Education Pluralism

  • God's Preferential Option for Public Schools? Some Questions

    I'm not even talking about Allison Benedikt's over-the-top manifesto ("If You Send Your Kid to a Private School You Are a Bad Person"). For more on that, I refer you to Hubert Krygsman's earlier post here on the Cardus Daily.

    The "justice generation" has a new target, and a new badge of honour. The target of their criticism is Christian schools, or more specifically, parents who send their children to Christian schools. And their new badge of honour is their own d...

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  • Private Schools and Public Good

    Whether intended tongue-in-cheek or not, Allison Benedikt's article in Slate magazine, entitled "If You Send Your Kid to Private School, You are a Bad Person" has generated much stimulating—and sometimes fruitful—discussion. Using it as a heuristic tool for further reflection, one of its benefits is that it helps to expose a fundamental confusion inherent in suggesting a "public vs. private" conflict when it comes to education. if every single parent sent every single child to public school, public schools would improve. This would not happen immediately. It could take generations. Your children and grandchildren might get mediocre educations in the meantime, but it will be worth it, for the eventual common good.   

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  • Making Faith Flourish Through Secular Society

    Secular society has a duty to encourage a flourishing religious life, argues Paul Donovan

    Three questions were asked to frame this discussion on religious education in secular society and I think it is important to recall these questions.

    1. What are the main issues and challenges in this discourse?   2. How do religiou...

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  • Private Schools, Public Education

    Yesterday, I spent a few hours with a prominent journalist-turned-academic who took some issue with this line of argument.

    "A Rising Tide Lifts all Boats," argues the Cardus Education Survey 2012 report released last week. The graduate data from non-government school sectors in Canada are evidence that public education—educatio...

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  • The Conversation: Private Education, Public Interest

    Cardus director of research Ray Pennings discusses a new study of private education and the public interest.

    In keeping with Cardus' Mandate to renew "Social Architecture" in this country, rather than examining academic achievement, the story looks at the way schools shape students into citizens. Ray Pennings, Cardus Director of Research, discusses with Publisher ...

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