Obamas Pick Sidwell Friends School for Daughters

This is another excellent choice for the Obamas. I’m the product of a Friends education, and I can’t rave enough about these schools. Not only do they provide a top-notch education, they do so in a very inclusive, diverse environment that emphasizes service and consensus. The girls are going to love this school.

Well, there it is folks . . . CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN. Elitism comes in all colors and no colors. If working people haven’t figured that out yet, then we are all bigger fools than we might have thought.

I always envied the kids who attended Sidewll Friends. To have a progressive, Quaker education is the best.
I am happy for all of them!

They can make all the excuses they want but the bottom line is the Obamas don’t want to risk their precious daughters’ academic futures in our crappy public schools. While it’s incredibly hypocritical of them to do this, I can’t say I blame them. I’d never put my kids in public school either.

oh please,
give obama adm. a chance to improve the schools, correct, all schools should be
fit for any kids to attend.
but true to form,
bushie and no child left behind,
but behind a lot of kids, who were already in crappy schools.
give obama and co. a chance.

It’s ok for the Obamas to send their children to a 30K/year private school and yet Obama won’t allow school vouchers for inner city black kids!!What hypocrites!!

Obama picks same school as the Clintons did for Cheslea!! The Obama Administration AKA CLINTON II.

SIDWELL SCHOOL IS THE SCHOOL WHERE THE MAJORITY ALL POLITICIANS WHO LIVE IN DC ATTEND, NOT JUST THE CLINTONS. IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST PRIVATE SCHOOLS THAT HAD A PROGRAM THAT REACH OUT TO OUR BLACK MINORITIES. THIS SCHOOL IS THE BEST OF THE BEST. IT IS THE HARVARD FOR CHILDREN!!! TRUST ME! THERE IS NO OTHER SCHOOL IN DC THAT CAN COMPARE!!!

im glad they didnt send their daughters to a public school after all the assassination threats against them, and the tortuous time President Carter’s daughter went through by going to a public school where she was hounded by the media every day. also, for purposes of national security, in these times, it wouldnt be right for them to send them somewhere with such low security.

Good Choice for the Obama Children.

Obama is a HYPOCRITE! What a bunch of suckers who voted for him! He could care less about promoting public education. He just takes millions from the teachers union in donations!!
Now he sends his girls to Chelsea Clinton’s old school. The DC city schools could have benefited from the nation’s president sending his own kids to a public school.

Robin – you are the problem. You complain about public schools and will not allow vouchers which will force schools to compete.
God help us all — every major city is have been run by Democrats and urban education is an absolute failure!! Even this new president doesn’t send his own kids to one !!
Wake up – these poor kids in failing city schools should have every opportunity the Obama girls have!

You really cannot fault them. Putting their daughters in the D.C. public schools would create a security nightmare, could disrupt the educational process for other students, and could even pose a danger to other students if the Obama daughters became targets. Maybe one day we will make this more feasible – AFTER we fix a few other things.

It’s ashame that even now in 2008 after this historical election, we still have this idea that we have some right to judge others as if we had some right to condemn. The Obamas have every right to choose the school that best suit their needs and that is based on their judgement and theirs alone. For those who think they wasted their vote, get a grip on your thoughts and yourselves this is one man you are not going to control or bring down with your foolishness or ignorance. The votes has been cast and the decision has been made. Be part of something posititve or remain a part of the problem. We are going forward with or without you.

With kids you only get one shot. There is no do-over. Educational decisions are tough, particularly when they conflict with your values. But sometimes public school isn’t a good fit.

Obama wants school choice for his own kids but he’s expressed he doesn’t want school choice for the rest of us. That’s wrong.

Even aside from the serious security considerations, no parents who had a choice would place them in Washington public schools — particularly not parents whose children had been benefiting from the excellent University of Chicago Lab Schools. The Obamas are not required to turn their young daughters into a social experiment in order to please some members of the electorate. The children, after all, didn’t ask for any of this, and they should not be academically penalized because their father was elected President.

Wow, I just looked up the Sidwell tuition and fees and was almost floored. Obama is going to have to perform miracles on his own family budget along with the the national financial crisis if he is going to live off the Presidential salary.

I just wanted to comment how nice it was to read that the Biden grandchildren and the Obama girls had a sleepover.

It is an excellent and correct decision for their kids that the Obamas made –and virtually all hypocrite Dem liberals make- The hypocrisy is that liberal Dems fight tooth and nail to deny the same ability to working class and poor people. On this issue it is the Repubs that are clearly the “average Joe’s” party and the Dems the kick “average Joe’s in the head” party.

Any money that might be put toward a voucher program should be used to make public schools better-good schools and opportunity isn’t just for the select “few”.
Personally I think it is considerate of the first family to think of the expense that it would be on the taxpayers to send their children to public school.

dln5432,
Excellent point. I know for a fact that Sidwell Friends Academy has far fewer entrances than any of the public schools in the area. This is something that the media has not reported on either. Good catch.

You are abosulutely right. His decision to send his children to a private school is a protest against the public school system! It has nothing at all to do with concern for their safety. Nothing at all to do with the fact that he’s gotten several threats on his life before he even became President-elect and maybe he wants his entire family to survive the next four to eight years of his life… He just hates public school. That must be it.

let us put blame where blame is due and point out that Jake’s reporting of this is very cynical. Having said that, however, i would also like to point out that i’m sick and tired of defending Obama for every nutty accusation that gets posted here; but i won’t stop. (as a side note: it would have been a much better 4 yrs if we were able to take advantage of this wonderful technology and have a meaningful dialog with each other but i digress). The man will soon start earning 400,000 a year for his anticipated hard work. If he wants to spend some of it on providing the best education for his kids, then what a great man he is. If your parents had sacrificed to send you to good schools, you wouldn’t be spending your days dreaming up uncreative and nonsensical things to write on blogs (thats a shout out to you, Dee and Nell)
and Nancy, um thanks but no thanks to your vouchers. Not that you have ever cared about inner city kids (whatever color they may be), but let me go ahead and say no even if its only to your pretension. Give them vouchers for a few years and take them back screaming “bloody welfare” only after the public school system has completely collapsed? Go away.
Patrick,
I hear ya. But I’m a product of private schools (mostly on scholarships) and I can personally tell you that I am deeply and truly interested in the survival and revival of the public school systems. When one has been given opportunities to see how much worse others have it, then one would be more likely to see the need for change (provided one is born with a human heart)

Uh….hey folks…I live and work in DC…the public schools SUCK. I wish they were better; they’re really working on it with Counselor Michelle Rhee, but nowhere near ready to host the President’s kids. Our City Mayor doesn’t even send his kids to DC public schools. The choice of schools for children is not, and should never be, political. It’s personal.

Dem4Life,
I think you are confused about what I’m saying. I’m definitely not being racist here. My point is simply this — Obama’s kids shouldn’t be treated like royalty. Hence, my comparison of aristocracy vs. meritocracy. If they are as intelligent as their parents they’ll do just as well in Sidwell as they would in public school. The security issue is the ONLY valid reason I can see for sending your kids to private school when you are as populistic as Obama is. This has zero to do with race and everything to do with him putting his money (and kids) where his mouth is.

I graduated from Sidwell back in the early ’90s and started in the 5th grade. I’m thrilled to hear that the Obama kids are going there. Go SFS!! It’s a great choice in schools and there are many reason for them to go there instead of DC public schools. Anyone from DC knows that the public school system is unrealistic for a president’s child. Hopefully, this will be a major incentive for Obama to improve the level of education and security that we have been seeking for so long.

It seems to me that a lot of people posting negative comments just really don’t like Obama, no matter what he does. I bet if he had decided to send his children to public schools you would have said he was crazy for not being more concerned for his safety. He can’t win with you. It’s sad really because you’re not even giving him a chance to. Let him get in office at least.

Question,
I too went to private school for my education and truly value the sacrifices my parents made because they wanted the best for me. I take exception when so much rhetoric and tax money is spent on something and so little progress is truly made. I prefer to take responsibility for the outcome of my life and spend my resources accordingly, I don’t like having other people “waste” my tax-money then tell me how much they’ve done to help me.

Obama won because his supporters went to the polls. You guys need to do the same or else you will be talking to yourselfs when it’s too late. A winner was already anounced in case you are still in denial. In a democracy the majority rules or voting would defeat the whole purpose. Grow up, either support him or live your lives. As Mr. McCain said, Americans don’t like or respect sore losers.You are all wasting your breaths since he and his administration will have this job for 4 and mostly likely 8 years. If they do great job Hillary will than win and faace it, Repubs may never take over if this hate continues. The world is paying attention.

MarkV,
You’ve hit it right on the head…
“No, but they will be needing to answer for the decisions they make about everyone else’s children. Too bad the average family is not granted the same freedom of choice, in this sweet land of liberty.”
This is the problem with our socialized systems. They may provide a service for everyone, but the quality is so poor that only those who can’t afford anything else take advantage of it.

Oh course they decided upon that school. It seems he can’t do a single thing without retreating back to something the Clintons did, be in his private life or be it related to his choices of who he picks for what post. Just open up that Clinton closet and let all the things fall out. So much for “change.”

If Obama had chosen a public school we would be hearing these same folks attack him regardless. It’s just who they are. They are the parents and made choice for themselves not your family. Some people are acting as if they own Obama. He is his own man and reason he is successful. He is the leader, not your follower. He owes you nothing but to let you know where he stands on issues and than you get to vote.

Hear ! Hear ! The COMMON man’s president, elected by the COMMON MAN is palling around with billionaires and sending his kids to elite private schools. Hurray for Democracy of the sucker, by the suckers and not-for the suckers !!
Are you surprised by the hypcorisy ? if you are not then your are the proud aforementioned sucker !

Patrick,
Exactly what are you saying then? If you are tired of listening to rhetoric and seeing no results then it seems more reasonable to ask why there are no results. I believe Obama has been elected to ask that particular question. But this thing about his children is very much not the point.
So how do you think education in America should be conducted? It seems that you don’t think your tax money should fund it. Then what should? Should all parents have to pay for the education of their kids? What about those who can’t (most likely because they themselves were not educated enough to have the income that supports private education). Is it fair to create that kind of cycle where education (or a lack of it) indirectly becomes your heritage? What would be the incentive of private school owners to keep costs low? Remember what we actually learn in schools are things that are public property by some stretch of the imagination. Why should somebody have more right to learn what Newton accomplished hundred of years ago and why should somebody have less of that right?

Mrs. Obama graduated from public school and went on to the best universities in the nation. I also graduated from a public school and went on to an excellent university, as did my son.
However, as the Obama team’s statement accurately points out, it is a very situation for the children of the President. The security issues alone are intense and complex. Not to mention privacy. I do not understand how some of you cannot understand.

Question,
I’m truly sorry if I’m coming across as snide. I love to have discussions like this but, can get a little worked up. I think it really boils down to a difference in philosophy between us. I don’t want to blame teachers here or even school administrators. It goes much higher than that, to the people who are trying to make something be everything to everyone. I would prefer to let people on the state and local levels decide how to run things and decided whether vouchers are a good or bad idea. All I want is for more people to choose for themselves what is best, not to have someone decide that one thing is best for everyone.

To all of the posters who are criticizing the Obamas for picking an elite provate school for their daughters — it is none of anyone’s business what school is in the best interest of their daughters to attend. Barack and Michelle Obama seem like excellent parents who place a very high priority on education for their daughters. If they can afford Sidwell Friend’s tuition (which they obviously can) then more power to them. I’d be willing to bet that almost anyone else in with the money to afford a school like that for their kids would do the same thing.

And you thought you were getting “Change”. It’s do as I say not as I do!

First of all, the negative folks need to get a life. How dare you tell Obama and his wife where they should send their children. I would send my children to Sidwell Friends if I had the money. That is a parent decision and basically all of you need to mind your own business. I wish someone would tell me what to do with my children. I would tell them where they can really go!!!

“Change We Can Believe In!” is a lot easier at $40K/year private schools!

Whooptido, who cares!! This is change, just like the Clintons….hum.

Robin, thank heavens!!!!

DeAndre,
At 40K a year and I’m the President, I should have a choice where I send my children. Do not hate because Obama chose a school that will benefit his children. I grew up in DC and at the time the community, educators and parents work together as one a ran a successful school system. However, in DC now the white parents send their children to private schools and blacks have move to the suburbs so their children can attend public schools. My dog would not go to DC school. Please maybe in five or ten years, however, the Obamas should jeopardized their daughters’ education on a horrible school system.

There is only so much that can be done to “reform” public education in this country. So much of how well a student does in school has to do with consistent parental involvement starting in pre-school and continuing all the way through high school graduation. My parents were not only involved in my education but it was made clear to me growing up that I had darn well better do well in school. I went to public schools all the way through my MBA and was successful primarily because my parents cared about my education and set high expectations for me. If parents don’t care about school then their kids won’t either.

I don’t blame the Obama’s one bit. The girls have attended private school since they started going to school. With all the changes why through them in a totally unfamilar school setting. I am saying this as not barack’s biggest fan. You people cant tell me you would through your babies to the wolves to make the statement. I knew thats where they would choose to go good they have a few friends already.

Every Obama defender on here seems to argue that no president or V.P.–for security reasons–can send his children to public schools. But some have. And I am pretty sure the conservative, much villified by liberals V.P. Dan Quayle sent his kids to public school and they encountered no problems.
It is the crass, hypocritical arrogance of liberal politicians who regularly fight to deny the same right they luxuriate in to other less financially affluent parents.
Obama said during the campaign that he was for charter schools. Let’s see if this is another of his “change” platform that also goes down the toilet as a courtesy to his powerful supporters in the teacher’s unions who loathe charter schools.

BlameAmerica michelle went to public school until she went off to college. Are you telling me the first 18 years of her life had no effect on her?

these children need to be in a private school, because their Dad is, high profile, and there are too many crazies out there that would do something stupid just because they might not like Obama or agree with him.

Exactly what year was that? Are you implying that the level of education is the same in 2008. How about the level of violence in 2008? And the list goes on. This is not an apple to apple comparison. Get real!!!
Posted by: Roger | Nov 21, 2008 7:30:42 PM
Exactly. It is a whole different world than it was 30 years ago. The security these little girls will need wouldn’t work in a public school system. I am glad my parents sent us 4 girls to a private Catholic school. The education we received was excellent.

D.B, thank you for that answer. I really appreciate the good discussion.
Forgive me, but are you aware that you are accusing Obama of doing the very thing that you are doing? When you consult with other teachers to find out which ones are good teachers or when you are pull your kids from classes of low-quality teachers, aren’t you nitpicking just Obama is doing for his child? Your comments about this decision as reported by Jake make it sound like the ideal thing to do would be leave your child in whatever class is available and work to make that particular class better so that you may walk the walk about how passionate you feel? I’m not saying thats what you should have done but I’m just pointing out that we all want the best thing for our children. The main issue should be that Obama doesn’t forget to work to improve education; he has said he will and I believe he would. I share much of his background and if I was ever elected (32 yrs from now, fingers crossed), education would be my absolute priority. So we should hold him accountable for what he promised he would accomplished (or at least start the work in the area) and not for what kind of decisions he makes for his family, which he never campaigned on.
I am very glad that you are a believer in the public education system. And while you may not like this reference, like Obama always says: give teachers incentives to go into teaching so that public schools get the best available talent. The way to improve teachers will not be by demonizing the existing teachers but will instead be by making the incoming ones more capable and paying them in accordance to what is required of them. Its the great mystery of this earth why teaching ended up being a low-paying career.

Question! — it’s no mystery as to why teaching was / is a low-paying career. Start with the 90 percent of women teachers who taught me in public school in the ’60s and early ’70s. Then consider the Altruism Factor of the helping professions, and you have the answer.

they simple can’t secure a public school enough to feel comfortable the girls will be safe there.
Do you want your president worrying about kidnapping or the economy?

Haha,
The question is not what the government can do. It’s what the parents are doing. I come from a heritage that was not allow to read or write, so I value education and I know that the library books are free and my priority for children is reading. Public schools are free as well, it is an insult to my ancestors because they educated themselves in far worst conditions. There is no excuse for children in America not having a good education. 1+1 is 2 whether you teach in a public school or private. However, Obama has the right to choose to private because he is the President of the United States and if I was him security would be my #1 issue.

Even on this level, this is starting to turn into Clinton-the-Sequel

1. The Obamas sent their kids to private school because they want them to have a good education in an environment where they won’t stand out. DC public schools are a disaster. The girls will fit right in with all the other politicians’s kids and be a part of the bunch at Sidwell.
2. Amy Carter was teased and harrassed relentlessly at public school. The Carters have since said they regretted the decision. You don’t turn your kid into a social experiment and harm her well-being to satisfy the public.
3. Obama opposes vouchers. If you want to send your kid to private school, you (not the government or my tax dollars) should pay for every dime of it. The Obamas, not the government, are shelling out the $30K each year per kid for Sidwell.
4. Obama is paid $400K as president but made $4 million in 2007 from book sales so he can afford to send his kid wherever he wants.
5. Funny. Republicans only complain about people succeeding and making money when those people are Democrats. Why’s that?

“Forgive me, but are you aware that you are accusing Obama of doing the very thing that you are doing? When you consult with other teachers to find out which ones are good teachers or when you are pull your kids from classes of low-quality teachers, aren’t you nitpicking just Obama is doing for his child?” I agree with Obama for putting his kids in private school. Based on what I have been told about the local DC schools, he would be doing them a disservice by sending his kids there. My critique is of Obama as an elected official who makes policy (which I am not), and who has in particular trumpeted public education while taking money from entrenched interests in the public school system. That is in my opinion a legitimate critique if you are the president or other elected official. It doesn’t mean Obama will not try and do right by the public schools, I hope he does. But there are constraints that he will have to contend with, among them donors to his own party. We will see how he does. Something else people should consider, there is quite a lot of innovation going on in the private sector in terms of schools – and I am not talking religious schools. Look into the Waldorf and some other programs, interesting ideas, but an uphill battle getting that stuff applied in the public schools.

Adding to this discussion of parental involvement and success in education. It needs to be understood that the school should not be relied on to provide all the education. My kids could read before kindergarten. The parents need to do this, they can’t farm out the education. Another thing, my wife worked at an alternative school, the place where kids are sent for making bomb threats and fights that get them kicked out of school. Almost without exception, these kids had parents who couldn’t get it together. The mom who shows up drunk to the kid’s conference. The boyfriend who returns from prison and the girlfriend with kids who takes him back. The uncle who is initiating his nephew in a gang. These kids actually still have a spark of goodness and hope, but it is being snuffed out by the adults in their lives. Try as they may, the school can only do so much. The parents who don’t do right by their kids, who send the kids to school to disrupt the education of the rest of the students, it is really a shame. Unfortunately these parents are mostly a lost cause. There are some interesting early edu programs that try to change some basic factors in the parent/child interactions in terms of education, with the understanding that the adult generation is lost, concentrating on key elements of the kids, to help lift them out of continuation of the parents life patterns. Some show promise. Obama’s work with the Annenberg school initiative actually did not show much success, but hopefully he is open to trying some of these alternate methods.

For those complaining about Obama not sending his kids to public school… can you honestly imagine him sending his two girls and security guards to PUBLIC SCHOOL.
Think about the others kids. This would be a total distraction. The sidwell school can handle it b/c they have experienced the great deal of work it take to educate and maintain the safety of former presidents daughters.

Question,
I do believe that investment in education is a good and very necessary thing. But you hit on a very important point when you said:
“Why can’t there be a concerted nation-wide effort to invest heavily in education. (the actual education, not the politics involved in it)?”
We’ve all heard the saying “The shortest distance between two points is a direct line” and it seems that direct investment in education would be the most effective and least wasteful means of investment. Sooo, we can agree that investment in education is good, and we can probably also agree that wasting as little of that money as possible is also good. I think it would be the most efficient if money went straight from me to the school I chose for my children. In this way, supply and demand would take care of schools that weren’t meeting the needs of the students and would balance things out. I think this system would result in the least amount of politicization of education. Increase funding (with federal taxpayer money) and let state taxes fund the public schools to compete with private schools for the individual’s school money. This way you don’t hang the public schools out to dry in direct competition with private schools. The public schools would have the benefit of tax money in addition to the prize of tuition (funded federally) money to create an awesome system that should give us a huge boost in this country.
What do you think? It would be a huge culture change from the current system, but competition is always a good stimulus for change. I don’t think just throwing more money at the current system is going to effect the change as much as we need. Thanks for your insights!

Robin,
Yes, education at home is important. I wasn’t implying that the public schools are responsible for EVERYTHING in a child’s education. I’d actually go so far as to say that the home learning environment is more responsible for a child’s success than where they go to school. Unfortunately, some schools would really test that theory even for really involved and motivated parents. The reality is that not all parents are going to be that invested in their child’s education so the schools need to pick up at least some of that slack and make it easier for kids to overcome the disadvantage of having bad (scholastically speaking) parents.

Oh I get it. Obama needs to put his children in public school because their just like your children….accept…. that small little difference of their father being the President of the United States. Oh, but since he is your President you should get a say in EVERY decision he makes….so what about the toilet tissue he buys? Or the tennis shoes they wear. Paper or plastic? We really need to figure out what kind of hairstyles we want the girls to have. Or, maybe you should realize he is your next President, not your next puppet. (And I dare anyone to say they would honestly send their kids to a community college over Harvard. At the end of the day you do what’s best for yours. Anyone who says different is a liar and a hypocrite.)

The only thing that “forces” people to send their children to inferior public schools is the parents’ own shortcomings.
No one holds a gun to the head of parents to prevent them from getting the education and skills required to get a job that could pay for private schools. No one forces parents with decent incomes to spend their money on consumer cr*p instead of private school tuition.
OK, it’s not easy. But even parents who do the right thing and still can’t afford private school can supplement their children’s education with outside courses and even some home teaching. A good start is teaching your children to value education.
If people can’t be bothered to do any of this, they shouldn’t have kids. If they can’t refrain from reproducting, at least they should have the decency not to whine about being “forced” to send their kids to public schools.

OMG…the tuition is about $28,000 !!!!
wow!
Even the school choice is not fit his slogan of CHANGE

Sidwell is a Quaker school and follows the Quaker tradition. In the teaching environment, it means that students’ religious beliefs regardless of what orientation are valued.

Why would Obama pick a Public School? He knows the public schools are horrible, run by inept administrators & dumbed down teachers and overpopulated with illegal alien dregs.

There is no reason on earth why the Obama’s should not pick a private school. Private schools are better than public schools (as they should be)The Obamas have made a lot of money from their legal professions and from their writing books. Why can’t they have the fruits of their success just like I expect to have what I work for? I also understand their security concerns being the first black children in the white house, I’m sure their security is foremost in their parents minds & if this school has had previous presidents’ children, they already know how to deal with it. Stop trying to turn it into a “I should have what the President has” scenario. No you shouldn’t. Whoever gave you that idea?

First of all – move your kids to DC schools. NOT. The DC public schools are the crappiest in the nation. Go to the burbs of DC – that means the most incredibly expensive schools in the nation.
Has anyone sent their kids to high school or college these day? Any kid in especially a private high school or ANY college (or their parents) these days is going to be paying way more than the Friends School in DC.
Can we work together to make education an option/priority in the US?
Can you agree to pay more taxes specifically for education?
If not, then this is not a realistic discussion for you.
The Quaker school, or the Sidwell Friends School, maybe an expensive option in DC. But realistically, you move there and decide what is the best choice for your kids. And, if I was the frickin President o the USA, I’d invest the $$ in my kids to go to Sidwell Friends.
Better than bringing up your kids to learn about $20,000 a shot (literally) helicopter moose hunting trips in Alaska.

Of course they picked the same school Chelsea attended. The Obamas copy the Clintons.

Just want to say that I’m happy that we can report on sleepovers! It’s a good time, and I mean that sincerely. When we report on the kids, it takes our minds off the economy. And I remember how good it was to have a sleepover, how happy that made me as a kid–there was nothing better than that! And if the mom made pizza– wow, that was heaven!

I cannot believe the comments here that castigate the Obamas for *daring* to send their children to a private school, simply because “he supports public schools.” SECURITY, people – SECURITY. the second these girls walked into a public school AS THE PRESIDENT’S CHILDREN they would be kidnapped or dead.
get real. complain about something valid. get a life.

As someone who grew up in Washington D.C., I can confidently say that D.C.’s public school system is absolutely atrocious. The school system was actually the foremost issue in the most recent mayoral race in 2007, not crime, poverty, or congressional disenfranchisement. That should tell you how bad it is. Not to mention the issue of security is a very valid one, and Barack Obama is absolutely doing the right thing by sending his daughters to an excellent private school. Not to mention that sending his daughters to a public school wouldn’t be “a minor personal sacrifice,” it’d be his daughters’ personal sacrifice, and that’s not a trait I want to see in a President. Yes, he should really give his children an inferior education so he can prove he’s “a man of the people.” But I guess that’s just standard neocon rhetoric for you.

It’s not about private school vs. public schools, it’s about an ability to have effective security vs. inability to have effective security. Be honest people. If you think about it you don’t really want the Obama kids or Biden grandkids attending the same school your kids go to due to the needs of Secret Service security for the them.
As far as public schools ability to educate? Kids whose parents care enough to supervise and follow up on things their kids don’t understand still have the ability to succeed. Kids whose parent’s don’t care, don’t supervise, don’t follow up will still fail just as they always have.
As parents and grandparents you help build the school system and your kids success or failure. If you don’t want to pay taxes needed to cover maintenance and improvement, your schools will suffer and fail. For the most part, it’s that simple. Sending them to private schools isn’t going to change anything. Besides which, statistics show that kids going to private schools don’t actually do that much better scholastically.

Patrick, in the off chance that you end up reading this comment –
I honestly don’t know what competition would do to the school systems. We can probably talk about what competition between two consumer shops would do for/to the consumer but I truly don’t know how that would play out in the education system. Btw, that’s not my main reservation about the type of restructuring that you are suggesting. But for the sake of discussion, think of hospitals (the actual hospitals, not the health care system). We don’t really approach that from the ‘competition’ point of view, do we? Hospitals don’t seem to have a problem with the public/private issue. There might be problems with overcrowding or something like that but if you get the chance to see a doctor/nurse, the quality of care probably doesn’t differ from hospital to hospital. It could be due to the training that doctors have but it seems like you don’t really see a huge disparity in the quality of care you get provided that you get to see a doctor (am i kinda clear?). My point is that we don’t necessarily have to turn to competition to get excellence (or even adequacy) in certain systems. Instead, that quality is embedded in the people etc who are involved in the system. ‘Competition’ should be one possible means of getting good results, it really shouldn’t be the main one. If we make it so, what happens when there is no competition? I’m really afraid that approach doesn’t acknowledge the value of the subject at hand: education. But that’s more on the ideological side.
My main concern is this: why would you be willing to find your child’s education AND fund a public school through your tax dollars? From your comment, i discern that you are genuinely willing to do that, which is very nice. But would you really be open to that? You may be. But judging from the sort of things I hear regularly from people, i highly doubt that most people would take your approach. If you are investing directly in your child’s education, then why would you be open to investing your money (through taxes) in someone else’s child education? Wouldn’t you be inclined to point out that you are taking care care of your own child, why can’t other people take care of their own children too? I believe if that system was set up, it would probably last about 5 years before people start refusing to fund the education of someone else’s child. It would not be long before people say no to that idea and the funding for public schools gets completely cut off until they disappear. Then the whole thing will be taken over by private parties who will only be answering to the highest bidder. So I don’t think competition with private sector is going to revive public school, I think it would actually destroy them. Then what happens to the children in public schools? Let me point out that I believe that to be a very valid position to take. You are certainly not obligated to keep your money going to public schools if you are taking care of your own child. But I do think that the inherent thinking that all should fend for themselves is a very dangerous mentality for the future of America as a country. The troubling thing for me is that education is not something that would do a nation any good when its achieved by a select few. 10% of the population could be very well educated but that 10% is not likely to reap the full benefit of its education when the remaining 90% is left illiterate. To me, the whole “we rise together, we fail together” thing really has its roots in education. Once somebody has been given a good education, my expectation is that they will put it to good use (they may not, but thats an unfortunate anomaly) and that does everybody a world of good. But we have to give everybody a shot at education for our own good as a society. And I strongly believe we need to strengthen the public school system and not have it get drowned out by the private one that would **potentially** only cater to the few who can afford it.
Sorry for the loooong reading. I obviously can babble on.

Those girls need security, no doubt about it. Children come first. I agree with their choice. When you are in high office, you can’t put your children at risk for every crackpot out here, and believe me there are even more nuts out there because they are an African American first family. Good choice. I would do the same and wouldn’t think twice about doing it. Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.

“Why is Obama so selfish?”
Seriously? Parents do what is best for their children – period. It’s not politics, it’s family. Take the anger and the snide comments elsewhere, they are wasted on this issue.
Posted by: Sharkdog2000 | Nov 22, 2008 2:49:14 AM
I think he and Michelle did the absolutely right thing in considering the very best for their family. However, I will hold them to this when they attempt the typical liberal crack down on school choice or homeschool regulation. They build a platform on education and ideological preference for public institutions (read: fed operated) so the decision is *slightly* more nuanced than, say, Clinton, Bush, Carter, etc. And, I will say, the African American community strongly favor school vouchers knowing FULL WELL that public schools have languished while receiving decades of fed $. They are just as worthy and able to make the same informed “choice” the Obama’s have. They will most likely resent the inability to make the same choice, especially given the platform he ran on. Just sayin’…
As for me, I am all for his choice. Let’s just hope liberals within and without the white house afford the rest of us parents the same ability to choose.

Concerned Twit in Ohio,
It’s about security. Plain and simple. Nothing Obama does will be good enough for you. He could give you 5 million dollars and you would find fault with it. You whine and complain like a 5 year old. Grow up.

Type Error
I am a Republican and I send my kids to private School.
Let Obama acknowledge that Public Schools for the people who do not want to spend money or afford money.
He should give Tax Credit for the money I spend on Private Schools.
Can you Imagine , if all the parents send their kids to private school strike for a week and send their kids to Public School. May be I should promote that Idea.

Sharkdog2000 responds to – Why is Obama so selfish?”
Seriously? Parents do what is best for their children – period. It’s not politics, it’s family. Take the anger and the snide comments elsewhere, they are wasted on this issue.
Funny how you say “WHAT’S BEST”
Obama doesn’t care “What’s Best” for us. He want’s us to “SPREAD our WEALTH” to those who are have less. He should set an example for the country by having his girls go to public school.

Of course the Obamas have a right to a) Privacy re their children and b) to set politics aside for their children. Some of these comments are just mean & nasty. Recently, I saw in the media, that Secret Service related that Security for Obama is very critical now. They have had more threats than EVER before. We forget that with all the perks of the beautiful White House, our Presidents do forfit lots to serve us. In addition to security, Obama has the most complex transitional problems ever seen in our Presidency. Granted, that Roosevelt, Truman & Lincoln also saw grave challenges.
I don’t know much about Sidwell except for the favorable publicity it rec’d for Chelsea Clinton. Having served the Clinton family, this school has the advantage of experience in serving a student from a first family. Lots of other notables come here as well. For that reason alone, experience serving children of First Family and other public figures; it seems Sidwell is an excellent choice.
For those critical notes, some did express universal concerns about the state of education, and for that reason, I hope somebody in the Dept. of Education, is reading these comments.

Public schools are for poor people. The rich liberals in Washington won’t even drive near a D.C. public school. This despite spending $12,979 per student per year.

This is another example of the collage-educated elites looking down they’re noses at real Americans. Some of us were home schooled and what is wrong with THAT?
The Obamas are already measuring the drapes but they might have to get a refund from that private school. The constitution requires a “natural born” president. So this election is NOT OVER YET!
Oboma had TWO FATHERS! He was born to a man from Kenya and a man from Kansas. That is not natural even to Kansas.

This is another example of the collage-educated elites looking down they’re noses at real Americans. Oboma had TWO FATHERS! He was born to a man from Kenya and a man from Kansas. That is not natural even to Kansas.
Posted by: JRon | Nov 22, 2008 9:21:56 AM
If you were home schooled, they should have taught you that collage and college are two different things.

Public vs private aside, what I do not understand is why this information is made public. This should be a security issue. Do we really need the world (or even the crazies in our own country) to know where our president’s children go to school????? Also, why did the media report the security names for the president’s family? There really are some things we do not need to know. I think, for the safety of the Obama family and all the other children around them the media needs to BACK OFF and the Obama transition team needs to start a no-reporting on the minor age children rule.

It’s okay to name the school because trust me, no one is getting on Sidwell Friends without some serious ramnfications. The campus is very secured.

If private schooling is so superior then why is George Bush such a lousy president? He was private schooled. See Wikipedia.
What private schools are able to do that public schools cannot is to connect children from privileged backgrounds to other children from privileged backgrounds. If too many of John Q. Public’s children ever did get access to private schools, the truly wealthy will simply devise a new, more private school system that John Q. Public’s kids don’t have a chance to attend. That’s why the vouchers will never work.
I still maintain that parents who are involved in and concerned about their children’s scholastic progress and success are going to have children who are educated when they graduate but the bottom line is that you might as well fix any shortcomings of the public school for your children and your grandchildren’s sake.

Everyone should mind their own business. Where a parent sends their children to school is a private decision. The Obamas are parents first.

Posted by: Bridget | Nov 22, 2008 11:08:18 AM
And YES I went to a private Catholic school because my parents wanted us 4 girls to have a GOOD education. We weren’t rich either. My dad worked two jobs to give us that chance.
Here is what you said at the beginning of your post:
“I don’t think the Obama girls will be attending DC high schools either, so age has nothing to do with it. It’s about walking the walk, not talking the talk”
What is that supposed to mean then?
How do you know what he supports? He hasn’t taken office yet to do anything regarding education, so reserve your judgment until he gets in office and has time to work on it. Giving vouchers WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

Bush’s daughters went to public high school in TX (
Obama’s daughters going to a private school with $28,000 per child tuition.
hmmm…no out cry from Liberals who are public school supporters and no credit is giving to Bush family ??!!

Posted by: Bridget | Nov 22, 2008 11:37:14 AM
My parents worked their ###### off to give us a better education.
I don’t see where giving vouchers is going to fix the problem of education in public schools. The parents are the ones who need to start getting involved in their child’s education until that happens, they are throwing money away.
What has Bush done the last 8 years to remedy the problem? Not a damn thing. The No Child Left Behind thing is a joke.
Now all of a sudden because Obama is sending his kids to a place they will be SAFE AND SECURE, it’s a big issue with everybody. Where have you people been since Bush took office?
He has every right to make sure his kids aren’t a target.

Bush’s daughters went to public high school in TX (
Obama’s daughters going to a private school with $28,000 per child tuition.
hmmm…no out cry from Liberals who are public school supporters and no credit is giving to Bush family ??!!
Posted by: Frieda | Nov 22, 2008 11:41:52 AM
Well why don’t we just stick a big fat target on both of them. Is that what you yahoo’s want? It’s a SECURITY RISK putting them in a public school!

People can spin this anyway they want. But facts are facts.
Fact – Public schools are a disgrace, they have no discipline and are not conducive to learning.
Fact – Liberals do not allow vouchers because they would lose control of the current indoctrination they maintain on the youth of America. Private institiutions are almost always conservative and that would be a great loss to the left.
To state that security is on their mind is BS by the Obama’s. Many public schools have armed guards and metal detectors, especially in D.C. What private school have you seen with these?
The Obama’s are hypocrites, pure and simple.

It’s the same garbage year in, year out from liberals.
We LOVE public schools, we just don’t think they’re right for OUR kids.
What a load of manure.

How many Presidents have sent their kids to public school? The only reason you are saying anything is because it’s Obama. IF it were McCain or Palin you probably wouldn’t be making such a fuss.

Interesting Comments…read them all! Interesting price for one year of education for two girls…$40,000 plus. I,too,value my children but $40,000 to educate two little girls in grade school..Wow! The other option..send them to a “failed” public school…Why are charter schools and homeschooling so popular? Look at the cost! It doesn’t take a “rocket scientist” to figure it out! On A Side Note: In our small community, over 200 children homeschool (appox. half are college grads–Drs., Lawyers, etc.) Why? No charter schools! It is not just a religious choice but common everyday folk do not make enough cash to pay $40,000 per year. If the “elite rich” like our new president wants to send his children to a school that costs $40,000 a year…so be it! My request is …do not deny those of us who love their children just as much the same options…charter schools and homeschooling! I for one will be looking to see if President Obama considers our feelings (and our children’s education) just as he does his little ones! It is time to walk the walk…no more “Corporate Jet” moments! The public is tired of all the hypocritical behavior, and when “time bankrupt” people like myself take the time to write a comment you can be sure the silent majority is about fed up.

Posted by: Independent Thinker | Nov 22, 2008 12:44:44 PM
He’s not the first “elite rich” (your words)President we’ve had. Why the outrage now?

Ok, I know as much as anyone else that Barack and Michelle were never going to choose a public school for their daughters to go to.
The choice of the Sidwell Friends school seemed obvious to me, and many political figures in Washington send their kids to this prisine, elite private school. Although I wish I could have gone to a school like that, it is really for those who can afford it. I mean, look at Malia’s 5th grade tuition! Look at Sasha’s tuition! It goes up as the students get older!
Public schools need more funding, and of course we need to improve education in America. The incoming first family’s choices don’t affect us, unless we let it. So far, some have just been totally disrespectful to the next President. Deal with it. Move on, he’ll be doing more than Bush ever did.

Thank you, Question! Malia and Sasha are two little girls. Where their now-prominent parents decide to send them to learn is THEIR business. Remember when John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Caroline Kennedy were children in the White House? They were tutored at home!

The incoming first family’s choices don’t affect us, unless we let it. So far, some have just been totally disrespectful to the next President. Deal with it. Move on, he’ll be doing more than Bush ever did.
Posted by: Lame Duck
————————————
Respect is something you earned and barrack needs to get it. The message he sent out is my girls are too good to be with you yahoos in public schools. Why don’t he do something about it so every DC kids have the same opportunity as his kids? His campaign message was he’s different but so far, same old same old. I have respect for him a a fellow human being but zero for his character.

To Just Wondering, the ansver is no because president Bush and Clinton never claimed to be “high and mighty” liked the “messiah”. Go back and listen to barracks BS and see for yourself. he’s a hypocrite.

USA-
You don’t have to prove a point by sending your kids to a public school. Not only that, from what I’m hearing the D.C. public school system is not worth sending kids to anyway! Most people in Washington, D.C. send their children to private schools anyway if they can afford it! Some schools, you don’t have to pay such a high tuition. BUT the majority of private schools, like Sidwell Friends, are for the elite and wealthy. That’s not the issue. The issue is that people need to understand why the Obama family choose this school. If they would have sent Sasha and Malia to a public school, there’s no telling what kind of chaos those girls would be going through! Not to mention the reaction of average kids to the President’s kids. Those girls would be taken advantage of! Security would be a problem too.

To Lame Duck, I don’t really care where the obamas sent theit kids to school. It’s their prorogative. The point is barrack invented his faked image on how he’s different than the Washington crowd, not an elitist, I’m just liked you, bs, bs, bs, bs, more bs, bs on top of bs…….then after he won, he didn’t waste any time reverting back to his old ways.
Fortunately, we seen his act way back in Aug and was abled to prepared ourselves financially for barrack destructions of our country. I/we get no joy seeing our fellow citizens suffer but this should be an eye opener for most of you……..becuase no amount of talking will convinced any of you on how bad obama really is.

An Obama aide added, “Mrs. Obama is the product of public education on the South Side of Chicago and she believes strongly in the importance of good public schools for all kids…” (From Jake’s story.)
Very curious that no mention was made by the Obama aide about President-Elect Obama’s childhood education.
That’s all I have to say. For security reasons alone it is silly to expect the Obama girls to be sent to a public school. so it is not even worth arguing about.
But that aide’s omission of mentioning the father’s schooling as a youth does make me wonder why he/she chose to do that.

Every child in the USA has a right to go to a school that is safe from all koo koos, and teachers that are perverts, and we need schools that teach the basics, and if parents can afford a private school they should be able to go, and our government ought to give parents a voucher program to help with private schools, because most public schools in these days and time SUCK!
There is not a thing wrong with President elect Obama’s daughters going to a private school. But every parent should be able to have that choice with a voucher program. Some of the schools these days and times teach a variety of the 3 S’s, sex and sex and more sex.

Public ed….not for the elite O crew…only you riff-raff public go there…not kings’ kids…after all he’s not paying for it – the taxpayers are….just like he said “be you brothers keeper”…..well, except him..his brother lives on $1 month…and illegal auntie gets your taxpayers money in housing, health and welfare, in Boston…

I agree with Christa, along with every other parent in the U.S, the Obamas should not answer to anyone on what they as parents decide is best for their child’s education. I just hope Obama and his Congress remember this along with his wife’s words of this being a private decision made by the FAMILY before they attempt to take our rights to homeschool our children away.

Quote “For the record, the Obamas don’t need to answer to anyone regarding the decisions they make about their children’s upbringing”
Sure – but the problem is that the rest of us aren’t allowed that luxury (we have to answer to every layer of government bureaucracy from the Obamas on down), and we don’t get to keep enough of our income to ‘evade’ the system with $20,000/year tuition. We care about our children too.

what difference does it make where they send their kids…
where ever they send them they are just going to grow up as elite liberal snobs just like their parents

I really thought Zer0-Bama could change things by putting his kids in the DC public school. It would have been so symbolic of the hope for change that we are the ones that we have been waiting for! Along with stopping the rising oceans, healing the planet, tax cuts for 95% of us, all lies. All typical DemocRAT fraud.

Gee, it must be nice to have the choice of where to send your kids to school.
The Obamas have every right to send their daughters to the school that is best for them.
Most Americans don’t have the luxury of school choice. They are stuck in the public schools unless they can afford private school tuition.
This is liberal elitism and hypocrisy to the max.
Posted by: RxLady | Nov 23, 2008 6:07:51 PM
We all have a choice. If you truely want to send your kids to private school then figure out a way to do it. Maybe you need to get 2 jobs. But we ALL have a choice, so stop complaining. This has nothing to do with elitism.

I just hope that the fee is coming from the Obama pocketbook and not being spread from the taxpayer’s “wealth”. It’s fine that they choose to pay for a private school only so long as they, not I are the payers. I guess that this shows that Obama has been a monumental failure for most of his life which was “dedicated” to improving public education.

I think all the people who have something to say about were this man and wife sends there children to school is out of line. I am a working person and my husband and I decided to send our 2 girls to privide school, we had little money but we got by because they came first in our lives, so if you say you can’t send your child to privide school then you may not want to really make that sagrifice. You need to be quit.

Typical.
We can only assume that the reason they chose a private school for their daughters is because that type of education is superior than anything they can get in a public school in DC.
*Capitalism for the Obama’s – Socialism for the rest of their constituents.
*This was their: “Let them eat cake” moment for sure.

All of you need to just hush, because if it were you and YOU could afford private school you know darn right that you would put your child in a private school. Especially being in the public spotlight, you’d want to keep your children away from the media and the press — private schools can do that MUCH more easily than a public school.
Each person has the right to choose where their child(ren) will attend — don’t act as if you don’t. Work two jobs. Apply for a SCHOLARSHIP — THEY DO HAVE THEM — get off your tailends and do what you need to do instead of whining about what the President-Elect is doing for HIS children. Jease.