Martha de Acosta

About the author: Martha de Acosta is the director of education and training programs at the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation, a nonprofit organization that studies and reports on inner cities.

While parents may be able to promote academic success or convey a personal value system through home schooling, they may fail to convey America's cultural heritage or teach democratic ideals. In fact, these parents may be limiting their children's access to new ideas through social isolation. Their children may never learn to value or interact with people from different backgrounds, a necessary element in a racially and ethnically diverse country like the United States. The best way for parents to improve their children's education is to enroll them in public school and stay actively involved...