Exception or the Rule?

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.- Nelson Mandela

I am a product of the public school system.  There, I said it.  I don’t think it's such a shame or that I should wear a scarlet letter because I attended the local school in my town.  Many students don’t realize that there are options in terms of schooling.  They board the bus day in and day out, attending the school just miles from their home.  This is normal in many ways, yet in many ways this will soon become the exception and not the rule.
Over the past week, I have had the opportunity to listen to scholars, correspondents and various educators speak about the differences in public school and school choice.  I am unsure of many things, but one thing that I am sure of is whether my life would have turned out better if I had gone to private school.  Would I have chosen a different path?  I ask this because I was able to attend prestigious universities for both undergraduate and graduate school.  I am content with my educational coffer.  However, there are many that believe the opposite.  Public school isn’t perfect, but is any educational institution?  How did so many products of the public school system become its biggest critics?

This question looms over every debate.  I believe that education is the only weapon that we have against so many injustices and obstacles, but does it matter where that education is offered?  This is a topic that I will focus on and revisit for the next few posts on this blog.  I hope you will enjoy this journey with me.