Private school for Obama kids: The right thing

        Barack and Michelle Obama did the absolute right thing in choosing private school over public school for their kids in Washington, D.C.

        Look, parents want what is best for their children. In Washington, D.C., that means private school for those who can afford it. Anyone who criticizes that decision is in denial of basic human nature.

        And, let's face it, this is not only a Washington, D.C., problem. Parents around the country, including Las Vegas, make the same choice. If parents can't find a private school better than their public school, they will try to work around districting rules to get their kids in a better public school. Or, they will home school.

        This is just what parents do.

        The answer isn't to heap scorn on the Obamas and other parents who make that logical choice. The answer is to focus on why public schools are not uniformly excellent. In Las Vegas, we have some excellent schools and we have a lot of excellent public school teachers. But the system as a whole is less than adequate. Parents in public school may have a phenomenally good experience in, say, the fourth grade and find an absolute nightmare in the fifth grade.

        America's public school system can be fixed, but not by throwing money at it like the federal government wants to throw money at GM, Ford and Chrysler. Like those domestic automakers, public schools need systemic and radical reform.

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