Forum Post: Are you bad if you send you're kid to private school?
Posted 11 years ago on Aug. 31, 2013, 12:03 p.m. EST by RadBrad
(12)
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I found this and I was wondering what everyone thought.
I got a little bit into this when the author said that rich people would cluster, I had to stop. anyone who doesn't know that district funding is the problem with the public school system is so far out of touch I really didn't want to finish.
If you don't understand call any Realtor and tell them you're looking to move and want to know how good the schools are. You can always find a good public school if you can afford the neighbor.
It's from Slate. I think your expectations are too high.
Good morning, maybe so.
No, you are not bad. You're placing a premium on your child's education. Placing his or her needs today over possible (but by no means certain) benefits to society in the long run. You could also look at it as not being willing to sacrifice your child for an uncertain future benefit to someone else.
Disruptive indifferent students are one of the main problems in many public schools, no support from the home is another. Removing the "good" student simply increases the concentration of "bad" students and makes the problem worse. Leaving your child in a poor school can't make it better unless you can change the attitudes of those poor students and their indifferent parents.
The author of the article you linked to is right in one way. Schools will improve when everyone is invested in them. That is exactly the problem too, many that go there or send their children there refuse to be invested. The biggest group of private schools, the Catholic schools, are horribly underfunded and are using antiquated technology. What they offer is discipline and an environment for learning. Most of the parents of those Catholic school children are invested. Most public schools, even in the worse cities, have far better resources, better course selection, better paid teachers, but must keep all students, even the most disruptive. Far fewer of those parents are willing to invest in their child's education.
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The article in the link is about sending your child to public school over private school for a better education, the type of private school is irrelevant. It has nothing to do with other motivations, that too is irrelevant. All private schools share a common ability to easily get rid of a student that proves to be too disruptive. That is generally what attracts the concerned parent. Private schools are also perceived as a safer environment in addition to being more conducive to learning.
My comments have nothing to do with rich or poor kids. I made general statements about the involvement and commitment of parents to education and how that generally leads to a student willing to learn. Most parents are both committed to getting an education for their child and willing to help the teacher in a positive way. Those that are indifferent tend to be the parents of disruptive children (this too is a general statement), they can be rich or poor. I've had students from all economic groups that have been disruptive.
I used the most common and numerous of the private schools, the Catholic school as an example. Boarding schools involve too small a number to bother considering in a general comment. There are only around 250 boarding schools in the entire U.S. the Archdiocese of New York alone has nearly that many and New York City has over 1700 separate public school buildings. Boarding schools and their population are too small to factor into the topic as it relates to the article.
As far as your question about the role of the parents of boarding school students is concerned. There are probably several motivations beyond education, some of these motivations cover other private schools also. Some simply wish to hand off their child rearing responsibilities to others, some wish to have their children in an elitist atmosphere, some may wish to get help with a problem child. In any case it doesn't matter. Concerned parents may often choose private schools, that doesn't mean educational concern is the only motivation.
All concerned parents wish for their children to attend what they see as the best schools. What is the "best" is going to be a matter for the individual. The article was concerned only with those parents that see the best as being private over public. That doesn't mean the reverse is true, that all private school students have concerned parents.
There are super elite reform schools scattered through out the nation, true.