General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "If you send your kid to private school, you are a bad person" [View all]laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)there are externalities to this.
When the public school system as a whole does not improve because of lack of participation by the parents who want to improve the system, it costs the country dearly. When the vast majority of the country cannot keep up to the rest of the world due to lack of funding and participation in the public system, the whole economic system of your country is severely affected, which means that even if YOUR child goes to a private school, they will be less well off in the future than if everyone attended public school. The long term consequences of a poorly funded/run public school system DO affect your children and IMO it makes them worse off long term when everyone who can sends their kids to private schools.
Also, if your kids go to private school, you are less likely to be upset and protest about funding cuts (or less likely to protest anyhow) for public education and it becomes a downward spiral for those who must depend on public schools. Too many people think, "it doesn't affect me, MY kid is in a private school" and they are unaware of the unintended long term consequences for their own child due to lack of public school funding.
Not to mention the widening of the gap between rich and poor that this system causes, which is never good for a country.
Maybe you need to take a look at why your kids' school is so shitty and then do something about it instead of dropping out of the system. Just paying taxes does not cut it IMO. Everyone has to pay taxes. No one cares if they are taken willingly or not. The public school system gets the same amount either way. Paying taxes 'willingly' does not mean a vote for public schools in the eyes of the government. The only thing that will improve the system is people who use the system protest and lobby for change. That won't happen if those who care the most drop out of the system.