'Breaking Bad'

“If you send your kid to a private school, you are a bad person.”

Sounds a bit harsh, does it not? Allison Benedikt is not shy in expressing her opinion. She elaborates,

“Not bad like murderer bad—but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation’s-most-essential-institutions-in-order-to-get-what’s-best-for-your-kid bad. So, pretty bad.”

Such sentiments are in many ways reflective of an epidemic of criticism towards private school education and the elitism that it entails. Irrespective of such condemnation, parents continue to send their children to private schools as way of trying to ‘ensure the best’ for their child. As can be seen in this image published by the Herald Sun in January, 2013 there has been a much larger increase in independent and catholic school enrollments in comparison to the much smaller increase in enrollments for government schools.

Benedikt notes,

“Many of my (morally bankrupt) colleagues send their children to private schools. I asked them to tell me why. Here is the response that most stuck with me: “In our upper-middle-class world, it is hard not to pay for something if you can and you think it will be good for your kid.” I get it: You want an exceptional arts program and computer animation and maybe even Mandarin. You want a cohesive educational philosophy. You want creativity, not teaching to the test. You want great outdoor space and small classrooms and personal attention. You know who else wants those things? Everyone.”

Whilst Benedikt’s intentions are to encourage people to be complacent with a “mediocre” education for their children, and, if need be, generations beyond, the reality is that there will always remain a group who will not comply. And as many of those in that group, most probably consisting of middle and upper-working class, will argue, why should they? Why shouldn't hard working and financially able parents do everything in their power to secure the best possible future for their children through the benefits provided by private education?

Recently many have suggested that there is no proof that private schooling is advantageous to a child’s success. However, 2012 school ATAR rankings show that whilst 17 of the top 40 schools are government schools, they are selective schools. It was not until the 59^th school that a non-selective government school appeared on the list. Similarly, in 2011, 31 of the top 50 schools were private institutions and 52.3% of the 16,420 students on the Distinguished Achievers List were from non-government schools.

Whether we like it or not, there is consistently new evidence to prove that private schooling has its advantages. It has become part of the psyche of modern culture to understand that in this day and age one gets what they pay for. Australia now has one of the most privatized school systems in the OECD with only 66% of lower secondary students enrolled in government schools, as compared to the OECD average of 83%. The privatization of institutions, especially schools, has become an accepted part of our culture; the high standards, the competitive grades, the race for the best facilities and amenities, etc.

In an evaluation on Cultural Politics and Education, Apple remarks, "I know of few teachers who are not feeling under attack right now, and fewer still who don't believe that this society is using its schools and government employees in general as scapegoats for larger social problems it is clearly unwilling to face." Essentially this statement mirrors the basis of Benedikt's concerns to the tee; inequality, along side a myriad of other political concerns, exists and remains a problem we cannot seem to overcome due to our comfortability and reliance on pointing the finger at somebody else. 

Apple, however, notes that a binary opposition exists within society and it is within these parallels that problems exist. This is not unlike Benedikt's arguments, however, Apple makes clear that there are valid points of view from both positions and notes that many in more privileged positions, for example those who send their children to private school, see those who send their kids to public school as "getting something for nothing." In the highly economised and marketised world that we live in, this is perceived as a "cop out" and people in such a position are detailed by Apple as being seen as "lazy, immoral and heterogenous." 

Benedikt is, evidently, one of those on the bandwagon to push for change, and she makes recommendations on how to do it… now she just needs followers.




By Carly Fisher

To Read Benedikt's full article:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/08/private_school_vs_public_school_only_bad_people_send_their_kids_to_private.html

Image:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/private-schools-reap-secondary-student-numbers-at-states-expense/story-e6frf7kx-1226558527300

Consulted:

http://www.cis.org.au/images/stories/policy-monographs/pm-111.pdf

Theoretical Reference:

Apple, M. 'Cultural Politics and Education' - Teachers College Press, New York, NY. 1996

Other Statistics:

http://www.bettereducation.com.au/results/hsc.aspx


http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/private-schools-all-but-vanquished-from-top-10-list-20111214-1ov0m.html

Information also acquired from EDST1104 lectures and readings