> or affiliated with specialized approaches to educational philosophy (e.g., Montessori or Waldorf). That is true. Private schools can sidestep disastrous educ

> or affiliated with specialized approaches to educational philosophy (e.g., Montessori or Waldorf). That is true. Private schools can sidestep disastrous education philosophies that the government introduces through the public school system. A good example is my country's experiments in [Outcome Based Education](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcome-based_education#OBE_around_the_world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcome-based_education#OBE_aro...) (South Africa). It destroyed a fairly good (under the circumstances) education system in less than 5 years. People who now receive matriculation cannot spell, construct sentences or even do basic mathematics. I was involved in engineering education in 2007. The standards were dropped and even then the failure rates were astonishing (60%+ for single subjects). It is incredibly sad that a country's future was gambled on a failed education philosophy (which was chosen because it is politically acceptable).