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The whole "best public schools" in the nation is such a farce
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Anonymous
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14:19 again. Looking further at the reports, it appears Fairfax is substantially larger than most others, so maybe it's an economies-of-scale thing. Montgomery County is 2nd largest, and its per-pupil number is also relatively low (~$15k).
Another interesting thing looking at the multiyear data is that the per-pupil spend for all counties is steadily decreasing over the past few years. I suspect that's a result of budgets shrinking rather than becoming more efficient in supplying education. |
Anonymous
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I suppose putting others down makes you feel superior.
There are therapy sessions to help you work through that.
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Anonymous
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WTF kind of post is this? I live in Va. because I grew up here and want to be around extended family. Some of us also aren't the top 10% earners in the country like you, Ms. Elite, queen of snobs. I don't have 95K to spend on private education, as that is more than I make in 1 year. Gasp! But even if I did, I still wouldn't move. My kids get good schools with superb art, music, foreign language and science programs and they get to grow up with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
How do you make all that money yet are still too stupid to realize that everyone has different reasons for living where they live. Get a clue and your nose out the air. |
Anonymous
| In addition, just because you pay 95K for an education, doesn't mean you are getting the best education in the nation either. Your underpaid teachers have their share of scandalous incidents and the elitist mentality that your post demonstrates is not something I want my kids to be a part of at your precious, expensive school. |
Anonymous
| Assuming you are right, what solution do you propose? Should we all pay $30K/child for education? |
Anonymous
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I could have told you this 30 years ago when I moved to the high school in MoCo with the then best SAT scores. The aggressive curriculum at my small public high school in Ohio was far superior and much better at college prep. I couldn't convince anyone in MoCo that I had already had 5 years of French and that I had used the book they had in the class they stuck me in 2 years before until I aced every test. I missed reading somewhere close to 35 mandatory books, and studied Sophmore year in Ohio literature that wasn't touched until honors English in senior year in MoCo. Nothing's really changed in MoCo in those 30 years except to standardized the testing to a lower common denominator and offer IB classes.
We also moved here from the Midwest in the last year from one of the better schools in a pretty dismal urban district, and I have to say that after hearing all this talk about "best schools in the country" and on and on, we're pretty disappointed in the "one of the best among the best elementary schools" that our kids are now attending. I don't quite understand how they figure they're so advanced, because in our experience they're not. On the other hand, we were recently at the house of a relative whose DS (same age as my DS) attends a 30K/year private (I believe it's one of the ones people on DCUM call the Big 3), and he was finishing his math homework, and their math curriculum, for lack of a better word, really sucks. No further comment, your honor. |
Anonymous
First of all this person is just a troll just trying to stir up something interesting or controversial on this Friday which is usually the most boring day of the week on this blog. It's probably Jeff himself. So anyway don't get your panties in bunch over this nonsense. Your children will receive a good education just about anywhere providing you are an engaged proactive parent who supplements your child's education at home. By the same token if you are an absentee parent your children won't learn much more than the fact that you spent $95k on their education. The $95k makes very little difference at all. It's all about good responsible parenting. Without good parenting it's impossible to buy a good education. |
Anonymous
| The biggest difference, for me, between public and private schools in VA is the peer group that my child has and the size. Not the class size only, but the grade size. Many local public schools have 3, 4, 5 classes for each grade. Our school has 2 classes for each grade. It has been possible to get to know many, many families during our time at the school. So we know who we share values with and who we don't. People have left to go to the FCPS GT program and have come back. Is it perfect? No. By no means, but I have a much greater peace of mind about my kids' day at school than many of my friends do. |
Anonymous
OK, the $95K is BS. The only type of person who would mention this is somebody who's really insecure -- and therefore doesn't actually do it. Otherwise, absolutely no need to mention it because it's understood when 3 kids are involved. Not to mention, what kind of nitwit, who never sent her kids to public schools in "the burbs" because she says she doesn't live in "the burbs" herself, would write a post slamming schools her kids never attended, and which she evidently knows nothing about? A troll, that's who. I second the bit about teaching to the test in private schools. My kid did SSAT prep at a private K-8, and there was a lot of prep for the annual ERB exams. I think the dollars-per-kid expenditure figures have been shown to be fairly useless in predicting academic success. There seems to be a consensus that just throwing money at schools doesn't improve anything (at least until somebody finds that miracle solution that is a terrific investment). It's also probably not very meaningful to compare dollars-per-kid numbers across schools with very different SES, where you may be talking about ESOL, or when the schools have programs for LD kids. |
Anonymous
This seems over-the-top controlling. You can't micromanage your child's life forever. Kids - if raised to be secure and confident - will hang with others who share the same qualities. Furthermore, how do expect your child to move along in life if s/he has only been exposed to those who are similar? Time to cut the cord |
Anonymous
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The thing is, many of the same perils exist in private schools as in public schools: drugs, alcohol and sex. These are the hobgoblins that haunt the dreams of parents of teens. You can't insulate your teenager from drugs, alcohol or sex by sending them to private school.
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Anonymous
My child's school has 5 classes per grade, and I dare say that I have gotten to know MORE families as a result of the classes getting recombined each year. It has also given my child the chance to know more kids and find a compatible social group across all classes in the grade. |
Anonymous
| OP, it sounds like you really NEED to believe that the 'burb public schools are inferior in order to justify your choice. I could give you a laundry list of positives about public school, but you sound emotionally fragile and NEED to have this win. So, please enjoy your win and do not come near my 'burb or school! |
Anonymous
| What OP NEEDS is attention. Why else post something like this? She's a loser. |
Anonymous
| OP hasn't said 2 cents since her first post so I think it's safe to say she doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. |