Why did you choose private school over the local public school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In our case -

Con:
cost
distance from friends
DC's now warped perception that being middle class is somehow "poor" because we don't winter in Vail, summer in Paris or drive a Range Rover

Pro:
no standardized testing
no teaching "down"
more and better quality reading and writing
more thinking, analyzing and discussion
more gym class - and real phys ed like weight lifting and sports skills, no Chicken Dance!
being surrounded by kids who are all highly motivated brings out the best in our DC and we found a school that selected ambitious, hard working kids
better quality lunches - real food cooked in a kitchen
an environment where manners are expected and enforced
teachers who approach their job as college professors do and are also available before and after school
no projects that are done 100% at home
teachers have more freedom to choose material from a variety of sources
the school can dismiss students with chronic behavior problems
biannual drug testing and breathalizers at dance exits
flexible aftercare (drop in)
uniforms
teaching study skills - how to study, how to take notes, how to "close read"
teaching responsibility and consequences - our public allowed late work all the time consequence free, our private accepts it under some circumstances but only with reduced credit
overall environment - a studious atmosphere and little things like having copies of famous works of art instead of "don't join gangs" posters on the wall

So no ERBs at your school?

sounds like a good school do you mind sharing which one? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:private pros:
recess every day (vs. once a week)
music and art part of the curriculum

aren't these things true at public schools??

Wondering if poster meant to say daily PE instead of once a week.

[Anonymous]

Cons:
Cost (obviously)
Commute

Pros:
Ratios are half the size
Teachers know the kids, really know them
Teach for learning, not test scores
No riff-raff. Public is babysitting for many families
Great community
Families wanting the same things


For us personally, same-sex education (girls) has been incredible for my child. We did public the first few years to make local friends and it worked out well. She now has 2 groups of close girls and is just more confident in private. Very worth it for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pro - Typical parent has a degree from Ivy or SLAC

I would put that on my con list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cons:
Cost (obviously)
Commute

Pros:
Ratios are half the size
Teachers know the kids, really know them
Teach for learning, not test scores
No riff-raff. Public is babysitting for many families
Great community
Families wanting the same things


For us personally, same-sex education (girls) has been incredible for my child. We did public the first few years to make local friends and it worked out well. She now has 2 groups of close girls and is just more confident in private. Very worth it for us.

Translation: total upper-crust snobs like us. no diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pro - Typical parent has a degree from Ivy or SLAC

I would put that on my con list.

That's the beauty of choice. We like surrounding our DC with others from the same intellectual class - but very different social and economic classes and ethnic/racial backgrounds - makes sure DC's peer group comes with a built-in set of thoughtfulness that doesn't need to be pushed by standardized testing and the bureaucracy of public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pro - Typical parent has a degree from Ivy or SLAC

I would put that on my con list.

That's the beauty of choice. We like surrounding our DC with others from the same intellectual class - but very different social and economic classes and ethnic/racial backgrounds - makes sure DC's peer group comes with a built-in set of thoughtfulness that doesn't need to be pushed by standardized testing and the bureaucracy of public schools.

I guess I have been doing this too long. I find the Ivy dads cut throat at sports, scream on the sideline to the point where referees throw them out of the game and embarrass our school. They also cheat at sports, which is very hard to explain to younger kids. I think as they get older they either realize how wrong it is (if you have parents to guide explain it is wrong) or kids that find cheating fine if you don't get caught, or if you can pay your way out of the situation.

If your friendship base was truly diverse you would find the same intellectual class, peer group and built in set of thoughtfulness in many types of educational backgrounds.

So, in my one son's school, it has been a bit of a con.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our case -

Con:
cost
distance from friends
DC's now warped perception that being middle class is somehow "poor" because we don't winter in Vail, summer in Paris or drive a Range Rover

Pro:
no standardized testing
no teaching "down"
more and better quality reading and writing
more thinking, analyzing and discussion
more gym class - and real phys ed like weight lifting and sports skills, no Chicken Dance!
being surrounded by kids who are all highly motivated brings out the best in our DC and we found a school that selected ambitious, hard working kids
better quality lunches - real food cooked in a kitchen
an environment where manners are expected and enforced
teachers who approach their job as college professors do and are also available before and after school
no projects that are done 100% at home
teachers have more freedom to choose material from a variety of sources
the school can dismiss students with chronic behavior problems
biannual drug testing and breathalizers at dance exits
flexible aftercare (drop in)
uniforms
teaching study skills - how to study, how to take notes, how to "close read"
teaching responsibility and consequences - our public allowed late work all the time consequence free, our private accepts it under some circumstances but only with reduced credit
overall environment - a studious atmosphere and little things like having copies of famous works of art instead of "don't join gangs" posters on the wall

You think this is a good thing? And for the drug testing, do the kids actually pee in a cup? Wherever this is, I'm not convinced the pseudo-elite atmosphere (Van Gogh's flowers on the wall, kicking out the undesirables) are pluses, either.

And what public allows "late work all the time with no consequences"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cons - Cost

Pros - everything else

You beat me to it!

We looked very closely at our MoCo public since cost is definitely a consideration for us. Hands down, the privates we considered beat the public in every single aspect- better curriculum, better facilities, more recess, more PE, more art, music and drama, better differentiation and ability to teach to the individual child, better teachers (from what I've heard, there are some awesome and some not-so-great teachers at our public- the teachers at our private are across-the-board incredible), greater emphasis on character development, greater emphasis on reading/writing/public speaking, better lunch offerings, not only smaller classes, but smaller overall school so that kids are all known by the Headmasters, most of the teachers and most other families of the school. Having attended both a "top" public and a private school myself eons, ago, I admit I'm biased. While in many situations, one can obtain a comparable education, the overall experience at a private is generally far superior than the overall experience at a public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cons - Cost

Pros - everything else

You beat me to it!

We looked very closely at our MoCo public since cost is definitely a consideration for us. Hands down, the privates we considered beat the public in every single aspect- better curriculum, better facilities, more recess, more PE, more art, music and drama, better differentiation and ability to teach to the individual child, better teachers (from what I've heard, there are some awesome and some not-so-great teachers at our public- the teachers at our private are across-the-board incredible), greater emphasis on character development, greater emphasis on reading/writing/public speaking, better lunch offerings, not only smaller classes, but smaller overall school so that kids are all known by the Headmasters, most of the teachers and most other families of the school. Having attended both a "top" public and a private school myself eons, ago, I admit I'm biased. While in many situations, one can obtain a comparable education, the overall experience at a private is generally far superior than the overall experience at a public.

I find it hard to believe that there are no average/just OK teachers in private schools and only public schools can have a mix of awesome & not-so-great teachers. Certainly private schools can offer a lot of advantages but it is certainly possible to run into a not-incredible teacher in ANY school. In fact, my friend whose kids are at a private school was just complaining to me this a.m. about the awful science teacher she's dealing with this year (DD in 6th grade).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pro - Typical parent has a degree from Ivy or SLAC

I would put that on my con list.

That's the beauty of choice. We like surrounding our DC with others from the same intellectual class - but very different social and economic classes and ethnic/racial backgrounds - makes sure DC's peer group comes with a built-in set of thoughtfulness that doesn't need to be pushed by standardized testing and the bureaucracy of public schools.

If a parent went to a fancy-pants college, then the offspring inherit a set of thoughtfulness (?) from that parent? I am wondering whether your child's school teaches the Lamarckian theory of evolution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cons - Cost

Pros - everything else

You beat me to it!

We looked very closely at our MoCo public since cost is definitely a consideration for us. Hands down, the privates we considered beat the public in every single aspect- better curriculum, better facilities, more recess, more PE, more art, music and drama, better differentiation and ability to teach to the individual child, better teachers (from what I've heard, there are some awesome and some not-so-great teachers at our public- the teachers at our private are across-the-board incredible), greater emphasis on character development, greater emphasis on reading/writing/public speaking, better lunch offerings, not only smaller classes, but smaller overall school so that kids are all known by the Headmasters, most of the teachers and most other families of the school. Having attended both a "top" public and a private school myself eons, ago, I admit I'm biased. While in many situations, one can obtain a comparable education, the overall experience at a private is generally far superior than the overall experience at a public.

Every single aspect of private school is better. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You think this is a good thing? And for the drug testing, do the kids actually pee in a cup? Wherever this is, I'm not convinced the pseudo-elite atmosphere (Van Gogh's flowers on the wall, kicking out the undesirables) are pluses, either.

And what public allows "late work all the time with no consequences"?

Not either of my children's public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cons - Cost

Pros - everything else

You beat me to it!

We looked very closely at our MoCo public since cost is definitely a consideration for us. Hands down, the privates we considered beat the public in every single aspect- better curriculum, better facilities, more recess, more PE, more art, music and drama, better differentiation and ability to teach to the individual child, better teachers (from what I've heard, there are some awesome and some not-so-great teachers at our public- the teachers at our private are across-the-board incredible), greater emphasis on character development, greater emphasis on reading/writing/public speaking, better lunch offerings, not only smaller classes, but smaller overall school so that kids are all known by the Headmasters, most of the teachers and most other families of the school. Having attended both a "top" public and a private school myself eons, ago, I admit I'm biased. While in many situations, one can obtain a comparable education, the overall experience at a private is generally far superior than the overall experience at a public.

Every single aspect of private school is better. Wow.

I know.. .my kids are in private but responses like this are just embarrassing and myopic. We are not all this clueless. I know so many kids who were better off and thrived in public schools (non-magnet and non-"W") also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cons:
Cost (obviously)
Commute

Pros:
Ratios are half the size
Teachers know the kids, really know them
Teach for learning, not test scores
No riff-raff. Public is babysitting for many families
Great community
Families wanting the same things

For us personally, same-sex education (girls) has been incredible for my child. We did public the first few years to make local friends and it worked out well. She now has 2 groups of close girls and is just more confident in private. Very worth it for us.

That's my children you're talking about.

On the other hand, my children are better off without classmates whose parents consider my children riff-raff, so: thank you for sending your child to private school.