[PHSForever]

What a wonderful job of spinning. Your "facts" are filled with less than full disclosure and half truths. In your defense, that may be all you know or wish to know. But, in reality, your defensive attitude is a clear example of the problem with government education as it is mandated in the Commonwealth. Since you seem to be happy with your product, enjoy it. I would hope that some in government education would not settle for Toyotas and would demand Cadillacs. But, that isn't my problem other than the money I waste paying both local and state taxes that go to perpetuate the overall mediocrity- even in much of your home county.

As one who has taught many, many college courses, I can assure you that we are seeing each year a material increase in high school graduates who can not read well, write properly, or even do long division without a calculator. On the other hand, they do have a high opinion (self esteem) of themselves. I think the facts show that we have a problem. Rather than getting all defensive, maybe you should look at the real facts. the fact that 100% of a graduating class is accepted into college is absolutely of no relevance. Are you aware of the large percentage of high school graduates who must take numerous remedial classes once they get into college? Getting into college is really no true achievement. Check it out.

You are nothing more than a snob. I do not argue that many kids that get into college must take a remedial course or several. I also do not argue that many schools DO fail to educate children to an appropriate level of college readiness. What point I am trying to make is that you continue to try and lump all schools together and imply that they are somehow less than a private school. I can tell you many stories of graduates of your esteemed private schools who arrive on campus at a college and have no idea how to balance a checkbook, much less prepare for college level courses without the aid of a tutor or other assistance.

My wife teaches in those remedial courses in college of which you speak, and has taught at high school, middle school, and elementary school levels for years. More often than not, students have little to no parental involvement, which often puts the onus on the teachers as having somehow failed the student, when in fact, study after study shows that a student with highly involved parents in their education tends to do far better than those with little to no involvement. So truly, getting the parents more involved benefits more. While you may spin that as me somehow agreeing with you, not really. I'm far from happy with secondary school performance in the Commonwealth. I would love to see every child graduate college with a degree. I also am realistic enough to know that will never happen, but we have to pursue it.

I'd much rather my, and your, tax dollars show a higher level of return on investment. On that, we agree. But attitudes such as yours that private schools are somehow just inherently better, are a part of the problem as well. It is convenient that while you take shots about us getting 100% of the graduates accepted into college, you ignore the scholarship part, most of which have academic standards attached as a requirement to receive, and then continue to receive.

As someone who has 2 degrees from college, and a graduate of a "government funded" school (Pikeville), I take offense to your generic and liberal tar and feathering of all school systems that are not private.