"If you are an egalitarian, why do you send your children to private school?"

The question that inspired this essay might seem to be a concern only for a small number of well-to-do families who can afford the high cost of private education. And many of these people see themselves as middle class rather than "rich," but this is precisely the myopia that the world of elite schools reinforces. a Families who earn more than three times the median household income ($50,300) can only think of themselves as struggling members of the middle class when they have almost no real exposure to the lives of the actual middle class, let alone the poor. When you spend time at an inner-city public school you find out that the Christmas break may be spent working at the family store rather than skiing. Nevertheless, I think that the theoretical issues raised by private schooling are relevant for broader issues of educational policy. The principles expressed in private decisions should inform public deliberation, but the extent of our obligations and our ability to fulfill them will be different. To modify a famous example from moral theory, if your mother and an important stranger are both caught in a fire, it is fine to prioritize the private over the public good and save your mother first, but having demonstrated that you think death by burning is a terrible thing, you should support funding for the fire department or fire safety regulations. In other words, the principles that inform your decision in one sphere should also be used to reflect on your obligations in the other. The egalitarian who believes that the purpose of public education is to promote democratic character through exposure to difference should, if possible, select a diverse public school for his child. Similarly, the egalitarian-liberal who endorses a system of detached public schools should select a somewhat unheimlich (and therefore autonomy-promoting) school. We may legitimately prioritize our children's well-being over the public good, but we must define well-being in the same way as we do when we are thinking about what is good for others.