I am writing in response to the letter dated March 23 by Kayla Hathaway, "Private schools reflect families' values and beliefs."
Although Ms. Hathaway poses an excellent argument for parents' choice behind sending their children to private school, there some things I would like to further address.
It is true that young children have no control over which school they attend; however, this does not draw away from that fact that private schools cause segregation among children in the diverse society we live in today. I say this because children in private schools grow in a somewhat restricted community where they are only exposed to other children similar to them, whether it is similarities in race and religion or shared interests and values. Children who attend a private school from a young age grow accustomed to only those around them which cause segregation between children from different groups in public.
Public schools do also have the same issue of a division between children from different groups and backgrounds; however, in public schools, the students are given the opportunity to get to know each other and to learn to accept and appreciate various beliefs and views. They are also taught throughout the years to tolerate differences between each other and to have a certain amount of respect for those who are different. Whereas, in private schools, this opportunity does not present itself and there is not much room for shared experiences between children from all sorts of backgrounds.
It is completely up to the parents where they would prefer to send their children for schooling and every family has their own personal reasons for choosing private school. There are benefits behind both private and public schools.
However, private schools should not be used to merely surround children with only those who share the exact same values and beliefs, for this does not leave any room for children to grow and appreciate all the different voices in our very diverse community.
There are many students in public schools that have great friends even though they are from completely different groups with no shared beliefs. Private schools have many great points in their favour but the separation between children and different cultural groups is a downside which is visible in youth outside of school grounds.
Ravneet Grewal