Are Independent Schools for Black Children

[Anonymous]

Parents get away with murder in public schools. Teachers and admin have to tolerate them regardless of how ridiculous they are. NOT the same in private. Parents behave and are reluctant to ruffle feathers, regardless of race.

I'd say most parents want their children to have a variety of friends from different cultural/racial backgrounds. But they don't want to have to deal with families with very different values and/or socioeconomic statuses. Like-minded parents = benefit of private!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,

I am the OP and I really appreciate your insight and thoughtful responses. It's funny much of what has been said here is how I feel. I often times feel that we have to keep quiet and lay low because the school may find reasons to counsel DC out or they may reduce our FA money to ensure DC won't return. DC is doing extremely well in school (top in class according to teacher) and to be honest no one has ever shared that DC is a behavior problem. However, there have been a few issues that made me think twice about the environment and question the handling of certain situations. It's almost like a battle that can't be won. Where are AA parents educating their AA children specifically boys because to be frank public school isn't much of an option! BTW DC attends a so-called BIG 3 and has been for the last 8 years. These issues are not new just trying to figure out how to get a handle on it before it effects our entire family!

Again thank-you to all that have replied!

Wow! That is exactly how I feel most of the time. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing more harm than good for my child because I think I am teaching them to "let things slide." I do not have a public option and it is very stressful when you see things that need to be addressed and have to worry about how the school will react to you and your child. I would love to know which schools do not make FA parents feel this way. Who knows, it could be all in my head...somehow I do not think so.

I know someone who paid Mont.Co. to attend BCC H.S. rather than attend a private school or D.C. Public school. Maybe that's a solution.

Yes, and a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an issue in public and private schools, OP. In public schools, black males have a different suspension rate for the exact same offenses. It's just how the world is. You are at the school, hopefully, because you have identified something your child gets there that he cannot get anywhere else, not because paying tuition entitles you to a life void of racism. We all have to work toward that together.

I can tell you that the same attitudes exist amongst parents in the public/charter school world in DC as well. "How can we get the poor kids out of the school that is in our neighborhood?" "How can we get more white kids to the school?" "Yes, the school has lots of AAs but they are high-SES, so, you know..."

You live with this, you deal with this and you always will. The US has a strong legacy of racism. The best thing you can do for your child is to give him a great education so that he can help to educate the world out of ignorance. He will know what it means to be on the outside (and btw unless he goes to an HBCU, he will experience this at the next level anyway) and hopefully he can turn that into something positive. To be young, gifted and black...a blessing and a curse.

I am not the poster making the diregoatory remarks, because my child has many AA friends and through our child we have made new friends with their families. Saying that though I will say that if a child is on financial aid and I am not saying AA are on financial aid but if they are, I think bad behavior is less tolerated. Let me tell you why. It is because many people are paying private tuition not to avoid AA children but to avoid the public schools and their inability at times to handle children that are distracting other children. So, when a child is causing trouble and they happen to be on financial aid they probably are more likely to get dismissed because it isn't fair to the other parents that paying (many are sacrificing to pay) private tuition to have the teachers dominated by disciplining unruly children. This is not necessarily how I feel but this is the argument I have heard made before.

Bingo.

[Anonymous]

Thomas Sowell has done some excellent work on the impact of culture on social economic status. My take away with regard to private schools is that African-Americans would do well to go to private school. Especially private schools that force all students to conform to the norm, e.g., schools that require uniforms