Private schools are indefensible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Point of article: We should all send our kids to public schools and dumb them down because that is what is inherently fair for society.

Alternatively:

Private schools over a certain endowment level should not be considered not-for-profit for tax purposes. Otherwise it's just a way to launder the money of wealthy people. Why should donating money to a private school be considered a charitable donation if the only point of the private school is to educate the children of the people making these "donations"? Is it considered a charitable donation if a parent hires a tutor or turns their home into a little school for their kid? Nope. That's someone taking their income and spending it on their own family and it's taxed as such. And the schools themselves should be taxed as businesses, which is what they are.

We need increased transparency and oversight of college admissions, both public and private.

We also need to do a lot around public schools and social welfare, including addressing systemic racism, but I think that's beyond the scope of the article. The main thing I took from the article is that private schools aren't really serving societal interests, they are just serving the interests of a self-perpetuating elite and as a society, we don't need to be facilitating that activity.

Uh, a lot of the schools use their endowment to enable kids of much lesser means to attend their schools. Generally, that is the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As though they couldn’t believe that folks actually believe in helping out and being part of their local school community. The kids that attend this school live in our neighborhoods and surrounding community. They are your neighbors. Or did you just leave the behind when you went private?

LOL, how is any of this surprising to you? We live in a country that glorifies and celebrates selfishness and rugged individualism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Point of article: We should all send our kids to public schools and dumb them down because that is what is inherently fair for society.

Alternatively:

Private schools over a certain endowment level should not be considered not-for-profit for tax purposes. Otherwise it's just a way to launder the money of wealthy people. Why should donating money to a private school be considered a charitable donation if the only point of the private school is to educate the children of the people making these "donations"? Is it considered a charitable donation if a parent hires a tutor or turns their home into a little school for their kid? Nope. That's someone taking their income and spending it on their own family and it's taxed as such. And the schools themselves should be taxed as businesses, which is what they are.

We need increased transparency and oversight of college admissions, both public and private.

We also need to do a lot around public schools and social welfare, including addressing systemic racism, but I think that's beyond the scope of the article. The main thing I took from the article is that private schools aren't really serving societal interests, they are just serving the interests of a self-perpetuating elite and as a society, we don't need to be facilitating that activity.

Uh, a lot of the schools use their endowment to enable kids of much lesser means to attend their schools. Generally, that is the point.

Much lesser means is truly relative in this discussion. Much lesser usually means kids from families making 150-300K, not families making 50k(except for religious schools). Very few private schools that cost $45k+ provide aide that covers full tuition, fees, and books, making them out of reach for a great majority of families. Not to mention their is an entire process that goes along with just applying to attend these schools. All of which says nothing of the fact that the schools are still small compared to the number of people who could benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved my severely dyslexic DS to a private school after his public elementary school teacher mocked his writing in front of the class and would not post something he laboriously hand-wrote up on the wall with the work of the other students because it was too messy. He's a resilient kid -- he had to be -- but after years of hearing "you are lesser" from the public schools, that was the last straw.

The private school saw a brilliant child with a reading disability and acted accordingly. In contrast, the public school saw, and treated him as, a failure. Watching my previously beaten-down child soar has been emotionally wrenching, because I can see just how badly he was treated at the public school, and how many kids suffer just like him. He has turned into a confident reader and writer, and genuinely loves school. The private school has changed the course of his life. The entire experience has made me a supporter of income-limited vouchers, because other children should have the ability to escape, especially kids with SNs. It is heartbreaking and flat-out wrong how many kids suffer like my DS did, but who can't escape.

Caitlin Flanagan has a long history of being a shoddy and untrustworthy writer, but this article goes beyond her usual trolling drivel. I wonder if the Atlantic did any fact checking at all, maybe not because they seem to be more into truthiness rather than truth these days.

But your example fails to mention that there are a number of private schools that would not admit your DS so as not to deal with his SN. Additionally, the private school likely has other advantages like smaller class size, learning specialist, and potentially less kids with SN (unless its a its a SN school) that make helping and supporting your child easier. What happen to your DS is terrible and should never happen to any child, in any school. But we as a society can’t keep acting like public school to private school is an apples to apples comparison when we know its a apples to watermelon comparison. I’m not excusing the teacher’s behavior or your son’s experience as that is inexcusable. What I am saying is that your son’s experience goes beyond just a single teacher.

Example: Potomac has a bit less than 1100 students from K-12. Meanwhile, my local public school has about 650 students in K-6. Potomac has and Language Arts and Reading specialist for each grade K-3. Meanwhile my local public school has 1.5 reading specialist for the entire K-6 school. Expecting the same results from my PS as Potomac would be ridiculous.

PP here. My DC is at an independent school like the ones Flanagan is criticizing. I do not fully understand your point but I have become a supporter of means-tested vouchers because of this experience, so other children can also escape. I don't really get Flanagan's end goal either (other than to sell a likely forthcoming book) but if she is trying to argue for means-tested vouchers, I support that.

[Anonymous]

I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

Same here. I like you PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

I fully support your position. Do whatever you need to do to keep your family away from private schools. In fact, you should probably not even walk past a private school, as I'm pretty sure there are douchey nanoparticles in the air that will scar you for life.

Signed,
A private school parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

Stereotype much? Good on you for self-proclaiming your moral superiority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

I fully support your position. Do whatever you need to do to keep your family away from private schools. In fact, you should probably not even walk past a private school, as I'm pretty sure there are douchey nanoparticles in the air that will scar you for life.

Signed,
A private school parent

Oh calm down, I’m the PP who co-signed and I also am a private school parent but it’s not an “elite” school (and is regularly called mediocre on DCUM) but what’s it not is full of woke BS and social climbers like a lot of schools (public and private) in this area.

[Anonymous]

^^^ what it’s not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

I fully support your position. Do whatever you need to do to keep your family away from private schools. In fact, you should probably not even walk past a private school, as I'm pretty sure there are douchey nanoparticles in the air that will scar you for life.

Signed,
A private school parent

Oh calm down, I’m the PP who co-signed and I also am a private school parent but it’s not an “elite” school (and is regularly called mediocre on DCUM) but what’s it not is full of woke BS and social climbers like a lot of schools (public and private) in this area.

OK! Glad you've found a BFF. Although your school may not be sufficiently non-elite for that poster. Fingers crossed for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

I fully support your position. Do whatever you need to do to keep your family away from private schools. In fact, you should probably not even walk past a private school, as I'm pretty sure there are douchey nanoparticles in the air that will scar you for life.

Signed,
A private school parent

Oh calm down, I’m the PP who co-signed and I also am a private school parent but it’s not an “elite” school (and is regularly called mediocre on DCUM) but what’s it not is full of woke BS and social climbers like a lot of schools (public and private) in this area.

OK! Glad you've found a BFF. Although your school may not be sufficiently non-elite for that poster. Fingers crossed for you.

"That poster" here. For better or worse, I'm pretty elite, though that word makes me gag--but I'm also old-fashioned enough to believe in things like the common good and kids having to forge their own path in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

Said by an arrogant someone who has no experience struggling to get a child with learning disabilities educated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

I fully support your position. Do whatever you need to do to keep your family away from private schools. In fact, you should probably not even walk past a private school, as I'm pretty sure there are douchey nanoparticles in the air that will scar you for life.

Signed,
A private school parent

Oh calm down, I’m the PP who co-signed and I also am a private school parent but it’s not an “elite” school (and is regularly called mediocre on DCUM) but what’s it not is full of woke BS and social climbers like a lot of schools (public and private) in this area.

OK! Glad you've found a BFF. Although your school may not be sufficiently non-elite for that poster. Fingers crossed for you.

"That poster" here. For better or worse, I'm pretty elite, though that word makes me gag--but I'm also old-fashioned enough to believe in things like the common good and kids having to forge their own path in life.

So you call yourself affluent and elite. But you are definitely not be a d-bag because you choose to spend just some your money living in an affluent neighborhood, and not more if it sending your kids to private school. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pay money to keep my kids AWAY from douchey private school parents. The level of self-regard and ethical rot and just plain meanness among the most affluent people in this country is really next level at this point. I am affluent and live in an affluent neighborhood that has some of the same issues but I can't imagine spending large amounts of money to swim in even higher concentrations of BS.

I fully support your position. Do whatever you need to do to keep your family away from private schools. In fact, you should probably not even walk past a private school, as I'm pretty sure there are douchey nanoparticles in the air that will scar you for life.

Signed,
A private school parent

Oh calm down, I’m the PP who co-signed and I also am a private school parent but it’s not an “elite” school (and is regularly called mediocre on DCUM) but what’s it not is full of woke BS and social climbers like a lot of schools (public and private) in this area.

OK! Glad you've found a BFF. Although your school may not be sufficiently non-elite for that poster. Fingers crossed for you.

"That poster" here. For better or worse, I'm pretty elite, though that word makes me gag--but I'm also old-fashioned enough to believe in things like the common good and kids having to forge their own path in life.

So you call yourself affluent and elite. But you are definitely not be a d-bag because you choose to spend just some your money living in an affluent neighborhood, and not more if it sending your kids to private school. Got it.

I regret moving to an affluent neighborhood. I wish I had moved somewhere more mixed. It’s hard for me to move now for a variety of reasons (friendships, an elderly moved to be down the street from us, etc) but if I had it do again I would settle down somewhere very different