Over the last few years, there has been a spate of media articles/conferences etc. in India, advocating for what is termed “school choice”. Two such examples are here and here. What follows is my response to one of these articles. Two of the central claims seem to be the following: There is conclusive evidence in favor of school choice; and that private schools offer better educational quality at lesser (one-third)   Read More ...

“While [the children] may not be physically punished…a strong message is communicated to them that if they want to be accepted by the teacher and the society, they have to renounce any allegiance to their home language and culture. [W]hen the message, implicit or explicit…is “Leave your language and culture at the schoolhouse door” children also leave a central part of who they are, their identities-at the schoolhouse door.”  (Cummins,   Read More ...