public vs. private school

•••

This week, I am registering my daughter at our excellent local high school. She is leaving her private school behind. The people at her private school are incredulous. A public school? Seriously? They keep asking us if we're sure. (Subtext: But, but... why? We're so uniquely awesome! We're not a school - we're family.)

It's like leaving a cult.

I was chatting with a guy this weekend, and within minutes, he told me he had two children at Sidwell Friends and a son at Stanford. His face lit up when I told him my daughter went to [private school]. Then he asked where my son went to school and I mentioned the name of our local high school. His face went blank. Didn't know what to say. I wasn't in his tribe anymore.

Many people who send their kids only to private schools seem to think all public schools are alike: filled with hordes of gum-throwing kids, criminals and bad teachers (à la every Hollywood depiction). Our local high school (one of the          W schools) is an amazing school, with rigorous standards, lively teachers, and very involved parents.

(And some of its students end up at Stanford.)

•••

Comments

[Wendy]

I am 13 years old and have been attending public school for my whole school career. Meanwhile, I have an older sister who has been going to a very prestigous private high school for three years already. I must admit going to a private school definitely exposes you to many different people and gives you the opportunity to explore many different aspects that you would never have learned if you attend a public school. The cost associated with sending your child to a private school can also be a pretty big burden on some families. As long as your child has the motivation and determination to learn, he or she will suceed anywhere. I am currently writing for a blog (radicalparenting.com) which helps parents teach their teens by providing them with input from actual teens. We also have a article on public vs. private school that you might be interested in reading, feel free to check it out:
http://www.radicalparenting.com/2008/06/17/8-arguments-the-public-school-vs-private-school-debate/
Thanks!
Wendy

[ConcernedParents]

My husband and I had a similar situation with our child. Currently our teenager was in public school, however; there were many issues that were coming up such as substance abuse & peer pressure. We had to resort to aprivate school.My husband and I research a lot to figure out which school would fit the best for our child, and what would be best for what he needed. We had many neighbor speak about west ridge academy in utah
It was school that helped with struggling teenagers. It was the best decision we could make for him. I guess in some ways public school has it perks, however; private school was the best option for our son.

http://vimeo.com/westridgeacademy

[Bo Hika]

Yeah... don't think that private school doesn't have substance abuse problems. They just get into the more expensive drugs bought with mommy and daddy's credit card.

[Jeff Peters]

My first year out of college, I was an "apprentice teacher" at a private day school in Snoburban southwestern Connecticut. The year I worked there was the first they'd ever had apprentices who weren't themselves products of New England private schools. It was 1996, and with the presidential election that year, we were discussing with my sixth grade students the qualities they thought a candidate should have.

"Well, of course, he should have gone to private school," said one boy.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Well, everybody knows you can't get a decent education at a public school," he perfectly parroted something I'm sure he'd heard his parents say.

I knew this student generally liked me and respected my intelligence, so I asked, "Would it surprise you to learn that since kindergarden, I have *always* attended public schools, even college?" His jaw wasn't the only one in the room to drop.

[Linda]

they tell you it's a family right in the video : ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5RH68gl3i4

[Doris]

All three of my daughters attended public school here in MoCo (NOT one of the W's!); all three got into good colleges of their choice, and the youngest went to law school. My granddaughter has attended Catholic schools from kindergarten on and is a sophomore at a Catholic girls' high school. I'm glad she has the opportunity and the means to go there because the public schools have become way too secular for my taste. Winter break, not Christmas. Spring break, not Easter. At least she can celebrate the holidays the way we did when I was a school girl.

[Doris]

Jeff Peters, didn't they teach you at your public school that it's "kindergarten," not "kindergarden?"

[@DCprvtschoolkid]

I think my feelings can best be summed up with a quote from Ja'mie King of "Summer Heights High."

“People always go, ‘private schools create better citizens’, but I would say they create better quality citizens. Studies have shown that students from private schools are more likely to get into Uni and end up making a lot more money, while wife-beaters and rapists are nearly all public school educated. Sorry, no offence, but it’s true.”

[Doris]

Of course there's the Preppy killer and the lacrosse player from UVA who murdered his girl friend. They were private school students. I wonder if you'd differentiate between a private school and a parochial school? They do teach values at parochial schools.