No, going to more competitive high schools in wealthier areas do not give you more opportunities

[Anonymous]

The most successful people I know are the scrappiest- totally resilient and they know how to navigate challenging situations and handle all different kinds of people. The last thing you want to do is put your kid in a bubble- they just become spoiled and insufferable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most successful people I know are the scrappiest- totally resilient and they know how to navigate challenging situations and handle all different kinds of people. The last thing you want to do is put your kid in a bubble- they just become spoiled and insufferable.

At the rich public schools, kids are just segregated into little bubbles by the honors or IB or whatever track. They aren’t mixing it up with the FARM kids.

Private school has tons of difficult people — lots of entitled a-holes requiring loads of navigating interpersonal relationships.

Also, candidly, the really successful people don’t have any need to be able to be able to bro it up with the kids who won’t be running the companies with them. They do, however, need relationship with the insufferable bubble kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate how stupid people are. People love to say you are so lucky to grow up in X place because the schools are good and have so many opportunities. Like hello, do you not understand that opportunities in those schools aren’t open for all students?

Sure, some high schools have more sports like lacrosse or wrestling, but what good does that do if you still need to play since 5 to make the JV team? Most students can’t access those opportunities. Likewise, extracurricular like robotics and band are way more selective at competitive schools.


Students at poorer and less competitive schools literally have more opportunities because things like sports or robotics take anyone

When more than 20% of your classmates are behind, you will also be behind, just due to the reduced pace of teaching. So unless the school has dedicated track separated learning (which many are ditching) you are still better off at the ‘wealthier’ school. The fact that your kid did not get into, say, robotics club this year means his math classmates are already advanced in coding which is a huge advantage over a poorer school. To spin that as a disadvantage is truly ivory tower level cluelessness. Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate how stupid people are. People love to say you are so lucky to grow up in X place because the schools are good and have so many opportunities. Like hello, do you not understand that opportunities in those schools aren’t open for all students?

Sure, some high schools have more sports like lacrosse or wrestling, but what good does that do if you still need to play since 5 to make the JV team? Most students can’t access those opportunities. Likewise, extracurricular like robotics and band are way more selective at competitive schools.


Students at poorer and less competitive schools literally have more opportunities because things like sports or robotics take anyone

When more than 20% of your classmates are behind, you will also be behind, just due to the reduced pace of teaching. So unless the school has dedicated track separated learning (which many are ditching) you are still better off at the ‘wealthier’ school. The fact that your kid did not get into, say, robotics club this year means his math classmates are already advanced in coding which is a huge advantage over a poorer school. To spin that as a disadvantage is truly ivory tower level cluelessness. Get a grip.

In large school districts, even "poorer" school still get all the AP options. So there is absolutely "tracking" in HS. My DDs took their PE classes over the summer virtually and the rest of their classes were honors or AP level, including select/audition choirs. They had an excellent experience at their "poor" HS and they were able to play on varsity sports all four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a tradeoff.

My kid joined a competitive and high-performing HS freshman year (we moved from a lower performing area). They didn't make the cut for three BIG opportunities that they tried out or ran for. They were able to participate a little in one of them for a bit. They did make a sports team.

Sophomore year, they realized that two of those things that hadn't worked weren't actually their thing. They did other stuff. They stuck with one extracurricular to give it another try and ended up gaining momentum and became a state elected leader their senior year.

They eventually dropped the sport. Never returned to the other two things. Found some new opportunities to get engaged.

If this is freshman year frustration, try again! Sometimes lots of people drop out and there's a better shot. Sometimes there's more room for sophomores and juniors. Sometimes you evolve.

I think there is a lot of value in having a challenging and motivated cohort at a competitive school. For my kid, this has been critical. But I can also see value in doing it other ways. It really depends on the kid and how they think and work.

How did they decide the things they weren't able to do were not their thing if they hadn't even done them?

Fair point. But they did move on, and were able to find belonging and purpose, and no longer want to do those things. So, it's all good. That's a great life-lesson, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the expression is "steel sharpens steel."

People should buy in the best school district they can afford.

Iron sharpens iron, but close enough - huge sports cliche! heh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the expression is "steel sharpens steel."

People should buy in the best school district they can afford.

Iron sharpens iron, but close enough - huge sports cliche! heh

It’s a Bible verse from Priverbs:

15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping
of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever protects their master will be honored.

[Anonymous]

Money=opportunity

[Anonymous]

The sweet spot is what doesn't hardly exist in this area - at least for public school kids...a well resourced SMALL school. The problem with this area is the HSs are all ginormous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The sweet spot is what doesn't hardly exist in this area - at least for public school kids...a well resourced SMALL school. The problem with this area is the HSs are all ginormous

I feel we have this in Loudoun. The older smallest schools have just as many resources, plus fewer students and easier to make sports teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The sweet spot is what doesn't hardly exist in this area - at least for public school kids...a well resourced SMALL school. The problem with this area is the HSs are all ginormous

You just described Meridian HS in Falls Church City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate how stupid people are. People love to say you are so lucky to grow up in X place because the schools are good and have so many opportunities. Like hello, do you not understand that opportunities in those schools aren’t open for all students?

Sure, some high schools have more sports like lacrosse or wrestling, but what good does that do if you still need to play since 5 to make the JV team? Most students can’t access those opportunities. Likewise, extracurricular like robotics and band are way more selective at competitive schools.


Students at poorer and less competitive schools literally have more opportunities because things like sports or robotics take anyone

It’s deeply troubling how wrong you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate how stupid people are. People love to say you are so lucky to grow up in X place because the schools are good and have so many opportunities. Like hello, do you not understand that opportunities in those schools aren’t open for all students?

Sure, some high schools have more sports like lacrosse or wrestling, but what good does that do if you still need to play since 5 to make the JV team? Most students can’t access those opportunities. Likewise, extracurricular like robotics and band are way more selective at competitive schools.


Students at poorer and less competitive schools literally have more opportunities because things like sports or robotics take anyone

When more than 20% of your classmates are behind, you will also be behind, just due to the reduced pace of teaching. So unless the school has dedicated track separated learning (which many are ditching) you are still better off at the ‘wealthier’ school. The fact that your kid did not get into, say, robotics club this year means his math classmates are already advanced in coding which is a huge advantage over a poorer school. To spin that as a disadvantage is truly ivory tower level cluelessness. Get a grip.

In large school districts, even "poorer" school still get all the AP options. So there is absolutely "tracking" in HS. My DDs took their PE classes over the summer virtually and the rest of their classes were honors or AP level, including select/audition choirs. They had an excellent experience at their "poor" HS and they were able to play on varsity sports all four years.

AP classes are not the same. Even if your anecdote was representative, it still wouldn't counter the PP's claim

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no robotics club to join at my kids’ high school. Sports teams are still pretty competitive, though.

Your kid has the opportunity to found one, which isn't an opportunity available at a more competitive school. When one door closes, another opens.

Can't the ones at the competitive school found one too? If there's a robotics team already, just found an alt.robotics team and make it slightly different. You don't have to go to the same competitions or any competitions for that matter....

My DS founded a language club and they didn't do anything external at all. Do these need to be outwardly recognized for some reason or validity? I would hope not.

[Anonymous]

One of the founders of Open AI grew up in middle-of-nowhere North Dakota and went to MIT. It doesn’t seem to have hurt him to go to high school in a less wealthy area.