I know the commenting on this post has moved in the direction of public schools, but I saw <a href="http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2009/07/breakdown-in-functioning-civil-society.html" rel="nofollow">this on the utility of dog walkers and dog parks</a> and thought it relevant:<br /><br />&quot;Dog walkers contribute positive activity not just to streets and sidewalks but to parks. It&#39;s very easy for a park to devolve into a dangerous place. One technique for people committed to disorder to keep people (especially families and children generally) out of parks is to break a lot of bottles - broken glass keeps a park free of children, making it easier to conduct illicit business and activities.<br /><br />&quot;Dog walkers help rebuild neighborhood groups committed to providing support and focus to neighborhood parks...&quot;<br /><br />A lot goes into the vitality of a place, and if families with young children aren&#39;t quite ready to leap, there are plenty of other early adopters that certainly could. And those adopters, with their dogs and walking, will make it a more welcoming place for the families that follow.