Well, aren't they special?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Actually, my kids are not any smarter than any of the kids of the posters on this message board.
Hey...They haven't won any nation spelling bee, or published a New Times Best Seller.
Ummm-- They might be a wee bit smarter than some of our kids. My 12 year old is still doing pre-algebra and grumbling all the way about the Saxon books.
I replied because I've grown tired of people posting unsubstantiated claims about public policy.
I could easily have said - my kid is well on his way to discovering a cure for Parkinsons made out of bicycle innertubes -- and he's only 9! So Mr. Fox can just stuff it!!!
The bottom line is: anecdotes may be interesting but they are ultimately irrelevant. In my opinion, what matters when discussing public education is not outliers who did not participate in public education, but rather real, tangible, repeatable solutions for those who do.
As a nation, we need to raise the level of our children's education, or else in 50 years they will be cleaning house and doing the laundry of others. Perhaps publicly funded education is not the answer; if not, please describe a well-thought-out alternative. My belief is that publicly-funded education is a fundamental part of how we as a nation will compete in the 21st century. The key question is: how we we improve it?