I am frustrated by persons who see the choice of the Obamas to send their daughters to a private school as somehow reflective of the choice that middle and upper middle class families make when they choose to do the same. It is not. First, the Obamas have major security concerns that should not be overlooked in order to make a statement about the value of the public school system. Second, his daughters have a sufficiently diverse social life outside of school in that their parents have close family friends that include African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Caucasian-Americans.

However, the typical white middle-class or wealthy person who opts to send their child to a private school does remove a probable option for diversity, which is invaluable. I highly suspect that the most effective white children in the future will be those who are comfortable in a diverse environment and see the potential for culturally complex life experiences. Unfortunately, making progressive statements, watching movies about other cultures and occasionally inviting a token person of color to dinner does not suffice. It takes effort for parents to create a broad racial sensibility, but what else is parenting all about.