If ever there were an argument for private education, this is it. The fight to preserve our schools from statist ideology probably has no end, only lulls. Our best defense is high performance within the mission of each school, and a credible, powerful system of evaluation and accreditation devoid of comradely back scratching. One of the major distinctions between the contemporary public and independent schools is the former's commitment to an unachievable equality. Theoretically, every public school student can do the same work and pass the Regents exams.
Independent schools make no such claim.
Our missions range from high powered academic to learning disabled, our student bodies from brilliant to modest, our curricula from mainstream to offbeat. The whole point of independent education is the acceptance of differences. If we should ever surrender that conviction, our reason for being will have vanished.