ABSTRACT
The choice controversy provides a perfect topic for reconciliation and for further refining the conditions and requirements for RD because, as Eric Boyer stated, “There’s an intensity, even zealousness in the debate on school choice that smothers thoughtful discourse” (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1992). In the absence of convincing evidence for either side, the choice controversy continues to cause disagreement among scholars that is amplified through the popular press. In our own personal experience, both of us were exposed to different aspects of school choice. Hugh’s father, who was an Anglican (Episcopalian) clergyman, sent his children through a private prep school and then to boarding school and then on to Oxford. Although the family had few resources, his father was determined to send his children to the “right schools.” As a young child, Pamela attended neighborhood public schools, but in high school, she was free to choose any school in her district. Even then, in the late 1970s/early 1980s, her home state had mandated a form of school choice. Was this useful for her? Since her family moved quite a bit while she was in high school, if she had been forced to go to neighborhood schools, she would have attended approximately four-five high schools by the end of her school career. As it was, she only attended two high schools.
