this same generation is now adament that public schools are second-best and that their children will not make it in life without a private-school education. Why has this come about? I think it’s a combination of brainwashing and a concerted effort on the part of right-leaning governments to strangle public education by cutting funding and making the environment unlivable for teachers, who then regularly go on strike.

My children are thriving in the public system and that’s where they’re staying! They may not make as much money as the children of our neighbours (both bankers), but I think they’re a heckuva lot more intelligent and interesting and they’ll make their way just fine, thank you.

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