by Carol Flett

Created on: November 29, 2010

The public school system was originally set up with the naive goal of creating the best environment for children to grow up in. But is it succeeding in this goal? Why is it that more and more parents are taking their children out of the public schools? Is this just a passing fad, or are parents seeing something that concerns them? Are public schools actually doing more harm than good for children today?

For the public school system to be successful it would have to meet certain criteria.

The first on the list of importance would be safety. Are public schools safe for children?   A police officer transferring to a new town was asked which school he wanted to register his children in. He replied, "I will have to check the police records to see which school has the least number of police calls." He had no hope of finding one without problems, just, possibly a school with not quite so many incidents. He knew that, even in that quiet town, no school was completely safe for his children.

In a small public school in Canada a child was found dead hanging by his coat from a coat hook in the washroom. It was just an accident; some unsupervised rowdy kids having a little fun at another child's expense. The parents of that child will tell you that public schools are not safe for children, as will thousands of other parents whose children have come home beaten or scarred emotionally for life. Public schools are far from being safe havens for children.

Second on the list of importance would be a loving environment. All children need to be surrounded by love. We know that in the home atmosphere children have parents who love them, if for no other reason, then simply because they are their offspring. The school is not so blessed. There are still a few caring teachers in the school, but not nearly enough to go around. The public school scores low on the loving environment test.

The main emphasis of a school is on acquiring knowledge. Do public schools succeed in cramming a child's brain full of important knowledge?  In some cases they do. If a child is hungry for knowledge, they will glean anything that is placed at their disposal. However, knowledge is seldom retained long term unless it is used, and much of the knowledge gained in the classroom setting is not utilized and therefore is not often retained.

There is a knowledge learned by public school students that is not easily forgotten. This is the knowledge gleaned on the playground. It is the type of knowledge

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