We like to believe of public education of our children as a pure science that is populated by individuals who are above the humdrum worries of life and live only for the joy of filling young minds with truth.  But like anything else, schools do nicely or poorly largely driven by money.  Now 1 of the justifications for government funding of schools is you take out of the educational approach any graft or influence peddling by private interests.  In theory if corporate interests or even wealthy folks can influence the schools because of wealth, they could also dictate the curriculum as well as the “slant” the lessons may well take and as such put a spin on the truth because the schools turn out to be dependent on the funding supply.
So, once more in theory, our public schools must be above funding concerns due to the fact tax dollars really should pay for every thing so nobody political or cultural influence can set the agenda of what’s to be taught in school.  But that concept only holds up in theory, naturally.  In the event you invest any time in association with pubic or private schools, you understand that funds and education are intimately intermingled and there’s plenty of influence going on all the time.
In the public level, sports is one of the large aspects that drives public education, particularly at the high school level.  In massive cities, the high school sport teams are typically feeder schools to colleges who’ve a essential monetary interest in recruiting the best high school players.  So cash flows from skilled sports to the colleges and also to high schools to influence schools to pour a whole lot of time and dollars into their sports programs.  The intense rivalry and interest in high school sports within your town reflects that emphasis.
So what’s the difficulty with loving sports? Nothing except that very typically big high schools will divert large percentages of their budgets to the sports system that only serves a fraction of the students of the school and those funds are taken away from academic and arts programs which suffer as a outcome.  So while a hundred boys may well advantage from a well run football plan, thousands of students endure with smaller classes, inferior classroom equipment and underpaid teachers simply because the sports teams get all of the attention and also the money.
In the private level, dollars buys influence even more blatantly.  While your tuition and fees do pay the basic bills of the school, private schools are entrepreneurial and ambitious so the more wealthy parents and parents who can place a great deal of money into the school naturally discover their approach to the school board to create decisions about curriculum and also the direction the school will take as an educational institution inside the future.
This implies that well meaning parents who are not wealthy are not able to assist the school stay focused on their major calling which is usually to bring the highest level of education to the student physique.  The situation also can be aggravated at both the public and private school level when corporate interests get involved and you see corporate sponsorships of school programs resulting in subtle advertising occurring all around the campus.  It sends a message to the students that the school can and has been bought and those corporate interests can have an influence over curriculum as well.
As parents, it’s your job to monitor the extent to which funding alterations the high quality of education of a school.  In the public school level, you’ll be able to voice your concern at school board meetings or in other public venues.  But the ultimate proactive method to get an education for your kid that is not tainted by financial influence would be to leave the public school setting and seek a private school that has not succumb to those temptations but.  In case you fund such a school, get involved heavily and do all you are able to via fundraising to try and reduce the influence of wealthy folks and corporations so the school which is there to serve your youngster can do so with out the burden of influence from the ones that pay the bills.