Do your kids go to private school?

[moonbogg]

I saw an article on a major news site discussing this "debate". Its not an issue for most of us because we can't afford it anyway, but the argument says that if you are a smart and responsible parent, and didn't waste your life away, then you made the choices that enable you to pay for private school for your kids.
Public schools are seen as public zoos by these people and only a responsible parent who made good choices will actually put their kids in a real school (private school) providing them with an actual chance to succeed in life.
So, do your kids go to private school? If they don't, how and why did you screw up?

 

[nageov3t]

obviously it really depends on the school district.

I went to private school, and if I had kids in the town where I'm living now, I'd probably send them to private school too.

on the other hand, if I was out in the burbs in a small town with good schools, I'd probably do public (or possible public for K-8 and private high school)

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

People actually believe this? I guess that they haven't read studies on the matter. Most wealthy people didn't come from rich families unless said rich families kept a golden spoon stuck in their kids mouths all their life.

Anecdote: My brother in law works in NYC for a well to do family. He says that he public schools there do suck and that private school makes sense.

Most middle class families like myself know to raise their kids in a good school district. That's all that matters.

My real world experience thought: My wife went to a private high school since her parents were well off. I went to one of her reunions which were informal and I as an engineer am doing better than most of her private school educated friends. I was raised in a lower to middle class area and would describe my family growing up as middle class. I would describe my family growing up as middle class and I went to one of the top high schools in my area (top 10 of 130 in WNY). I am better off than most of my wife's high school peers.

I'll take it a step further. Every single friend that I had in college that had student loans cared alot about getting good grades. Those that made it past freshman year that is.

FWIW: I think most poor people are happier than most rich people because they measure quality of life by non financial metrics. I'm saying that poor people are not as fake.

 

[Lifted]

There are great public schools, and there are great private schools. There are very many shitty of both.

The problem is (with a few exceptions) that the best public schools are in areas where housing prices and taxes are so high that residents are spending more to live there than an equally good private school would cost. In the end you're paying for an elite private school level education with the local property taxes.

 

[RKS]

We live in an area with some great "Blue Ribbon" public school districts but send the kids to a private "Blue Ribbon" school because that is how my wife was raised. While it's not prohibitively expensive, I'm dreading high school since it will probably be around $15K/year for each of the boys,

 

[videogames101]

idk my public high school was awesome, so i probably won't send any kids i might have to private schools

 

[Mai72]

The author who wrote "The Millionaire Next Door" found that most people who are real millionaires have all gone to public schools. Their children attend public schools. These people have physical assets and are not mired in debt. What he also found was that people who make a great living, but don't have assets and are mired in debt, send their children to private schools.

He called people who regularly save and invest: Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth (PAW)
He called people who regularly spend and don't invest: Under Accumulator of Wealth (UAW)

Private schools are expensive. You can take 4-years of your child's tuition at a private school and invest it. It would be a better choice then to send them to a private school. Especially if the public school in your district is a good one.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Pre no child left behind. I would say public schools would be fine. But now public schools are designed to teach to the lowest common denominator. All students do now is spend the year cramming for a test, not actually learning.

I would recommend a good private school instead.

 

[Slew Foot]

We live in an area with some great "Blue Ribbon" public school districts but send the kids to a private "Blue Ribbon" school because that is how my wife was raised. While it's not prohibitively expensive, I'm dreading high school since it will probably be around $15K/year for each of the boys,

lol, there are preschools around here that charge 25k/yr. asians in the bay area are crazy.

We live in a nice area so the public schools are pretty good.

 

[etrigan420]

Pre no child left behind. I would say public schools would be fine. But now public schools are designed to teach to the lowest common denominator. All students do now is spend the year cramming for a test, not actually learning.

I would recommend a good private school instead.

^this...sadly.

 

[Lazarus52980]

My kids are homeschooled, does that count?

 

[Jimzz]

Public vs private does not matter as much as the parents. Private schools kick out those they don't want and if a parent is paying they are usually more involved. With public they have to accept everyone and if the parent does not care neither will the child.

My son is 5 and will start public school next year. But me and my wife have him write and spell words and do 1st grade addition and subtraction now to get him ready for kindergarten.

Want good smart kids, then be a good smart parent.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I don't have kids. If/when I do, I will likely send them to public school, but, woman and I will be very involved in their education, and we will pull them out to teach at home if we feel the content of the public schooling is too remedial and if they are not keeping the kid(s) challenged.

 

[Dirigible]

Want good smart kids, then be a good smart parent.

If that's true, my kids are screwed. Poor kids.

 

[Todd33]

They did, until I moved. $900/m per kid and my third was was soon to join, so I moved to a good school district.

 

[TXHokie]

I send my kids to private school K-8 just to give them a really good baseline start. Then hopefully will shuffle them to a public magnet high school into an IB/AP program and let them take it from there. We live in decent public schools (from what I've heard) but the classes tend to be crowded and there are some "disruptors". We hear a lot of complaint about teaching to the test in public. We do notice our kids are typically more slammed with projects and extra work after schools. I like the smaller classes in private school that gives the kids more time for their questions. I wouldn't say I'm rich and prob could use that annual tuition to have a bigger house, new cars or boats, and have fancy vacations but I think we'd short change them of the opportunity. We live modestly and drive 8/10 yrs old autos that's paid for and live in an older home that we continually fix up. I myself went to a not so great public school that had racial gang fights and I tried to get away from the riff raff crowd by enrolling in AP classes only. I don't think that school improved much as it is still ranked like a 5 out of 10 on school ranking sites. Overall I made out ok in life but it was a combination of some self motivation and luck. I would like to give my kids just a better start than I did. My public high school was just too easy and I was woefully unprepared when I got to college with way much more challenging work and being able to manage my time my first two years. My current sixth grader does pre-algebra math that I remember I didn't touch until 9th grade. They can crank out fancier multimedia Powerpoint than I do at work and hell, their computer lab are all on Windows 8 since last year and I'm still on Windows 7 at work. I find the private school curriculum a lot more challenging than what I've seen at public schools and it's not just about grades, they also have to do 10 hours of community work every quarter so there's a social aspects of it as well.
Does this guarantee success? No. I'd just like to think it gives them better preparation and opportunity later. Tho I think the biggest thing is that parents are involved with their kids (but not to the point of being unbearable helicopter parents - that's another thread).

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

There are great public schools, and there are great private schools. There are very many shitty of both.

The problem is (with a few exceptions) that the best public schools are in areas where housing prices and taxes are so high that residents are spending more to live there than an equally good private school would cost. In the end you're paying for an elite private school level education with the local property taxes.

FAIL: Most good public schools are in areas where the parents give two ^&*^s

Let's define a bad school. Parents don't care about their kids future or education. The parents let 2nd graders watch South Park. The parents attack (typically verbally) teachers instead of working with them. Teachers in "bad schools" where parents don't care and kids behave badly are simply schools teachers go to get their experience and leave. The reason being that it isn't rewarding and quite frankly it can be scary on occasion (more fights, etc). What adult would put up with this?

It has little to do with taxes and more to do with parents and the expectations those parents have of their kids. In "bad schools" the parents are typically at fault. And good schools are good school because the parenting is typically better.

FWIW: my brother in law and I (both our wives went top private schools) both spoke about private schools and we agree that there is no way in hell my kids are going to private school.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Pre no child left behind. I would say public schools would be fine. But now public schools are designed to teach to the lowest common denominator. All students do now is spend the year cramming for a test, not actually learning.

I would recommend a good private school instead.

No child left behind is a failure but my 3rd grader is learning things I didn't learn till 5th grade. There are much higher expectations for kids these days.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Public vs private does not matter as much as the parents. Private schools kick out those they don't want and if a parent is paying they are usually more involved. With public they have to accept everyone and if the parent does not care neither will the child.

My son is 5 and will start public school next year. But me and my wife have him write and spell words and do 1st grade addition and subtraction now to get him ready for kindergarten.

Want good smart kids, then be a good smart parent.

Worried about unintended consequences such as a child bored at school because they aren't actually learning anything?

FYI: At the end of first grade, your son will know what he needs to know just like 90% of his peers.

Having 1st and 3rd graders, it is mostly important to make sure your kids are interested in reading. My son is tough but if I read my book while he does his reading, he actually loves it.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I don't have kids. If/when I do, I will likely send them to public school, but, woman and I will be very involved in their education, and we will pull them out to teach at home if we feel the content of the public schooling is too remedial and if they are not keeping the kid(s) challenged.

Don't forget about the socialization that occurs in the class room, at lunch and during recess. Raising kids to be active members of society is more than grades.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

They did, until I moved. $900/m per kid and my third was was soon to join, so I moved to a good school district.

I hope some posting in this thread learn from your experience.

 

[Jimzz]

Worried about unintended consequences such as a child bored at school because they aren't actually learning anything?

FYI: At the end of first grade, your son will know what he needs to know just like 90% of his peers.

Having 1st and 3rd graders, it is mostly important to make sure your kids are interested in reading. My son is tough but if I read my book while he does his reading, he actually loves it.

No we keep things up at home and talk with his early education teacher now and work with her to make sure he's moving forward. We will also do the same next year when he enters regular school. Trust me, if he gets bored his "tiger" mom will be right on top to fix that.

Also we are in one of the highest rated public school system in the nation, Fairfax County, so they usually go a little above others. They screen for parents from other counties trying to get in. We had to go in person 2 weeks ago with our mortgage information and provide picture ID with the same address to register him.

We also teach him dual language right now as well, his moms native and of course English.

 

[purbeast0]

i went to a private school from pre-k to 12th grade and i grew up in a place where the public schools were ranked in the top of the country (montgomery county, md). i have a lot of friends who also went to public school. i went to a public state college (UMD).

that said, when my wife and i have a kid, i plan on sending them to public schools. some of the schools around here are the best in the country.

i have a friend who sent his kids to the grade school we went to (private school) and it is ridiculously expensive and he said it's so not worth it now.

 

[Hugo Drax]

I don't have kids. If/when I do, I will likely send them to public school, but, woman and I will be very involved in their education, and we will pull them out to teach at home if we feel the content of the public schooling is too remedial and if they are not keeping the kid(s) challenged.

The problem is your future child is going to spend 7 hours a day memorizing from practice tests ,sitting in front of computers taking brain dump sessions and practice exams, bubbling in answers all week long for the whole school year, then take the NCLB test suites.


I would not recommend public school anymore, sad that such an institution has been gutted.