Personal and Public

I received an email from a reader yesterday. I’m sharing it here because this isn’t the first time this has come up and I’d like to lay this subject to rest once and for all.

I also don’t have a child in school system any longer, but don’t you think it is a bit hypocritical to berate others? I heard from several friends that although you live in the OMHS district (which you often defend in blog and tweets) you chose to send your own child to RHHS - the most socioeconomically/racially segregated in HCPSS. You had a choice because of your husband’s position at RHHS but few others do.

My response:

I don’t berate others. I do speak strongly but there are very few people I would be moved to berate.  Only those who are outright racist or mean-spirited, I would think.

As far as my daughter is concerned, the choice we made as a family was very specific to her particular needs. Because of this, it is her own personal story to tell and I don't get to blab it around so that the general public understands why we made that choice. It would be a lot easier for me if I could. I respect her too much to violate her privacy in order to make things easier on myself.

Both OMHS and RHHS are excellent schools. The decision we made was due to my daughter’s individual situation and had nothing to do with affluence or race or ethnicity. I cannot control whether people believe me. I can only tell the truth and move on from there.

So there you have it.

Make up your own mind. I’m officially done with this particular topic.