Thomas Carlyle once said, “Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world.” There is a strain of popular opinion in our community that says that public education is failing, and that for parents in the city, the best educational choice possible is to open enroll in a more affluent area or choose a private education. This reasoning directly equates a school’s quality with the socio-economic status of the students that attend there. At one time our family unthinkingly subscribed to this narrative. It was not until we actually met parents and students in the Lima City Schools that we discovered the phenomenal people and the outstanding educational opportunities that are available right here.
I would encourage anyone in Lima interested in seeing for themselves what is really going on in public education today to visit the community-wide open house on March 27th at Lima Senior from 5 to 7 p.m. I believe they will find a school system where kids are excited to learn, where stimulating extracurricular options abound, and where children are valued not merely for their test scores but for who they are.
Most of all, they will find proof that the great experiment of American public education — the idea that everyone should have access to an outstanding education regardless of class, background, race, disability, or ability to pay—is not only a worthwhile goal, but an achievable one. If you have heard much talk of education policy and public schools but not recently visited one, this is the perfect opportunity. You will leave with renewed faith in the exceptionally American ideal that is public education.
Grant Sullivan, Lima
