Education - private vs state

We are a mixed family as far as education is concerned. J went to a state school, whilst I attended a private one. Our kids are doing the state thing, because around here, the state schools are quite acceptable. We don't appear to have any sink schools catering to ethnic gangs, drug dealing drop outs, crack babies and thick-as-shit lard heads who aren't fit to carry bricks on a building site. This is a reasonably well off area - solidly middle class. If the state schools did show signs of turning into collectives for the grooming of young criminals, then at least we have the option of fleeing into the Catholic system for a reasonable price (although that would set my grandmother rotating in her grave at about 10,000 rpm).

But at least we still have a choice. Nothing shits me more than academic wankers that want to take away that choice in the name of 'equity'. Why, they say, should some kids have more advantages than others? Instead of allowing parents to decide what their kids should do, we should all be dumbed down to the lowest level so that everyone gets an equally bad experience.

We might be born equal, but from then on, everyone has different advantages and disadvantages. Some turn out to be good at sport, others have an aptitude for reading or maths or the creative arts. Some grow to be tall and good at shooting a ball through a hoop. Others are squat and lumpy and do a fantastic job in a scrum.

And some turn out lumpen and stupid and they are only good for hanging around outside the 7/11 and mugging grannies for their milk money.

Some kids have parents who are rich, which means that someone in their family has worked hard. So what if it was their grandparents who made it all - at least they have some genetic predisposition to working hard. Others who have parents who are well connected, which means they have invested time and effort into building what used to be called an address book, but has been rebranded as a social network. The difference between people who have lots of contacts and those that don't is that one gets out and meets people and the other sits on the couch watching "Days of our lives". Why should the children of the active be dragged down to the level of the couch potato?

I have only this to say to those that want all our kids to have an equal education - your kids have an X-box, and mine don't. You have a plasma TV, whilst we are still making do with an old cathode tube model. Either you buy us one, or you get rid of yours.

Try that, then get back to me with the results.