Students are unappreciative. Those three words are the truth, one cold hard truth. All over the country students are constantly complaining about how they have to attend school today and when they go to school those who don't want to be there really seem to feel that a "half ass" job will be sufficient enough. I'm sorry but is that really how we should treat education? It's pure ignorance. When we students view school we should be thinking, wow I'm so lucky or wow what an amazing opportunity, not "I wonder what's for lunch?" I think that all the outside distraction such as social lives, worrying about what to wear to school to fit in, what party to go to and hang with the "cool" kids, etc keep kids from reaching the goal of a good education. I think that being removed from these distractions would go a long way to producing educated young adults who can compete in a global market, that as if now, we fall very short. I feel that the students that take school very seriously would benefit greatly from being offered the opportunity to go to an affordable private school. Private schools will provide students with many opportunities: ample chances to academically succeed in an environment that is competitive, no classroom distractions from students who don't want to be there, and grater chances to be accepted to a prestigious college

"Thomas Jefferson argued that the newly independent nation needed an educational system, and he suggested that tax dollars be used to fund it. His pleas were ignored, however, the idea for a public school system languished for nearly a century." (Katie Couric, NBC Nightly News) In this century every child in every town, city, or township has access to public education. Many would argue that this is good enough. They might say, "I went to public school and I am doing just fine." They are right if "fine" is al you are aspiring for, but some children and parents are aiming a bit higher. It is true that the national graduation rate has increased 75.5% in 2009 up from 72% in 2001. Yet the United States places 17th in the developed world for education, according to a global report by education firm Pearson. We rank just below Belgium and just above Hungary, not exactly the "cream of the crop." People will point to the fact that private school is too expensive. Private schooling can cost anywhere from $10,549 to $27,302 each year according to the council for American private education. According to the United States census bureau, on average it costs $10,615 to send a kid to public school for a year. (That's federal, state, and local government spending combined.) Although cost is one factor I the argument of private vs. public schools students going to private school, there are other problems in public schools that aren't found in private schools.

Public school has the added problems if having a "fashion show" personality. Students who come from wealthier families dress in the latest fashions and tend to belittle students who can't afford these styles. This leads to segregation in the student body of the wealthy and the non-wealthy which leads to bullying. In the private school setting all students wear uniforms. It seems like a small point, but to a student who does not have to worry about fitting in based on the clothes they have in their closets, it's a big deal. Just knowing they everyone will have to wear the same clothing in school everyday alleviates one more distraction in the drama filled environment that is high school. Dr. Mary Jensen, a special education professor at Western Illinois University in Macomb, addressed this issue by saying, "Because clothes are such a current popular fad with kids, bullies will pick out kids who aren't wearing the current popular item."

The whole purpose for children attending school is the prospect of advancing their education to the best college they are accepted to. Every year, students in private and public school sit down to take annual tests that determine their educational future. It is a proven statistic, however, that those students who attend private schools tend to have not only higher SAT scores but better state standardized tests scored for math, reading, and science. According to the Council for American Private Education, public SAT scores are nearly 50 points or more, lower than those of private schools. The disparity is even worse in urban schools. According to the National Center for Academic Statistics only 88% of public school student's graduate versus 99.3% of private school students. Furthermore, only 35% of public school students attend an graduate a four year college compared to 93% of private school students. The fact that there is such a discrepancy in testing, graduation rates, and secondary education between public and private schools should be the greatest argument to the benefits of sending your child to private school.

The United Stated of America has been falling further behind the world in quality public education that fact is undeniable. Politicians go on and on about improving the public schools systems to combat this growing trend. I feel that it makes no sense to try and repair a broken system when there is a better alternative already in place: private schools. Many parents are so reluctant to send their children to private school for the sole fact that that tuition is equivalent to that of a college tuition. So here's what I propose although not all public schools are bad, if you are unlucky enough to be a parent whose child is in a subpar public school system then the parents should be able to use their tax dollars that are used to find that public school to send their child to a private school that will better educate them and ensure them a brighter future. One should fear that if our education system collapses, the younger generations will not be able to compete in the competitive job market and our country will have a high chance of becoming a third world country. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."