Public vs private schools

Drilling into a referral just now I came across a post from June, last year, that I had forgotten. Forgive me for saying it but I like how it reads. I'm linking to it this morning for no particular reason other than to say I haven't changed my mind and I think that what I said bears repeating.

I am a supporter of both public and private education. There is a place for both in society. I know people whose private school education was far superior to what I received in public schools. Thank God, I say, that those people are well-prepared to make excellent, achievement-oriented contributions to the world. I had enough experience with Applesoft Basic to appreciate that there are programmers who have a passion for writing tight programs so that I don't have to write my own (even though many of those people tend to be at the margins of education...geeks, you know...which is why I don't worry about the flaws of education, public or private).

One of the most frequently hit posts that I have produced on this blog is the one about Farah Gray, a young entrepreneur from a poor Chicago neighborhood who at last report was on his way to fame and fortune -- especially fortune. He is making so much money he hasn't had time to go to college, and his book seems to be getting good reviews at Amazon. I notice the link to his magazine no longer works, so he may be on his way to crashing, but I doubt it. Even if he does, his individual success or failure is somewhat beside the point. The point, you see, is about the value and application of education (or lack of education) and how well one is able to apply what has been learned. I personally know and have witnessed success stories about uneducated people, and even more failures among the ranks of an educated elite.