I'm a hick from the sticks and...

[Anonymous]

I have a really successful career here in DC. And when I say I'm from the sticks, I'm talking about a town for which the installation of a stoplight was a major controversy (as it would cause traffic congestion in the form of 2-3 car backups). Yet I went to a top 10 law school, got great grades, have prestigious BigLaw experience, and now am in a high-level Government job. And I know a LOT of people just like me, who went to some mediocre public school in the middle of bumf&*!k, and nevertheless made good.

I post this just as some food for thought amongst the rabid debates on this forum as to what is best for your LOs. I really believe the only thing that matters is that a kid gets a good basic education and has an adult support system that encourages him/her to never give up, to not to listen to the naysayers, and to have a consistent moral compass.

The rest of it is just a bunch of expensive, elitist garbage.

[Anonymous]

OP here - apologies. I meant to post this on the private school forum, which was making me cranky. Maybe it will resonate here too, though.

[Anonymous]

It's nice to see that you've stepped up and are now marketing your own unique brand of elitism (well, Sarah Palin probably had it first).

[Anonymous]

Seems like we have one of these "hillbilly makes good" every so often. Do you want a medal? A cookie? There are thousands of people who come to DC should we have a parade for them too? What about the people that came up from the inner city?

Or, we can just all be who are. Congrats on your biglaw career and your towns stoplight. You seem very proud of both.

[Anonymous]

Reeerrrrrr. Man, you guys are tough.

I understand what OP is saying (and I didn't think anything was particularly offensive), but I find most parents actually do focus on the right things (if you had posted on the private school forum, you probably would have gotten a nicer reaction).

PS, do you know what's harder than getting into Harvard from a small high school in the sticks? Getting into Harvard from a good public high school in Montgomery of Fairfax County.

[Anonymous]

Are you suggesting that your success is typical of students from rural public schools? I've never heard anyone argue that it's impossible to go from a modest public education to a successful professional life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PS, do you know what's harder than getting into Harvard from a small high school in the sticks? Getting into Harvard from a good public high school in Montgomery of Fairfax County.

I've heard this complaint, and I don't buy it.

I do believe that if your child can thrive in any environment, she would be more attractive coming from a school like that or another lesser environment. I assume that, all else equal, the valedictorian of Anacostia is more interesting than the valedictorian of TJ.

Following that idea, if you want to maximize your child's educational opportunities, you should move to the worst part of Detroit. What an entrance essay!

The problem, of course, is that there's no guarantee that she'll be the valedictorian, or that she'll have what it takes to succeed (e.g., do well on SATs, etc.) despite all of the difficulties of trying to learn in that environment. At some urban schools, there are more basic issues of getting through physically and emotionally intact. That's part of why she'd be so attractive to schools - you must be pretty special to succeed in that environment.

DW and I don't care about a particular college or professional outcome for our kids. We want them to learn to enjoy learning and to have a supportive environment for the - I don't know - 20,000 hours when they'll be in the schools' care. Studies show that peers are a very important part of that environment. But even if we only cared about college rankings, I have no doubt that the suburban schools would be a better way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a really successful career here in DC. And when I say I'm from the sticks, I'm talking about a town for which the installation of a stoplight was a major controversy (as it would cause traffic congestion in the form of 2-3 car backups). Yet I went to a top 10 law school, got great grades, have prestigious BigLaw experience, and now am in a high-level Government job. And I know a LOT of people just like me, who went to some mediocre public school in the middle of bumf&*!k, and nevertheless made good.

I post this just as some food for thought amongst the rabid debates on this forum as to what is best for your LOs. I really believe the only thing that matters is that a kid gets a good basic education and has an adult support system that encourages him/her to never give up, to not to listen to the naysayers, and to have a consistent moral compass.

The rest of it is just a bunch of expensive, elitist garbage.

I love you

[Anonymous]

OP, you are fantastic. It is hard not to become a reverse snob in this area, which as the previous poster acknowledged is it's own elitism. I had Stockholm syndrome for a couple years before realizing "the Emperor had no clothes.". Glad to know you are doing well, OP! Glad to have you and your service in our government. Thank you from one proud hick made good to another.

[Anonymous]

I'm a hick, too, from a rural area who clawed her way through the DC policy and law world. I went to serviceable public and state schools, though. Not shameful ones with snakes and no heat.

I'm just posting to say that my parents and their clear expectations for me were the key. They were involved, strict, and occasionally helicoptering. I fared a lot better than most in my high school class, by conventional measures, and I think the difference was parenting and expectations.

[Anonymous]

Another hick from the sticks here, too. However, I think education is even "more" important than when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s. And unfortunately, I don't think "serviceable" public schools are good enough anymore, unless you've got an absolutely brilliant little brain child. The middle class is shrinking, and educational level in the decades to come will be a huge factor in determining whether your child struggles for years to make a living, or has a shot at middle class or better. Now, does that mean every child has to go to Sidwell or whatever the current Top 3 are? No. But I'm very underwhelmed with MoCo public schools. Since moving isn't really an option, it's a small private school for our kids.

[Anonymous]

My husband is a so-called "hick from the sticks" who did well for himself, and makes this same argument. However, just because some people do well coming from a mediocre public school background doesn't mean that this is the ideal background to lauch success from.

[Anonymous]

I also think it can be better to be a big fish in a small pond rather than the other way around. Build your confidence and supporters and make good. In the other situation, you're not so special and maybe not seen as "worth" the investment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's nice to see that you've stepped up and are now marketing your own unique brand of elitism (well, Sarah Palin probably had it first).

Rural elitism is a good deal cheaper than suburban/urban elitism, though.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a hick from the sticks and I laugh at the snobbery in this area. The more snobby, the more I know they have nothing to be snobby about. One thing this board can not stand is old money. I know old money very well, and there is very little if any around here. Which is too bad, because they would be a lot more humble!

The most obvious of those who have nothing to be snobby about is the judgmental. Those who are judgmental inevitably have been negatively labeled in the past, and apparently never forgot it according to how they act out! How about not advertising it to the world by your nastiness? It really does make you look so much worse than the person you want so badly to try to oppress.