Forum Index
»
Private & Independent Schools
Anyone thinking of leaving privates next year?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
If so, why?
I am thinking of the financial side mostly. But someone at work who had his kids in one of the better privates said that it was the biggest waste of his money. His kids are in college now. I just don't want to be in his position in 10 years. I don't hear too many public school parents say that they wish that they had sent their DC to private school. Also, my private school is not doing a good job at making me feel that I am not being taken (yes, double negative). They do the extras very well (public can't compete), but the academics seem to be the same as public school. I will put my second child in public and see how things are there. If we are happy, then we will definitely take the other child out of private school. I am rambling, and I don't mean to upset anyone here, just trying to get some perspective. |
Anonymous
| It depends on the kid. Our first is fine with 30+ kids in a class -- he likes the audience. Our second fades into the woodwork and needs smaller classes. That is about the bottom line. |
Anonymous
| I think we wasted a ton of money on a private for our two kids for 3 years of private. So many other things we could have done with 150K, like not depleted the college fund. The curriculum is much better in science, foreign language, and history in public. The English and Math were possibly better at the private, but our kid's friends who remained in public are getting better grades than ours. Our kids even tell us it was a waste of time and money and they are learning more in public. |
Anonymous
|
A lot probably depends on the child and the situation. I went to public schools up until high school. I enjoyed coasting through them and getting top grades without much effort. I fought against it when my parents forced me into private high school. And they were totally right -- the private school was more challenging, I learned lots more, and I believe I am a better person for having gone to that more challenging school.
No matter what anyone might tell me about local publics vs. privates, that personal experience tells me I want my children in private school. YMMV, of course. |
Anonymous
| Anyone care to name schools on either end? Privates that were disappointing and publics that were great? |
Anonymous
|
It simply wouldn't be an option for us unless financial calamity forced the issue. Our older child seems to do much better in an environment with smaller class sizes and more attention from faculty to work on areas needing improvement. Our younger child would be one of those boys in the corner with the other boys paying no attention to the teacher in a room with 25-30 other kids.
I agree with the other posters, that it depends on the child and the school. |
Anonymous
|
OP here, I realize that these things are school specific. But I can't ignore that people in charge at our private school seem less knowledgeable about education than some of the people in public schools. Because the public schools are more open to criticism, they seem to end up moving in the right direction. Our private school defends everything that they do, even if we bring in tons of research to show that it is wrong.
Also, when I observed my local public, the teachers seemed to be working their tails off with their 20 kids. When I look at the hours my dd's teachers work in private school, they are in contact with the kids for no more than 4 hours a day and only 2 1/2 of those are educational. The rest of the time the kids are off doing art, music and so on. So the private school teachers' lives seem much easier than public school, and they also don't have to deal with the disciplinary issues. Also, on a sadder note, I sort of quizzed some of my dd's public school friends in math (appeared to be a game to them), and they whipped her, and she is one of the better students at her school. |
Anonymous
| Oh, please. |
Anonymous
|
OP, it sounds like your particular private school is not meeting your particular needs. If you're disappointed, you should switch.
I think you should recognize though that not every private school is like that, and not every public school is like the one you observed. |
Anonymous
I agree, but we live in SW MoCo and the publics are generally good. We are also at one of the better private schools, and I am just sensitive to the slight sales pitch that I get from some administrators. I am not going to run around from school to school, which hurts the child in the end. I know that people on this forum are very sensitive to this issue, and I am trying to be careful, so I will not name schools. |
Anonymous
| It really depends on where you live. We never considered public school to be an option because we live in DC. I met some of the potential DC public school teachers and they used incorrect grammar. It hurt my ears. |
Anonymous
I went to private k thru 12th. I wish I could afford to send my ds to private. But if you feel your needs/wants aren't being met, perhaps you should switch privates or try public and see if you like it better. |
Anonymous
Nysmith, disappointing. |
Anonymous
| We have a child in private and are strongly considering switching to public in the fall, largely but not entirely for financial reasons. |
Anonymous
| I heard that DC public schools are considered to be not as good as the ones in MD and VA. So parents tend to put their kids into privates if they live in DC. Is this true? Parents who want to switch to public, do you plan to send your kids to MD or VA public schools? |