[Harry Rex Vonner]

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.

I graduated from a fine Catholic high school and have three college degrees, all from the University of Kentucky (a decent but far from great taxpayer subsidized university), including a doctorate in a professional field but you are the one who brought it up and, really, degrees shouldn't impress anyone.

I reread my posts and failed to find where I stated that private schools are better than government schools. However, I do believe, as do most, that private schools offer a better learning environment than the government schools simply because private schools can be selective in who is admitted to those schools. Government schools must take all comers- including habitual troublemakers and the like. That is not being "snobbish". That is merely stating a fact.

Further, private schools, by not being under the stern thumb of state and federal "educators", can emphasize the traditional skills- comprehensive reading, proper grammar (the government schools seem to have forgotten that proper use of grammar is essential for true education), mathematics, and history (as it really happened and not slanted for political correctness).

Finally, and I could list scores of other differences, while the private schools can and do emphasize traditional values as an essential part of a traditional education, your government schools are all caught up in demands for social engineering and social manipulation.

I'm not saying private schools are better. I am just saying that, overall, I believe their approach produces a better finished product.