A recent article in the Boston Globe reporting on the trend of families leaving public schools — and instead enrolling their children in private schools, home schooling, or forming “learning pods” this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — utilizes thoughts from UW–Madison’s John Diamond.
The article notes the trend may have heavy consequences for public schools, as “these families — who are typically middle or upper-income — take with them vital funding and political advocacy.” Parents tend to focus on what’s best for their own kids.
But Diamond says “parents should look for opportunities to pursue their own interests and broader community welfare simultaneously.”
He notes that “one possibility is to advocate for greater federal and state spending that allows public schools to reopen as safely as possible (regardless of where their own children will be educated this fall).”
“People have to make decisions about what they think is best,” he said. “But I think they should be clear-eyed about the implications and keep in mind the collective good.”
Diamond is the Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education and a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.
Read the full article on the Boston Globe website, here.