I never understood the difference between public and private until today

[Anonymous]

DCUM is 90% women posting so I'd put that as well. you think men are on here pretend pontifying about self-esteem and how to get a job of great fortune? hahahhahaha.

More doing, less talking folks. You are your life experiences. Go get some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM is 90% women posting so I'd put that as well. you think men are on here pretend pontifying about self-esteem and how to get a job of great fortune? hahahhahaha.

More doing, less talking folks. You are your life experiences. Go get some.

I didn’t disagree with that post.
Privileged kids don’t seem to be concerned... about anything. I suppose that is a form of confidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public schools and then got degrees from several Ivies. Very glad that I didn't encounter such creature comforts until I was 18. I can only imagine I'd have been as jaded as some of my classmates if I'd grown to expect this by the time I was 10 or 12.

Ok. So this is a perspective I need to hear. I went to great Fairfax County public schools. I went on to perfectly great state schools. I had no plan to send my kid to some place like this. Of course I want the very best for my kid. Of course. Maybe this isn’t actually the best for my kid.
If money was no option, would you not send your kid to such a school?

I also went to a public and then two ivies. Depending on the kid and the publics I would maybe send to private, maybe not. But you really have to work hard to keep your kid grounded if he goes to a school like that. A lot of those kids end up entitled and jaded.

[Anonymous]

I have to admit I find the better physical plant appealing. Our elementary was so overcrowded that despite a lovely art room, my DC received his art instruction in the homeroom from a lady with an "art cart." The computer room was dismantled and turned into a classroom, the gym had to host two classes of thirty kids at a time, the playground was turned into a trailer town for the fourth grade (the fifth grade trailer town took over any spare acreage) and lunch was served at 10:30. You are never going to have this with a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in NY that pretty much had all these things. When schools are town-based, in wealthy areas, and funded by local property taxes, the local community can do this. The small number of disadvantaged kids in the zone get the benefits, too.

None of the VA “good” districts are all that because of the county funding models.

Huh, interesting. Can you explain the basic differences in the funding model? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in NY that pretty much had all these things. When schools are town-based, in wealthy areas, and funded by local property taxes, the local community can do this. The small number of disadvantaged kids in the zone get the benefits, too.

None of the VA “good” districts are all that because of the county funding models.

Huh, interesting. Can you explain the basic differences in the funding model? Thanks!

Those towns are small and relatively homogeneous (many have no apartment buildings and zoning limits that mean there aren't really any/many smaller/cheaper homes). they also typically just have one or two high schools vs the several high schools in each county here. This means there is more support for high taxes because your kids will directly benefit and even if you don;t have kids, your property values are completely tied to the quality of the school. The only area here that I think is at all analogous to the NY area in terms of governance is Falls Church city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public schools and then got degrees from several Ivies. Very glad that I didn't encounter such creature comforts until I was 18. I can only imagine I'd have been as jaded as some of my classmates if I'd grown to expect this by the time I was 10 or 12.

Ok. So this is a perspective I need to hear. I went to great Fairfax County public schools. I went on to perfectly great state schools. I had no plan to send my kid to some place like this. Of course I want the very best for my kid. Of course. Maybe this isn’t actually the best for my kid.
If money was no option, would you not send your kid to such a school?

I had a very priviledged background as a child and the only thing I have left are memories. Don’t spoil your kid, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public schools and then got degrees from several Ivies. Very glad that I didn't encounter such creature comforts until I was 18. I can only imagine I'd have been as jaded as some of my classmates if I'd grown to expect this by the time I was 10 or 12.

Ok. So this is a perspective I need to hear. I went to great Fairfax County public schools. I went on to perfectly great state schools. I had no plan to send my kid to some place like this. Of course I want the very best for my kid. Of course. Maybe this isn’t actually the best for my kid.
If money was no option, would you not send your kid to such a school?

I had a very priviledged background as a child and the only thing I have left are memories. Don’t spoil your kid, OP.

Good memories? You are no longer privileged? You weren’t able to cope or find happiness?

[Anonymous]

Our DC benefitted from a public education from k through 8 and she learned that there are brilliant people everywhere— including in every economic class and in those with Learning disabilities. She also learned that life is more difficult for a lot of people yet the kids in those families succeed despite the challenges. Yet still I am sending her to a less crowded, more rigorous private education because our high school is too impersonal, too big, and too overburdened to provide her with a well- rounded education at this stage in her life. Maybe she would like to be take art AND chorus? Maybe she would like to play two sports? Maybe she would like to be in the play? Our school is scheduled to be almost a 1000 kids over capacity and I just want her to be able to have a great high school experience... I see the difference and I just want that for my kid

[Anonymous]

Op back.
Kid was accepted and we’ve decided to enroll for preschool and see how it goes. We’ll give it another look before K.
Thanks for the input.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op back.
Kid was accepted and we’ve decided to enroll for preschool and see how it goes. We’ll give it another look before K.
Thanks for the input.

Once you're in, you're in. Good luck, OP.