What does the term “good schools” mean to you?

[Anonymous]

Parents who care about their kid's education and where the test scores are high/semi high.

It's also somewhat important for me to model normalcy to my kids. I hope their peers have middle class, stable parents. I went to a failing school and still remember the drugs, the fights, the violence and the sense of helplessness in the kids. I remember my teachers getting beat up and other teachers who cried at their desks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Qualified teachers. Safe/Secure Environment. Balance between the "haves" and "have nots". Diverse student and faculty.

And I would add a curriculum that challenges my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

This is an interesting statement. Do all parents love their children? A overwhelming majority do because this is an instinct that is coded into us.

Do they care about their children's education? Depends on what you mean by "care". All "care" and feel good when their children do their homework and are well behaved at school. All "feel bad" when the kids do badly at school and get into trouble. Yes, in that sense, we all "care" for the good things and "not care" for the bad things to happen to our children when they are getting educated.

Do we all "care" that we have qualified and caring teachers at school who can inspire our children? Yes.
Do we all "care" that our students are not isolated and bullied at school? Yes.
Do we all "care" that are students needs are met and they meet the full potential of their abilities. Yes.
Do we all "care" that the schools are safe from "sexual predators" and "gun violence". Yes.
Do we all "care" that our students are away from the influence and threat of gangs like MS-13. Yes.
Do we all "care" that our students go to learn in a school that has adequate resources in terms of having the material and staffing resources? Yes.

You see we all "care". As caring parents the above is the MINIMUM that we should demand from our schools. What should we demand from our own selves as caring parents is much more nuanced and personal.

Do we support our children with our time, effort and resources, so that they want and achieve a future that will launch them to be successful adults who can earn an honest, legal and ethical living? Do we raise them to be adults who can create strong and functional family units that provide a loving and supportive family home to their own children? Do we raise them to be emotionally stable and ethical so that they have the capacity to become a resource for their local community? Have we invested the time, effort and money to make sure that they have become thinking and analytical human beings, so that they can become aware and involved global citizens?

At the very least - all parents - however busy and overwhelmed, whatever their need to provide the following for their children at home so that they can concentrate on their education.
A safe home where they are not subjected or exposed to substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
A home where they can get 3 hot meals that are nutritionally balanced so that they do not have health issues now or later in life.
A home where they can live in a hygienic fashion - no hoarding, clean clothes, a comfortable bed, a place to eat, bathe, sleep, study.
Parents have the responsibility to see that their child has done their homework every day.
Parents have the responsibility to make sure that their children are well behaved in school and other public places.
Parents have the responsibility to make sure that they spend quality and quantity time with their children so that they can shape, guide and support them?

Do we do all of the above by making it a priority over our own needs and wants? Most of us do.

[Anonymous]

How about this for the truth, I want a school filled with kids that will be successful. Not just some who want or wish to be successful.

Show me a school filled with rich white kids and I’ll show you a school filled with way above average success rates. Show me a school not that and I’ll show you average to below average success rates almost without exception. Life is a numbers game and one would be wise to play the odds.

Spare me your anecdotal examples to the contrary. Most elite levels of society are filled by very few archetypes from pretty predictable pedigrees. It is true success doesn’t always bring happiness but failure almost always brings misery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about this for the truth, I want a school filled with kids that will be successful. Not just some who want or wish to be successful.

Show me a school filled with rich white kids and I’ll show you a school filled with way above average success rates. Show me a school not that and I’ll show you average to below average success rates almost without exception. Life is a numbers game and one would be wise to play the odds.

Spare me your anecdotal examples to the contrary. Most elite levels of society are filled by very few archetypes from pretty predictable pedigrees. It is true success doesn’t always bring happiness but failure almost always brings misery.

A good school, for me, is a school without parents like this.

There is nothing more toxic to learning than the attitude that it's all a race, and you cannot win unless others lose.

Practically, I like a school with a strong and caring principal.

But really, I ignore the term "good schools" because it's primarily used either by real estate agents or naive parents to mean "white and/or Asian schools where I can feel safe my child will be guaranteed to do well, away from the negative influences of people who make less than $100k."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

Right, but I think the second part of PP's answer is critical. Everyone wants what's best for their kids, but unfortunately if they don't have the money to invest in their kid's educations, the outcomes won't necessarily be all that great. You need both.

I don’t live in a W cluster and we supplement heavily (tutoring, Mathnasium, academic camps, etc). So how do you know what people in a neighborhood are doing without asking them?

But reading this, sounds like a W school is not a good school. It is a school where a lot of parents have to (and can) supplement with camps, tutoring, and special programs.

I don't live in a W area, but can afford to do all those things (and have the time and motivation).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about this for the truth, I want a school filled with kids that will be successful. Not just some who want or wish to be successful.

Show me a school filled with rich white kids and I’ll show you a school filled with way above average success rates. Show me a school not that and I’ll show you average to below average success rates almost without exception. Life is a numbers game and one would be wise to play the odds.

Spare me your anecdotal examples to the contrary. Most elite levels of society are filled by very few archetypes from pretty predictable pedigrees. It is true success doesn’t always bring happiness but failure almost always brings misery.

Yes, but I went to a school with rich white kids and there a lot of problems with that model. The entitlement of rich white boys can suck all the air out of the room. Maybe it I had sons I would feel differently, but I have two girls, and this isn't going to cut it for them. They are learning they rule the world, and little McGuire and Bennett and Bryce (actual names of boys at my school) can suck it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about this for the truth, I want a school filled with kids that will be successful. Not just some who want or wish to be successful.

Show me a school filled with rich white kids and I’ll show you a school filled with way above average success rates. Show me a school not that and I’ll show you average to below average success rates almost without exception. Life is a numbers game and one would be wise to play the odds.

Spare me your anecdotal examples to the contrary. Most elite levels of society are filled by very few archetypes from pretty predictable pedigrees. It is true success doesn’t always bring happiness but failure almost always brings misery.

A good school, for me, is a school without parents like this.

There is nothing more toxic to learning than the attitude that it's all a race, and you cannot win unless others lose.

Practically, I like a school with a strong and caring principal.

But really, I ignore the term "good schools" because it's primarily used either by real estate agents or naive parents to mean "white and/or Asian schools where I can feel safe my child will be guaranteed to do well, away from the negative influences of people who make less than $100k."

Yes! To the PP who wants a school with a bunch of rich white kids, I suggest you look into private. News flash- you live in the DMV. This is not a homogeneous area.. If you are afraid of that, then you really need to move elsewhere. Moreover, what does it say about you as a parent, if you feel that your child can only be successful with the presence of a certain type of "pedigree." Is your child incapable of being a successful student in a diverse environment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about this for the truth, I want a school filled with kids that will be successful. Not just some who want or wish to be successful.

Show me a school filled with rich white kids and I’ll show you a school filled with way above average success rates. Show me a school not that and I’ll show you average to below average success rates almost without exception. Life is a numbers game and one would be wise to play the odds.

Spare me your anecdotal examples to the contrary. Most elite levels of society are filled by very few archetypes from pretty predictable pedigrees. It is true success doesn’t always bring happiness but failure almost always brings misery.

A good school, for me, is a school without parents like this.

There is nothing more toxic to learning than the attitude that it's all a race, and you cannot win unless others lose.

Practically, I like a school with a strong and caring principal.

But really, I ignore the term "good schools" because it's primarily used either by real estate agents or naive parents to mean "white and/or Asian schools where I can feel safe my child will be guaranteed to do well, away from the negative influences of people who make less than $100k."

There is a lot of data out there that shows more diverse companies and companies with more diverse boards do better: take on less risk, have higher profits, etc. I work for one of the top four consulting firms and they are hell bent on diversity, and it's not just a brand thing. They want more women and people of color taking on leadership roles, they think it is vital to the future. So it's interesting that some people think the key to successful schools are to have only rich white kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

Then you live in a bubble. Lots of people want their kids to do well, not as many are investing time, energy and money to make sure the kids do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A neighborhood where parents care about their children's education and have the money to invest in it.

There's no secret. It's not the school itself, they all follow the same program and have the same teachers. It's the community that changes the nature of the school.

The end.

I have met very few parents who don't care about their children's education.

Then you live in a bubble. Lots of people want their kids to do well, not as many are investing time, energy and money to make sure the kids do.

PP you're responding to. I'm sure that there are plenty of people who don't do the stuff you do about your kids' education. If you want to say that people have to do the stuff you do, otherwise they don't care about their kids' educations -- well, ok. I don't say that, though.

[Anonymous]

Safe school.
Kid not being bullied.
Differentiation based on abilities.
No ceiling on achievement.
No classroom disruption.
Good qualified teachers.
No subs teaching classes.
Adequate resources.

Do not care about race or HHI. The best classroom experience for my child was in a Title 1 ES with a strong Principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was a very honest answer. When I hear the term and people name the schools they want to be a part of, I see that they want to be amongst a certain income group and many time even with a certain race.

Yes, this is honest. Good schools have mostly kids that aren't going to contaminate your kids with their poverty values, lack of interest in education, drugs and violence. Also, good schools help kids to network with other kids that will be well connected in the future for business and jobs. These kind of schools have better teachers because the parents are helicoptering in full force and will force the bad teachers out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a very honest answer. When I hear the term and people name the schools they want to be a part of, I see that they want to be amongst a certain income group and many time even with a certain race.

Yes, this is honest. Good schools have mostly kids that aren't going to contaminate your kids with their poverty values, lack of interest in education, drugs and violence. Also, good schools help kids to network with other kids that will be well connected in the future for business and jobs. These kind of schools have better teachers because the parents are helicoptering in full force and will force the bad teachers out.

That's not what the Churchill parents say on DCUM. Either about teachers, or about drugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a very honest answer. When I hear the term and people name the schools they want to be a part of, I see that they want to be amongst a certain income group and many time even with a certain race.

Yes, this is honest. Good schools have mostly kids that aren't going to contaminate your kids with their poverty values, lack of interest in education, drugs and violence. Also, good schools help kids to network with other kids that will be well connected in the future for business and jobs. These kind of schools have better teachers because the parents are helicoptering in full force and will force the bad teachers out.

That's not what the Churchill parents say on DCUM. Either about teachers, or about drugs.

What do they say?