What public doesn’t teach

[Anonymous]

How do kids do who have to leave the private or the area and try a new school or system out? They would know. anyone follow up with their old friends?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so funny. People get so worked up over defending their choices.

It’s unfair for parents whose kids have only gone to public schools as they really have nothing to compare to. I guess it’s similar for those only attending private, but that is less common.

My feeling having had multiple experiences at public and private (independent privates) is that private really is better on so many levels.

If your definition of ‘better’ is that your child is taking AP multivariable calculus in 10th grade (a skill that AI does and is really not going to be important for humans in the near future) then I guess public is the superior option.

Calculators are pretty good at arithmetic, so should we quit teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication etc? There is no AP multivariable calculus - multivariable calc comes after AP Calc BC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends where you are. No private school is touching Stuyvesant, Bronx Science or Brooklyn Tech in NYC. There are plenty of great public schools that leave most privates in the dust. I say that as a private school parent.

I will say that these kids often suffer in writing and other areas because many of them have spent years prepping for one test to get into these highly selective high schools and that’s what they know.

Those schools are every kid for themselves. Horrible facilities, too.

It’s funny to bring up facilities, when one of DC’s “Big” privates has a well-known ray problem and water infiltration/ceiling leaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends where you are. No private school is touching Stuyvesant, Bronx Science or Brooklyn Tech in NYC. There are plenty of great public schools that leave most privates in the dust. I say that as a private school parent.

I will say that these kids often suffer in writing and other areas because many of them have spent years prepping for one test to get into these highly selective high schools and that’s what they know.

Those schools are every kid for themselves. Horrible facilities, too.

It’s funny to bring up facilities, when one of DC’s “Big” privates has a well-known ray problem and water infiltration/ceiling leaks.

Do you mean a rat problem. Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so funny. People get so worked up over defending their choices.

It’s unfair for parents whose kids have only gone to public schools as they really have nothing to compare to. I guess it’s similar for those only attending private, but that is less common.

My feeling having had multiple experiences at public and private (independent privates) is that private really is better on so many levels.

If your definition of ‘better’ is that your child is taking AP multivariable calculus in 10th grade (a skill that AI does and is really not going to be important for humans in the near future) then I guess public is the superior option.

Not sure why AI was brought into the discussion.

On that logic, literally all of school will be of no value. AI can write at a high level, perform high level math, etc.

All the jobs the vast majority of DCUM people do…legal, finance, medical, software, creative….are at risk.

Fortunately/unfortunately it will be a boon to senior level professionals by making them super productive, but will depress the demand for all the kids that need to start somewhere to learn the ropes.

People need advanced-level math to be the creators and maintain the computer systems and programs. The logic makes no sense.

Very few people. That's the magic of computers. Once one person figures something out, they can make a billion copies for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so funny. People get so worked up over defending their choices.

It’s unfair for parents whose kids have only gone to public schools as they really have nothing to compare to. I guess it’s similar for those only attending private, but that is less common.

My feeling having had multiple experiences at public and private (independent privates) is that private really is better on so many levels.

If your definition of ‘better’ is that your child is taking AP multivariable calculus in 10th grade (a skill that AI does and is really not going to be important for humans in the near future) then I guess public is the superior option.

You could say that about every subject & class. I majored in English in college. I only use basic math in my daily life. Yet, I am glad I took Calculus in high school, because it exercised my brain and improved my problem solving skills.

And you can count yourself among those getting worked up & defending your choices.

You can "exercise my brain and improved my problem solving skills" in Algebra too. Most people who get a 5 in AP Calculus would be stymied by challenging Algebra problems (shout out to Art of Problem Solving website).
So that's not the reason to take Calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so funny. People get so worked up over defending their choices.

It’s unfair for parents whose kids have only gone to public schools as they really have nothing to compare to. I guess it’s similar for those only attending private, but that is less common.

My feeling having had multiple experiences at public and private (independent privates) is that private really is better on so many levels.

If your definition of ‘better’ is that your child is taking AP multivariable calculus in 10th grade (a skill that AI does and is really not going to be important for humans in the near future) then I guess public is the superior option.

You could say that about every subject & class. I majored in English in college. I only use basic math in my daily life. Yet, I am glad I took Calculus in high school, because it exercised my brain and improved my problem solving skills.

And you can count yourself among those getting worked up & defending your choices.

You can "exercise my brain and improved my problem solving skills" in Algebra too. Most people who get a 5 in AP Calculus would be stymied by challenging Algebra problems (shout out to Art of Problem Solving website).
So that's not the reason to take Calculus.

This is also why Maryland public schools requires "math every year" regardless of how many math credits you have accumulated in MS or summer school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends where you are. No private school is touching Stuyvesant, Bronx Science or Brooklyn Tech in NYC. There are plenty of great public schools that leave most privates in the dust. I say that as a private school parent.

I will say that these kids often suffer in writing and other areas because many of them have spent years prepping for one test to get into these highly selective high schools and that’s what they know.

Those schools are every kid for themselves. Horrible facilities, too.

Plenty?

NYC has 9 specialized high schools, together serving about 10% of the population.

20% of NYC students attend private schools.

I think Exeter could touch Stuyvesant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Writing
Critical thinking
Creativity
Organization and study skills
In depth math

Have been at a highly ranked public from 1-6th and am appalled by the shallowness of the curriculum. I feel terrible for what my kid has missed.

1-6th? Give it item.

Second, much of the above comes from within your kid and cannot be taught. My PS grad hits all of the above (particularly in depth math).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Writing
Critical thinking
Creativity
Organization and study skills
In depth math

Have been at a highly ranked public from 1-6th and am appalled by the shallowness of the curriculum. I feel terrible for what my kid has missed.

I have one in public and one in private. This is a ridiculous thread - you can't make generalizations about either type of school. It's important to compare your actual public to the actual private you are considering.

The curriculum are very similar.
The big difference is class size. The classes are much bigger in public, so your child needs to be a little more self sufficient and able to pay attention in the larger class. They also seem to get a lot of *opportunities* for more in depth and advanced work, but it isn't always required. For one of my kids, she is able to do focus in the big class and always does the her best to challenge herself and take advantage of the additional learning opportunities. She has learned lots of critical thinking, creativity, and in depth math. For my other kid, she was happy coasting in public and needed the small class sizes and more individual attention to really stretch herself. She doesn't have as many opportunities for advanced work as my public DD, but since she wasn't taking advantage of them anyway, she's better off in public.

I will say the organization and study skills seem to be explicitly taught more in private.

I could have written this post. Two kids same experience. I will add my son's peers at his public are as smart and motivated as you can get. Not seeing the same in our private. One or two kids per class stand out as excellent students. The rest including my daughter are more "average" but happy kids! My rec from this experience is if your kid likes challenge & deep dives, stick with public especially in STEM.

[Anonymous]

It depends 100% on the kid and I think parents forget that. They are in school 8 hours a day and have to do the work. The social connections and the homework - that's their responsibility and their environment - those friendships have to take them through years.

I think a lot of parents don't take into considerations what their kid will buy into - a lot depends on their best suited style of learning and personality. I have 2 kids of which 1 has severe learning disabilities and really needs private. The other could go either way but prefers the private environment. I think she's better off in private but she could well do fine in public where all her friends are. It's more money for us to put her in private but ultimately it's where she WANTS to be. That's why she's there. I think she'd get the same education.

Public is self driven however - if your kid isn't going to take the initiative and isn't really on top of their game and has any learning or social challenges at all, private can be better suited but ultimately - it still depends on that institution. They have to want to be there and it has to fit them. It's not like all publics are the same nor privates either. There is a methodology to how they are run and what you get with private is something that isn't mainstream. That's kinda about it. It still has to be a good fit to your kid!

It's so pointless in seeing these discussions and debate of which one over the other better. There's no answer for that. We have friends whose kids are absolutely great in public and I don't think it would have made them better in private but I know our kids obviously are better off in private. There is no Best or Better, just different families.

[Anonymous]

Critical Race Theory (nor do privates), but good luck convincing a large swath of the voting public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol you posted this on the private school forum. Did you expect posters to disagree with you?

Have fun spending tens of thousands of dollars a year only to see your kids end up exactly the same as the public school kids in life.

Truth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so funny. People get so worked up over defending their choices.

It’s unfair for parents whose kids have only gone to public schools as they really have nothing to compare to. I guess it’s similar for those only attending private, but that is less common.

My feeling having had multiple experiences at public and private (independent privates) is that private really is better on so many levels.

If your definition of ‘better’ is that your child is taking AP multivariable calculus in 10th grade (a skill that AI does and is really not going to be important for humans in the near future) then I guess public is the superior option.

You could say that about every subject & class. I majored in English in college. I only use basic math in my daily life. Yet, I am glad I took Calculus in high school, because it exercised my brain and improved my problem solving skills.

And you can count yourself among those getting worked up & defending your choices.

+1 higher level math is about higher level complex, critical thinking, not about the actual math.

And yes, that person is also defending their choices. I guess the PP went to a public school that didn't teach critical thinking skills.

Ooooh! It looks like I struck a nerve.

AI will be supporting AI by the way...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol you posted this on the private school forum. Did you expect posters to disagree with you?

Have fun spending tens of thousands of dollars a year only to see your kids end up exactly the same as the public school kids in life.

NP. My goal in life for my kids is to help them be as happy, intelligent, and self aware as they can be. Not to get them to make millions.

I do think in most cases all that private school gives you will help in life and will be an advantage.
So I am happy to spend tens of thousands of dollars because my kids will not be the same people they would have been in public…

Depends on the school. At W&L high school, there are essentially 2 schools in one. One for the students doing Intensified classes, AP and IB classes (maybe 20 - 40% ?), and one for those in regular classes. They really only mix in PE class. Our public MS has very small classes for now, but will get larger as more housing is finished being built. Some of the MS elective teachers are absolutely checked out, and kids teach themselves via some program, and have finished the curriculum a month before the class is over with no help from the teacher at all. Some of the teachers are great, just the luck of the draw.

The peers my teens hang out with are a good group of athletic and smart kids. Not all public school kids have the same experience attending the same school. But we have supplemented when we thought the school was lacking.