Education involves smart decisions

Jeremy M. Christensen, Las Vegas

Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.

Private, charter and magnet schools are different from public schools. Claiming any schools set a precedent or serve as role models for other schools — when they follow different rules — makes no sense.

The biggest difference involves choice. Some of the choice is on the part of the schools, which may have entrance requirements that involve ability testing, behavior requirements, financial considerations and so on.

The other choice is on the part of the parents or their children. It makes a huge difference when parents are involved enough to seek out a school and students put forth an effort to attend it.

If you look at the freshman class of a private school or a magnet school, you are looking at a group of students who have chosen to go through a selection process and have been chosen by a school.

Public schools, on the other hand, are responsible for every child within their geographic boundaries. Many students at their neighborhood public schools have also made choices: to attend that school, to do their assignments, to come in for extra help and to take challenging courses.

I teach at one of those neighborhood public schools, and I have had students accepted to Stanford, MIT, Notre Dame, USC and many other fine institutions of higher learning. I would appreciate it if more of our students and teachers would get the recognition we deserve.