Public or Private: Which Schools Forge Better Citizens?

Catherine StrausHorace Mann, often called “the Father of the Common School,” believed that universal public schooling was the best way to forge citizens for a democracy. He believed that uniform schools were key to making all people virtuous, which he envisioned as holding broadly Protestant religious beliefs and putting the common good, often through service to the state, ahead of self ‐​interest.Public schools are still thought to be crucial to forming good citizens, though the civic values they are expected to inculcate are secular.They should promote political knowledge and engagement, as well as cultivate inclusion and toleration of diversity. In 2016, U.S. Secretary of Education John Kingspoke about the importance of political engagement as part of a well ‐​rounded public‐​school education. The public schools, because they are open to all, are thought to guarantee that all will obtain knowledge of how American government works, while simultaneously exposing students to diverse perspectives.Private schools, on the other hand, are often assumed to be unreliable for promoting good citizenship. For one thing, they have the flexibility to promote the values of specific groups, which some fear will expose students to too narrow a set of perspectives. And there is no guarantee that they will provide civic knowledge, or promote values like tolerance, at all.Ironically, studies show that private schools actually have a sizeable advantage over ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs