Politically Incorrect Private School Thread What Do You Really Think?

[Anonymous]

What I find funny about these posts is that while you wicked women fight about public vs private your kids are friends with each other, they like each other and don't care who goes to public or private. You should learn a thing or two from your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would now be the time to say that my 16 year old daughter told her public schooled cousin to "beat the stereotype, don't be it"?

Only if you can also explain what your 16-year-old daughter meant by this.

She finds public school kids to be ignorant, inarticulate, and completely lacking in education. It frustrates her when they can name who Miley twerked on but not the Vice President, can memorize lyrics but not anything school related, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would now be the time to say that my 16 year old daughter told her public schooled cousin to "beat the stereotype, don't be it"?

Only if you can also explain what your 16-year-old daughter meant by this.

She finds public school kids to be ignorant, inarticulate, and completely lacking in education. It frustrates her when they can name who Miley twerked on but not the Vice President, can memorize lyrics but not anything school related, etc.

In that case, no, now is not the time to say it. Unless you want to be bragging on the ignorance of your daughter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This! I hate discussing schools with people. It is a conversation riddled with ego land mines. I don't care what people think about my choice but I don't like it when people think my choice is a rejection of theirs.

My feelings exactly!

I've had friends come right out and tell me that we're making a mistake by sending our child to public school, that even what we consider to be a good public school will almost definitely fail us, and that we'll only be happy in a private school. We don't have high enough HHI to feel comfortable going private. So now we're left feeling like we're sending our kid to a crappy school, but without the resources to do otherwise. awesome.

Please don't take those friends' words to heart. We all make the best decisions we can based on the information and resources we have. The reflexive response seems to be to feel there's some kind of inherent criticism in other people's choices. It's the anxiety response. It's not about you, but about them. And FWIW, we've had people tell us it's a mistake to send our DC to private school, so this goes both ways. DC is all about the anxiety and competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I find funny about these posts is that while you wicked women fight about public vs private your kids are friends with each other, they like each other and don't care who goes to public or private. You should learn a thing or two from your children.

Not when they get older. By the time they hit MS and HS, the differences in the quality of education and school-related experiences is glaring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I find funny about these posts is that while you wicked women fight about public vs private your kids are friends with each other, they like each other and don't care who goes to public or private. You should learn a thing or two from your children.

Not when they get older. By the time they hit MS and HS, the differences in the quality of education and school-related experiences is glaring.

Shorter PP: My kids aren't friends with THOSE kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I find funny about these posts is that while you wicked women fight about public vs private your kids are friends with each other, they like each other and don't care who goes to public or private. You should learn a thing or two from your children.

Not when they get older. By the time they hit MS and HS, the differences in the quality of education and school-related experiences is glaring.

Examples?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This! I hate discussing schools with people. It is a conversation riddled with ego land mines. I don't care what people think about my choice but I don't like it when people think my choice is a rejection of theirs.

My feelings exactly!

I've had friends come right out and tell me that we're making a mistake by sending our child to public school, that even what we consider to be a good public school will almost definitely fail us, and that we'll only be happy in a private school. We don't have high enough HHI to feel comfortable going private. So now we're left feeling like we're sending our kid to a crappy school, but without the resources to do otherwise. awesome.

I'm sorry but your friends are not very nice! My kids attend private and we have a handful of friends sending their kids to DCPS. I would never say (nor do I think) they are making a mistake. Ignore your assh*le friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don't understand the people who live in million dollar homes, drive luxury clothes, and drive luxury cars yet still send their kids to public school. There, I said it.


DH and I became those parents. We had an expensive home in a lovely are (not into status clothes or cars, though we could have afforded them). We sent our children from preschool into middle school in a top private school, we became sickened at the bullying of DD and many others in her class that was going on without any action on the part of the school. We also saw that our children's expectations regarding material possessions was becoming distorted from
all the money around them in school and they demanded only certain brands which we felt placed too great an emphasis on the wrong values. Once they got to public school the things we were concerned about resolved. They both went to top universities and are now professionals. There seems to be an impression among many on DCUM that private schools are inherently superior but we did not find this to be the case at all and chose public after having experienced many private school negatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Those of us in the middle income brackets are hard-working, consider education extremely important, and don't tolerate drug use or excessive spending. That viewpoint would be lacking at most private schools.

I find this comment unfair and inaccurate. I can assure you 99+% of parents with kids at private school work hard, consider education extremely important, don't tolerate drug use, and don't favor excessive spending (nor can we afford it after paying tuition!). You should get to know some of us better before you cast judgments like these.

Indeed, at my house, we work really hard and avoid excessive spending precisely so we can save the money needed to get our children the best education we can, and we'd be really horrified if our children wasted any of our effort by engaging in drug use.

My own politically incorrect view: I avoided private school partly because it would be a stretch for my family and partly because I am prejudiced against wealthy people, many of whom (IME) were born on 3rd base and inexplicably think they hit a triple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Those of us in the middle income brackets are hard-working, consider education extremely important, and don't tolerate drug use or excessive spending. That viewpoint would be lacking at most private schools.

I find this comment unfair and inaccurate. I can assure you 99+% of parents with kids at private school work hard, consider education extremely important, don't tolerate drug use, and don't favor excessive spending (nor can we afford it after paying tuition!). You should get to know some of us better before you cast judgments like these.

Indeed, at my house, we work really hard and avoid excessive spending precisely so we can save the money needed to get our children the best education we can, and we'd be really horrified if our children wasted any of our effort by engaging in drug use.

The originally quoted comment was judgmental, quite negative, and definitely not totally accurate. However, there is a lot of money floating around (for example, kids who organize a last minute trip to the Rockies to take advantage of a snow day before a weekend) that can given an unrealistic view of what is "normal" in terms of income/assets/spending. The cultural effect of being around that kind of wealth is something to consider. However, the academic work ethic is quite good and I don't think there's widespread tolerance of drug use, etc. (although private school parents more worried about "how will this affect John's college application" than the underlying fact that he got stoned before school do exist).

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We never tell this to others but one of the reasons we send DC to an elite private school is b/c we want him to get into the most elite frat, eating club, secret society, etc at an Ivy.

Some of us care about stuff like that.

+100000

And why effin not? Why's it SO horrif if DC does this? Good for you!

It's not horrible but sort of embarrassing too. Lots of people would love to send their kid to an Ivy but most aren't aware there's a pecking order within those schools too. You cannot get into an exclusive club unless you are from an exclusive prep school - not just any private school.

I'm embarrassed for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not when they get older. By the time they hit MS and HS, the differences in the quality of education and school-related experiences is glaring.

Shorter PP: My kids aren't friends with THOSE kids.

Slighly expanded 1st PP: because my kids' friends wear expensive clothes, I think they are getting a better education than those public school kids. (Really, is 1st PP so blinkered that she has to deal in patently ridiculous over-generalizations to justify her tuition? Pathetic.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would now be the time to say that my 16 year old daughter told her public schooled cousin to "beat the stereotype, don't be it"?

Only if you can also explain what your 16-year-old daughter meant by this.

She finds public school kids to be ignorant, inarticulate, and completely lacking in education. It frustrates her when they can name who Miley twerked on but not the Vice President, can memorize lyrics but not anything school related, etc.

She sounds like a real peach. You must be so proud!

[Anonymous]

You know what I love about DCUM, in general, and threads such as this specifically? The fixation with Ivy League schools. Like attending a state college would be the death of everything and doom a child to a lifetime of unfulfilled dreams/potential!