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Why do you send your DC to private?
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Anonymous
Wow. Ivy. Gothic architecture. A golden sun setting over a pond. See, that's what the local public school is lacking: $$$. I'd feel totally different about public school if only they'd charge tuition so they could spend the money on upgrading their buildings. I don't think the PTA has even given a thought to starting little ivy shoots around the foundations of buildings. And they haven't even bothered to hire a pricey marketing group to produce videos like this one so they can attract students ... oh wait, they don't need to advertise for students. |
Anonymous
| It's free pp -- no sense in mocking those of us who believe in paying the big bucks to send our kids to nice private schools. |
Anonymous
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I'm not mocking private school parents as a group - because I sent my own kids to private school for a while.
I'm mocking the idea that a slick marketing video somehow encapsulates the differences between public and private school educations. Especially since this particular video seems to be promoting a soft-focus vision of the ideal new england prep school. Let's face it, kids play field hockey, the saxophone, and do theater at public schools, too. The difference seems to be that some kids get to play the saxophone in front of a gothic arch. But YMMV. And I have no doubt that St. Paul's is a great school. |
Anonymous
Ouch! Posters who can't afford "nice" private schools shouldn't mock those of us who can. Please go back to your crummy-but-free public schools, and keep your opinions to yourselves. |
Anonymous
| exactly pp |
Anonymous
I have nothing against public schools. My kids went to fantastic magnet schools before we decided to send them off to private school. The original poster asked why we send our DC to private? There's nothing like a visual to drive home the reasons. If you don't like my visuals drive up to Groton, SPS, Exeter or Andover and seeing for yourselves. 
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Anonymous
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So private school is all about the visuals? The lovely white or brick spires?
Sorry if I find this a bit superficial. You might as well say, "it's all about the money to build the nice buildings." If you had said "small class size, Harkness classrooms, lots of extra subjects" you might have convinced me. But the glitzy, magazine-picture visuals? Not so much. (We actually left private school to go to some fantastic magnet schools.) |
Anonymous
| I'm not the one who posted it, but the video says more to me than really nice facilities ... although that is certainly evident too. I see a community of kids who appear very focused on learning and supporting each other ... for the right kind of kid, it looked nice. I wouldn't trust a glossy video as to whether students are truly kind and supportive of each other ... something to explore very carefully. But I don't quite understand the kneejerk negative reactions ... after financial aid, the school is probably more affordable than some of the privates around here. |
Anonymous
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I saw the community of kids, too. But a primary goal of any boarding school, like SPS, will be to persuade kids and parents that it's OK to send their kids away, because the school is just like your family.
My objection was to using a marketing video, with lovely pictures, to compare private schools to public. For one thing, a marketing video is not going to present any of the downsides of a school. Drug use, cliques - these may or may not exist -- and I'm not saying they do exist -- I'm just saying we'll never get the full picture from a marketing video. I too agree, this might be a terrific school for the right kid. I think I even said that I don't doubt it's a great school. But the superficiality of this particular comparison makes me wonder if this is the same vapid private school mom who is asking everybody where they are going for spring break.... |
Anonymous
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PP:
What don't you understand about the OP question? Why do you send your DC to private? You are the only individual who is comparing private to public. For the poster the video amply explains why the poster sends DC to private. Refrain from attributing your words, your anxieties, impressions to the poster responding to the OP. |
Anonymous
| I send DS to private so that he will learn the value of hard work - he was coasting in public school. It looks good today - over the weekend he rewrote a 2 page English essay two times, after discussing his ideas with his peers (he's in high school). |
Anonymous
Did you leave a school like SPS, Exeter or Groton for a fantastic magnet? Or did you leave a "Podunk" private school for a fantastic magnet? Two entirely different scenarios! |
Anonymous
Thanks for clarifying the rules of the thread! -- we're not allowed to question anybody's motives, even if they seem nonsensical. E.g., I like private schools because some boarding school up north has a beautiful website! -- Anybody who casts doubt on specific reasons "why" will be called "anxious." Even if everybody here seems to have had kids in private at some point. Are you really this silly in person? |
Anonymous
Yikes, you're not strong on logic, are you? The choice is between private and public schools. If you choose a private school, you are deciding it is better than a public school. |
Anonymous
Speaking about logic: Are you certain or sure of this conclusion? Or is this your particular value system with regards sending a child to public or private school? |