Anyone regret sending their kids to public school?

[Anonymous]

Wait, are people saying that they are considering going private and paying 15K plus so their child will be LESS challenged?!

Honestly, I rarely come to this particular forum b/c I have been thinking about private/catholic schools, but will now seriously consider public if it is the case that kids are challenged in kindergarten. I thought it was the opposite!

[Anonymous]

ITA! There seems to be a bit of a disconnect here. Public schools are damned for being too challenging, and damned for not being challenging enough.

Again, the key is that there are big differences among kids, and big differences among MCPS schools. So do the research and talk to other parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ITA! There seems to be a bit of a disconnect here. Public schools are damned for being too challenging, and damned for not being challenging enough.

Again, the key is that there are big differences among kids, and big differences among MCPS schools. So do the research and talk to other parents.

It really depends what you define as "challenging". Having large amounts of fairly repetitive seat work (worksheets, phonics workbooks, math work books, copy this word 3 times, use each spelling word in a sentence, 15 sentences each week) may seem like appropriate, challenging work to some paraents, and rote busywork of already mastered skills to other parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It really depends what you define as "challenging". Having large amounts of fairly repetitive seat work (worksheets, phonics workbooks, math work books, copy this word 3 times, use each spelling word in a sentence, 15 sentences each week) may seem like appropriate, challenging work to some paraents, and rote busywork of already mastered skills to other parents.

I agree. What some people consider "challenging" is, in my experience, really just excessive - and oftentimes developmentally inappropriate - busywork.

[Anonymous]

completely and totally agree with above two posters. Perfectly stated. Busywork and rote memorization does not = challenging.

[Anonymous]

Re-reading OP's original post, she talks about MCPS going "overboard with curriculum". I read this to mean the emphasis on reading in K, not busywork. I wouldn't want to defend MCPS because they don't always deserve it. But I think maybe the last two PPs have read into her post something about busywork that wasn't there.

[Anonymous]

OP? Are you still there?

Can you describe what you meant by "going overbaord with the curriculum" in kindergarten?

Why do you think the students in your child's class look like they aren't enjoying it?

[Anonymous]

I have three that are ages five and under. All three are at The Harbor School now and we love it. We are considering both public and private options in the future and I struggle with this all the time. I'd like constructive opinions on whether the public school offers extracurricular opportunities and exposure to cultural, scientific, etc. opportunities. The lure of private schools for me is the interesting and varied activities and exposure available beyond the academic "stuff". Especially with the certain budget cuts coming to public schools, are there any concerns about how the quality of the music or drama programs, etc. will be affected or is the emphasis for many just about whether the academic programs are challenging enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three that are ages five and under. All three are at The Harbor School now and we love it. We are considering both public and private options in the future and I struggle with this all the time. I'd like constructive opinions on whether the public school offers extracurricular opportunities and exposure to cultural, scientific, etc. opportunities. The lure of private schools for me is the interesting and varied activities and exposure available beyond the academic "stuff". Especially with the certain budget cuts coming to public schools, are there any concerns about how the quality of the music or drama programs, etc. will be affected or is the emphasis for many just about whether the academic programs are challenging enough?

We live in one of the top MoCo school clusters. I can tell you that in 4th grade, in preparation for the upcoming MSA tests, the teachers basically dropped the entire science curriculum for the second half of the year and instead focused on math and reading; the two subjects tested in 4th grade. Different schools handle this differently but they all teach to the test to some extent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three that are ages five and under. All three are at The Harbor School now and we love it. We are considering both public and private options in the future and I struggle with this all the time. I'd like constructive opinions on whether the public school offers extracurricular opportunities and exposure to cultural, scientific, etc. opportunities. The lure of private schools for me is the interesting and varied activities and exposure available beyond the academic "stuff". Especially with the certain budget cuts coming to public schools, are there any concerns about how the quality of the music or drama programs, etc. will be affected or is the emphasis for many just about whether the academic programs are challenging enough?

um - music? Drama? Arts? Not so much. Trying math and reading. We had to pull our 4th grader out of private due to $ (we both lost our jobs), and while DD is doing fine (pretty much coasting actually), she certainly isn't getting any extras. She has 20 minutes of recess a day, 20 minutes to eat lunch, and one 40 minute PE period a week. She has 30 minutes of either science or social studies at the end of the day, unless of course they are gearing up for the MSAs. If we could go back to private we would in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

10:23 here. To the 2 PP, thank you for the insight. I'm surprised and, I guess, naive. I thought that the challenging, progressive schools (whether private or public) no longer took the approach of "teaching to the test". My understanding of "challenging" is a little different and busywork, rote memorization or formula learning falls outside of what I would hope educators would do to 'challenge' a student. On another note - for those parents that are impressed with the 'challenging' K curriculum of MoCo schools: what does this consist of? Why does K need to be "challenging"? This would help me better understand what I should be looking for in a school. Thank you all for your help. The work necessary to even get to a place where you can feel like you made reasonable decision for the welfare of your children is just overwhelming at times. It certainly helps to vet ideas with others this way!!

[Anonymous]

It is almost impossible to avoid test prep in public schools for at least part of the year. Some schools will practically begin preparation first thing in September. Others will take a few weeks to review right before the tests. Others go so far as to have practice test days and pull-out classes just to teach kids how to write a BCR (brief constructed response - an utterly useless skill). Others will send home MSA prep homework packets for a few weeks...or a few months. Most parents I've talked to don't seem to mind the actual test practice as much as what their kids are missing out on to make room for so much practice. If your kid doesn't have a problem with mindless test prep, then this might not be an issue for you. If your child doesn't mind doing lots of repetitious worksheets, then he/she will probably be OK - they may not learn that much and they might not be that interested in school, but they will be OK.

The problem I have seen is with the kids who need something more or something different out of school. For example, if a child has some learning issues and the school thinks that their test score will bring the average score down, they will pull that child out of regular class to put them in a test prep special a couple of times a week. This is not a special class to help them learn for the long run, just a class to help them do better on a test. In the meantime, the child will most likely be missing a subject in their regular classroom that would have been a much more meaningful and interesting learning experience. That can really turn a child off to school. Not to mention make them feel like they are inadequate.

On the other hand, if a child is gifted they might not be pulled out of their regular class for test prep but they will still have to sit through mind-numbing drills on subjects that they mastered long ago. The end result is the same, the child gets turned off to school.

PP, you will probably hear from many public school parents who have absolutely no problem with the way their school preps for tests. Their schools may not even give out worksheets so they assume that there really is no test prep going on. There is always test prep - even if the teacher is just sticking to the curriculum, it is test prep because they have to cram in all the topics that might be tested. There is no room for a teacher to deviate from the curriculum to teach something that is timely or interesting to a particular child. Again, not a problem for some kids but a real problem for those that need something more out of school to stay interested and tuned-in.

The debates about public vs. private on this board will continue forever. For me the only benefit of private that matters is the flexibility. Smaller class sizes, no standardized tests that must be prepared for, and a curriculum that can be followed much more loosely allow a good private school teacher to be flexible and individualize their lessons. That's not to say that there aren't excellent teachers in public school - I have many friends and family who are public school teachers and they work their butts off to do the best job they can. They just can't do as much with the many constraints that are placed on them.

[Anonymous]

Our kids attended a much-lauded MCPS for elementary school and then switched to private school for MS and HS. I completely agree with the PP's analysis. Our kids had excellent teachers and great peer groups in their MCPS ES, but the focus on test prep has ruined the schools. Both our kids have flourished in independent schools where the emphasis is on going deeper into the material, rather than just faster. Private schools can do this because they don't have to devote so many resources to test prep, test taking, and test scoring, and because they have smaller class sizes. My husband and I both attended public schools and were resistant to the idea of sending kids to private school, but eventually we just had enough of the Mickey Mouse, boring, stuff the kids with facts, worksheet mentality. Sure, MCPS, particularly certain clusters, enjoys a great track record in SAT scores and college admissions, but it's a long, dull slog till senior year and your kids miss out on a lot. This is true whether your kids is a straight A student or gets more average grades (I have one of each). Either way, my advice is that if you can swing the private school tuition, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids attended a much-lauded MCPS for elementary school and then switched to private school for MS and HS. I completely agree with the PP's analysis. Our kids had excellent teachers and great peer groups in their MCPS ES, but the focus on test prep has ruined the schools. Both our kids have flourished in independent schools where the emphasis is on going deeper into the material, rather than just faster. Private schools can do this because they don't have to devote so many resources to test prep, test taking, and test scoring, and because they have smaller class sizes. My husband and I both attended public schools and were resistant to the idea of sending kids to private school, but eventually we just had enough of the Mickey Mouse, boring, stuff the kids with facts, worksheet mentality. Sure, MCPS, particularly certain clusters, enjoys a great track record in SAT scores and college admissions, but it's a long, dull slog till senior year and your kids miss out on a lot. This is true whether your kids is a straight A student or gets more average grades (I have one of each). Either way, my advice is that if you can swing the private school tuition, go for it.

Can I ask what middle school you sent them to that you are happy with in MC? I am in the same boat, pulling both kids out of public ES, and just curious on where others have been happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10:23 here. To the 2 PP, thank you for the insight. I'm surprised and, I guess, naive. I thought that the challenging, progressive schools (whether private or public) no longer took the approach of "teaching to the test". My understanding of "challenging" is a little different and busywork, rote memorization or formula learning falls outside of what I would hope educators would do to 'challenge' a student.

I'm a new poster. With regards to "challenging" -- my child is in 2nd grade in a Talented and Gifted Magnet program public school. (Prince George's County). I haven't seen any test prep work come home yet nor has my child mention it, although I'm sure they'll do some. What I have seen is what I woudl call appropriately challenging work in Language Arts. They are using Junior Great Books for reading, as well as a curriculum called "William and Mary Integrated Curriculum for Gifted Learners". http://cfge.wm.edu/curriculum.htm
The activities seem thoughtful and challenging, asking kids to see things from different points of view. I don't see any reason why many students, not just in TAG schools, couldn't be using more of these types of activities, rather than workbooks and rote memorization.