The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children

by Alison Gopnik

Think only of the difficult decision many of us make about whether to send our children to public schools or private ones. Sending them to public schools is arguably better for everyone, but sending them to private ones is arguably better for them. The utilitarian principle of the greatest good for the greatest number should make you choose public schools. But a genuinely moral impulse to do the best for your children might lead you to private ones instead.