Can we stop the "is it worth it" threads?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of wealthy people in our area don't need to worry if something is "worth it". They just do it. Some send their kids to St. Pats because there are other kids there like theirs. Maybe they didn't get into Sidwell or Beauvoir...but they can still feel good that their kids are with other advantaged children.

Um . . . I thought the DC area was filled with such educated, everyone's equal, liberal-thinking, better than West Virginia types. If that's really the line of thinking, then why do these same posters want their children to only be educated with other advantaged students?

[Anonymous]

Surprise. Under the D.C. facade of egalitarianism are closet West Virginians.

[Anonymous]

I just asked one of these questions and I really wanted to hear from people whose kids had finished private school to hear if, in hindsight, was it worth it to spend all of that money on school. I am not (yet) and angry person whose kids didn't get in (check back in 2014).

Is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OMG - Do you really need to call someone an idiot that you've never even met. You go on to call her crazy and tell her she doesn't belong at a private school. Chill out sister. Maybe you can come up with a clever apology.

I've been sending my three children to private school for 11 years and I regularly ask myself if it's worth it. Some days I think it is, others I don't. I'd like to know what other people think about their decision. But bottom line - this is a Board where anyone can ask anything and that's part of the fun. So be nice and enjoy reading what you want and ignoring what you want.

Same here. Some days I think it might be better to buy them starter houses with the tuition money. Then happier days would come, and I am glad that they are happy where they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should stop the "Is it worth it?" threads. For some people 13 or 14 years of private school tuition requires a huge sacrifice. I appreciate that parents are trying to be thoughtful about the decision and do not automatically assume a private school is better and presumably worth the cost. I am coming to the opposite conclusion.

It is a huge sacrifice for almost everybody. It's a ton of money. Yet some of us willingly pay it. I'm in so far for about $250K already and the oldest is only completing 3rd grade.

Maybe there are some private school parents who would send their kids to private without thinking about it, but I have met only one or two families for whom that could be true, and I didn't ask them. The vast majority of families may be very well off but still think about it before committing. Please don't assume those who answer the "worth it" question with a "yes" are all Georgetown socialites who donate millions to save whales or whatever every year and just reflexively sent Paris and Hudson off to school where Mommy and Daddy went.

DH and I both went to public school and he, in particular, believes strongly in public schools. Then we went and actually looked at ours and at our other options and did what was best for our particular kids.

I could probably retire in five years if my kids went to public school. Instead, I will be working for the next 25.

[Anonymous]

LOL is it worth it to stop these threads?

[Anonymous]

I think OP made an excellent case that the price tag for certain higher priced items is way worth it. And was trying to progress the debate to the next level. Didn't work though for the overly-literal among us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think we should stop the "Is it worth it?" threads. For some people 13 or 14 years of private school tuition requires a huge sacrifice. I appreciate that parents are trying to be thoughtful about the decision and do not automatically assume a private school is better and presumably worth the cost. I am coming to the opposite conclusion.

It is a huge sacrifice for almost everybody. It's a ton of money. Yet some of us willingly pay it. I'm in so far for about $250K already and the oldest is only completing 3rd grade.

Maybe there are some private school parents who would send their kids to private without thinking about it, but I have met only one or two families for whom that could be true, and I didn't ask them. The vast majority of families may be very well off but still think about it before committing. Please don't assume those who answer the "worth it" question with a "yes" are all Georgetown socialites who donate millions to save whales or whatever every year and just reflexively sent Paris and Hudson off to school where Mommy and Daddy went.

DH and I both went to public school and he, in particular, believes strongly in public schools. Then we went and actually looked at ours and at our other options and did what was best for our particular kids.

I could probably retire in five years if my kids went to public school. Instead, I will be working for the next 25.

Now I've heard everything!!!

That's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OMG - Do you really need to call someone an idiot that you've never even met. You go on to call her crazy and tell her she doesn't belong at a private school. Chill out sister. Maybe you can come up with a clever apology.

I've been sending my three children to private school for 11 years and I regularly ask myself if it's worth it. Some days I think it is, others I don't. I'd like to know what other people think about their decision. But bottom line - this is a Board where anyone can ask anything and that's part of the fun. So be nice and enjoy reading what you want and ignoring what you want.

Same here. Some days I think it might be better to buy them starter houses with the tuition money. Then happier days would come, and I am glad that they are happy where they are.

But WHAT IF your children had just as many happy days at their local public school? That's what I struggle with every day - my kids are happy at their private school, but what if they would be just as happy at one of the best Bethesda elementary schools? I have friends who have switched their kids over, and all of them seem just as happy there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could probably retire in five years if my kids went to public school. Instead, I will be working for the next 25.

Now I've heard everything!!!

That's ridiculous.



Not sure why you think that is so ridiculous, PP. For each kid at $30K a year, I have to earn $60K+ to cover tuition because of taxes, and that doesn't cover all the extras. So it means not saving as much for college and signing up for that same $30K/year per kid payment until 12th grade. After 12th, it's $60K a year per kid (so $120K+) for four years for college.

We would have had college saved for long ago if we weren't paying tuition, and we could have looked at retiring in five years. Instead I will be retiring at 70 once the youngest gets through college. DH will retire around 65, I'm guessing. If you live a life where those kinds of cash swings don't affect your ability to save aggressively for retirement and you're able to retire at 50 already, goody goody for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But WHAT IF your children had just as many happy days at their local public school? That's what I struggle with every day - my kids are happy at their private school, but what if they would be just as happy at one of the best Bethesda elementary schools? I have friends who have switched their kids over, and all of them seem just as happy there.

They might be happy in public schools too. I just do not know. We considered moving to Bethesda for a while but decided not to rock the boat. I hope the education will provide as much freedom to them as the starter homes

[Anonymous]

I think the reason these threads exist is that DC is very transient and children go to school all over the place. Most people probably don't know lots of other families with children attending various private schools and even public schools. The public schools are always worried about giving information for litigious reasons and private schools only tout good things about their school so you don't really get a straight answer from either type of school when you ask the administration. I've learned a lot about why others have chosen one type of school over the other and most of it seems be geared around their particular child. If we're even in a situation that causes us to change schools, I'm glad I've heard from some other voices that also enrolled their children at a school for particular reasons too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the reason these threads exist is that DC is very transient and children go to school all over the place. Most people probably don't know lots of other families with children attending various private schools and even public schools. The public schools are always worried about giving information for litigious reasons and private schools only tout good things about their school so you don't really get a straight answer from either type of school when you ask the administration. I've learned a lot about why others have chosen one type of school over the other and most of it seems be geared around their particular child. If we're even in a situation that causes us to change schools, I'm glad I've heard from some other voices that also enrolled their children at a school for particular reasons too.

Just to add here that the public schools actually publish a tremendous amount of material online about test scores, facilities, school environment, safety, class size, etc., and private school do not all do this, so it's hard for parents to make an apples-to-apples comparison of "is it worth it."

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you should just avoid those threads, instead of making a lot of assumptions about the people posting on them.

It's a discussion forum. People post what they want to talk about. Other people read and respond. Or don't.

It's pretty silly of you to try to legislate the content to only things you find worthwhile.