My counterargument: Principal Steve Perry wants Obama kids to go to public school

Perry stated, "What I would like to see [Obama] do is to take his two lovely daughters and put them in a D.C. public school. Because on the day that he puts his children in that school, the school will improve from that day forward."

Yes, there may be Secret Service there, and yes, the teachers may be on top of their game plan, but unless he can prove that somehow the educational system will be better, I'm not buying it. Even if and when President Barack H. Obama comes back to Chicago, I wouldn't even suggest he put his children in a Chicago public school, especially considering the current reputation of CPS schools with issues like the Derrion Albert murder.

But he doesn't just want Obama to do it, he wants members of the Congressional Black Caucus to put their children in public schools too.

Principal Perry stated, "And then what I'd like to see is the 45 percent of the Congressional Black Caucus, who send their children to private schools although they represent largely black districts, to send their children to public schools. And until such time as you consume that which you serve, you cannot say that you're committed to that which you serve. If you say you care about public education, then participate in it."

I see where Perry is going with this argument, but the bigger issue is that if children of the Congressional Black Caucus sat down in my living room, I wouldn't be able to tell you who they were. But if I saw anybody who resembled Malia or Sasha Obama trotting down the street, I'm going to take a double take. They've become involuntary celebrities, and it seems like the Obamas are trying to make them as normal as possible without the media hounding them. Putting Malia and Sasha in a public school would hurt that goal tremendously and still shows no proof that the teachers will improve. The teachers in public schools will still be overworked, underpaid and now they'll be searched too. Anybody who wants to come or leave that school would probably be questioned to death and walk out the door.

As irritating as it was for some Hyde Park residents just to live and park on the same block as then-presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama, imagine how inconvenienced those children would be each day at public school. I still remember how annoying it was when we had surprise high school weapon sweeps at my high school, Morgan Park. Every single child at that public school that Malia and Sasha would attend would be treated like a criminal and searched nonstop just from coming in contact with them. I think it is not only convenient for Obama's children but also for other students that they go to a private school where other presidential officials have had their children attend. Plus the paparazzi would be as cold-blooded with snapping daily photos of these kids as they have been with Michael Jackson's children.

Not even all private schools in Chicago are exactly up to par. A co-worker I had at my previous job with a popular newspaper told me about his battle with teachers for not teaching handwriting and long division because "it's not on standardized tests." When the only things we teach are on standardized tests, we're missing out on a world of information. I understand where Perry is going with his argument. He feels that if President Obama has direct contact with public schools, then the teaching behavior will improve. How about letting President Obama fix the educational budget and teaching behavior first before he throws his daughters in an educational system that I don't even think is sufficient for my own young family members to go to. I'm breathing a sigh of relief that my own nephews don't attend public school, and I spent 12 years at a public elementary and high school!