Do you feel like your DC's private school really cares about your DC?

[Anonymous]

You delude yourselves, folks. Your child leaves and another one takes his/her place. Your children are just cogs in the wheel. Occasionally, a special bond might form, but for the most part, everyone is just passing through and will not be missed when they are gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No! I do not think they care at all!

Then why do you stay? How is that good for your child or your family?

She is leaving after this year. She's in one of the big DC schools and it has been a major disappointment.

[Anonymous]

My kids have been in private schools and in public schools. In both places they have had really caring teachers, and a few teachers who were phoning it in. I'd be surprised if there is any private, or public, school that has completely uncaring teachers.

So maybe what OP is sensing is the vibe from the school administration? This I get, because different schools definitely have different personalities that somehow emanate through their administrations.

Or her kid has one of the school's less demonstrative teachers this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You delude yourselves, folks. Your child leaves and another one takes his/her place. Your children are just cogs in the wheel. Occasionally, a special bond might form, but for the most part, everyone is just passing through and will not be missed when they are gone.

I think you need to distinguish between The School as an institution and the human beings who make up the faculty and administration at a given school. Of course "the school" doesn't "care" deeply about a particular child (unless the child either brings great glory to the school or great trouble), but this is because institutions don't have feelings... mmm hmmm. But humans have feelings, and institutions can have climates that do or don't encourage and enable teachers and staff to take a genuine interest in the children.

Our kids are at Burgundy, and I do feel that overall they've had enormously caring teachers: teachers who stop us when they happen to run into us to tell us funny or touching anecdotes about our kids, who call us when they're worried about our kids, etc. Overall Burgundy feels like a very caring environment: administrators and staff know everyone's name, and there's genuinely an atmosphere of affection. Yes, we've encountered a few duds among the teachers and staff -- a couple of cold-fish/burned out folks-- but even there, the administration tried very hard to work with us an other parents to address our concerns. Contra the cynics, OP, I think that if you truly feel that teachers and administrators don't care about your child, you should look for another school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You delude yourselves, folks. Your child leaves and another one takes his/her place. Your children are just cogs in the wheel. Occasionally, a special bond might form, but for the most part, everyone is just passing through and will not be missed when they are gone.

I think you need to distinguish between The School as an institution and the human beings who make up the faculty and administration at a given school. Of course "the school" doesn't "care" deeply about a particular child (unless the child either brings great glory to the school or great trouble), but this is because institutions don't have feelings... mmm hmmm. But humans have feelings, and institutions can have climates that do or don't encourage and enable teachers and staff to take a genuine interest in the children.

ITA with this. I've got two close relatives who are teachers -- at schools far away from here -- and they both will talk lots about how much they care for many current and former students. When we travel around town, we almost always run into at least one former student, and my relatives will talk about what that student was like many years earlier. For better or worse, these teachers are with your children for at least 7-8 hours per day for 9 months, and then have ongoing contact for multiple years. In fact, I'd be disappointed in teachers who don't form some bonds with most kids!

[Anonymous]

My DC is in a small Catholic school and they do care about DC. Both teachers and the Admin. I am amazed by how much the principal knew about DC in such a short time. We have a great relationship with the teachers and the office admin staff is wonderful too.

[Anonymous]

I care about my students. I don't always have time to help them as much as they deserve, but I do my best. I would not have gone into teaching if I did not care about people.