Families who can afford private but go public, why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools have much lower standards for teachers. And they pay far less than public schools. If you are good at your profession, why get paid a third or more less????

Wow, you’re not a teacher and you don’t know anyone who is.

Teachers at private schools get paid less because their job is much easier. They are dealing with smaller classes, children who were able to pass entrance exams, and children without significant behavioral issues. That’s it. A lot of teachers are willing to trade the less stressful job for less money. The inner-city schools here pay a lot more, because they have to, because it’s a shit show of a job.

I will say that there are a significant number of teachers in private schools whose job is a “hobby” profession — There’s a significant other source of income somewhere. Some of those teachers are absolutely wonderful so I can’t really complain!

I teach math as a hobby. A few years back when I was starting I had thoughts about teaching in a public school. After doing some reading, I realized that what initially sounded awesome to me (i.e teaching at one of the great public school in the area) might be unrewarding primarily because I'd be forced to teach with a set in stone curriculum, and also deal with lots of disruption/behavior issues. While I no longer fantasize about teaching in a public school, I still occasionally entertain the idea of teaching in a private somewhere. If I can find a place with a bunch of smart, well behaved kids who are there because they want to learn more, and I'm able to push them harder than in public school using without being micromanaged, I'd definitely consider it, irrespective of the lower pay.

While it can be sort of cruel to SN kids, anyone who doesn’t fit the model can be counseled out. It does make for a certain mood when both the teachers *and* students can be dismissed for not upholding a certain culture.

[Anonymous]

This was on another thread and spells out exactly why we are sending our kids to a private HS. After k-8 at our public what this teacher spelled out is why we are leaving a highly-rated public My kids test off the charts and have straight As...but this is exactly what I hate about our County:

“I teach at a school where everything is online: textbooks, supplementary lessons, and student work submissions. We're expected to teach a portion of the content for a few minutes before allowing the students to do the rest on their own.

We have very high standardized test scores relative to the rest of the state, but any teacher in the building will tell you that our program does more harm than good. The program has taught our kids how to test; that's it. They spend each period skimming the text, memorizing the key terms, and regurgitating the information on the chapter summary assessments. They can pass a multiple choice test with no problem, but can barely put five original sentences together if asked to do some expository writing about what they read. So much focus on the computer has crippled their social skills and situational awareness. They can't problem solve worth a damn, and they struggle with anything abstract. We're not allowed to modify the curriculum in any way, so we can't add things that would mitigate these issues. As long as the test scores are high, everyone's okay with us churning out drones year after year.“

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was on another thread and spells out exactly why we are sending our kids to a private HS. After k-8 at our public what this teacher spelled out is why we are leaving a highly-rated public My kids test off the charts and have straight As...but this is exactly what I hate about our County:

“I teach at a school where everything is online: textbooks, supplementary lessons, and student work submissions. We're expected to teach a portion of the content for a few minutes before allowing the students to do the rest on their own.

We have very high standardized test scores relative to the rest of the state, but any teacher in the building will tell you that our program does more harm than good. The program has taught our kids how to test; that's it. They spend each period skimming the text, memorizing the key terms, and regurgitating the information on the chapter summary assessments. They can pass a multiple choice test with no problem, but can barely put five original sentences together if asked to do some expository writing about what they read. So much focus on the computer has crippled their social skills and situational awareness. They can't problem solve worth a damn, and they struggle with anything abstract. We're not allowed to modify the curriculum in any way, so we can't add things that would mitigate these issues. As long as the test scores are high, everyone's okay with us churning out drones year after year.“

+1 Teaching to the test really is a terrible thing. At least if they do that, they should teach to a worthier type of test that uses logic, like the SATs or math competitions.

Though I still don't want to spend lots of $$ for private even if on average they do a better job with autonomy and creativity. Frankly, I'm not sure they do a better job with problem solving, especially in math and science. Situational awareness is an easy one, I plan on having my kids watch Seinfeld when they get home from school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools have much lower standards for teachers. And they pay far less than public schools. If you are good at your profession, why get paid a third or more less????

Wow, you’re not a teacher and you don’t know anyone who is.

Teachers at private schools get paid less because their job is much easier. They are dealing with smaller classes, children who were able to pass entrance exams, and children without significant behavioral issues. That’s it. A lot of teachers are willing to trade the less stressful job for less money. The inner-city schools here pay a lot more, because they have to, because it’s a shit show of a job.

I will say that there are a significant number of teachers in private schools whose job is a “hobby” profession — There’s a significant other source of income somewhere. Some of those teachers are absolutely wonderful so I can’t really complain!

I teach math as a hobby. A few years back when I was starting I had thoughts about teaching in a public school. After doing some reading, I realized that what initially sounded awesome to me (i.e teaching at one of the great public school in the area) might be unrewarding primarily because I'd be forced to teach with a set in stone curriculum, and also deal with lots of disruption/behavior issues. While I no longer fantasize about teaching in a public school, I still occasionally entertain the idea of teaching in a private somewhere. If I can find a place with a bunch of smart, well behaved kids who are there because they want to learn more, and I'm able to push them harder than in public school using without being micromanaged, I'd definitely consider it, irrespective of the lower pay.

While it can be sort of cruel to SN kids, anyone who doesn’t fit the model can be counseled out. It does make for a certain mood when both the teachers *and* students can be dismissed for not upholding a certain culture.

“Sort of” is an understatement. If you want your kids to develop a “Lord of the Flies” mentality before they turn 16, there’s nothing better than a snooty private that counsels our kids who don’t fit their image. No one who believes in education for all kids could stomach that environment.

[Anonymous]

Not all privates are $40-60k year and filled with snooty people. Some have religious tenets and serving others as a big part of their mission. They have families from all social backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all privates are $40-60k year and filled with snooty people. Some have religious tenets and serving others as a big part of their mission. They have families from all social backgrounds.

We're not talking about the religious ones, we're mostly discussing the ones that snooty and unaffordable for most people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all privates are $40-60k year and filled with snooty people. Some have religious tenets and serving others as a big part of their mission. They have families from all social backgrounds.

Did that religious private school teach you about judging others? Since you brought it up let's talk about those small privates religious that cost less. Teachers are not as good over all because privates have different hiring rules. Yes, that's a thing. Less choices in classes over all especially high school. Math & Science definitely better in public. These are facts not about education, not morals.

The thread asked clearly why do people choose public instead of private.

Most people are looking to educate their children as a priority.

Every kid is different. Every kids needs are different. So what if a family choose's public over private. Or the other way around.

[Anonymous]

The Catholic ones where it's all about serving are mostly affordable so it's not worth talking about them unless we debate whether they're behind in academics. The other ones where it's all about being served are the ones that people are mostly referring to here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools have much lower standards for teachers. And they pay far less than public schools. If you are good at your profession, why get paid a third or more less????

Wow, you’re not a teacher and you don’t know anyone who is.

Teachers at private schools get paid less because their job is much easier. They are dealing with smaller classes, children who were able to pass entrance exams, and children without significant behavioral issues. That’s it. A lot of teachers are willing to trade the less stressful job for less money. The inner-city schools here pay a lot more, because they have to, because it’s a shit show of a job.

I will say that there are a significant number of teachers in private schools whose job is a “hobby” profession — There’s a significant other source of income somewhere. Some of those teachers are absolutely wonderful so I can’t really complain!

I teach math as a hobby. A few years back when I was starting I had thoughts about teaching in a public school. After doing some reading, I realized that what initially sounded awesome to me (i.e teaching at one of the great public school in the area) might be unrewarding primarily because I'd be forced to teach with a set in stone curriculum, and also deal with lots of disruption/behavior issues. While I no longer fantasize about teaching in a public school, I still occasionally entertain the idea of teaching in a private somewhere. If I can find a place with a bunch of smart, well behaved kids who are there because they want to learn more, and I'm able to push them harder than in public school using without being micromanaged, I'd definitely consider it, irrespective of the lower pay.

While it can be sort of cruel to SN kids, anyone who doesn’t fit the model can be counseled out. It does make for a certain mood when both the teachers *and* students can be dismissed for not upholding a certain culture.

“Sort of” is an understatement. If you want your kids to develop a “Lord of the Flies” mentality before they turn 16, there’s nothing better than a snooty private that counsels our kids who don’t fit their image. No one who believes in education for all kids could stomach that environment.

Then you should DEFINITELY not send your kids to private. Personally my stomach feels fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools have much lower standards for teachers. And they pay far less than public schools. If you are good at your profession, why get paid a third or more less????

Wow, you’re not a teacher and you don’t know anyone who is.

Teachers at private schools get paid less because their job is much easier. They are dealing with smaller classes, children who were able to pass entrance exams, and children without significant behavioral issues. That’s it. A lot of teachers are willing to trade the less stressful job for less money. The inner-city schools here pay a lot more, because they have to, because it’s a shit show of a job.

I will say that there are a significant number of teachers in private schools whose job is a “hobby” profession — There’s a significant other source of income somewhere. Some of those teachers are absolutely wonderful so I can’t really complain!

I teach math as a hobby. A few years back when I was starting I had thoughts about teaching in a public school. After doing some reading, I realized that what initially sounded awesome to me (i.e teaching at one of the great public school in the area) might be unrewarding primarily because I'd be forced to teach with a set in stone curriculum, and also deal with lots of disruption/behavior issues. While I no longer fantasize about teaching in a public school, I still occasionally entertain the idea of teaching in a private somewhere. If I can find a place with a bunch of smart, well behaved kids who are there because they want to learn more, and I'm able to push them harder than in public school using without being micromanaged, I'd definitely consider it, irrespective of the lower pay.

While it can be sort of cruel to SN kids, anyone who doesn’t fit the model can be counseled out. It does make for a certain mood when both the teachers *and* students can be dismissed for not upholding a certain culture.

“sort of”?

[Anonymous]

If you lived in the Northeast, where towns each have their own school district, would you insist on going private?

[Anonymous]

Not all privates and publics are the same. Everyone has different priorities.

I understand wanting to send kids to elite privates or special privates for SN children. I don’t understand those who send their kids to mediocre private schools so their kids can get coddled. At the same time, college admissions are unimpressive. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all privates and publics are the same. Everyone has different priorities.

I understand wanting to send kids to elite privates or special privates for SN children. I don’t understand those who send their kids to mediocre private schools so their kids can get coddled. At the same time, college admissions are unimpressive. No thanks.

Look, my kids go to an "elite private," but if you knew how many parents here are legacies at T20 schools, you would probably have a different view of the value of this school for the purpose of college admissions. If you're going to a private, it has to be for what the private school is giving you in and of itself. It can't be trying to buy your way into a better school because it probably will fail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Other than the French (fles is a joke), this sounds very similar to what my second grader did last year. Instead of playing the ukelele they move from the recorder to real instruments in band.

Really? Your second grader covered early civilizations and circulatory system and he plays band instruments in 2-3 grades?
Must be a very advanced school.

Our DCPS covers this too. Pretty standard topics. Engaging teachers make it interesting too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all privates and publics are the same. Everyone has different priorities.

I understand wanting to send kids to elite privates or special privates for SN children. I don’t understand those who send their kids to mediocre private schools so their kids can get coddled. At the same time, college admissions are unimpressive. No thanks.

Look, my kids go to an "elite private," but if you knew how many parents here are legacies at T20 schools, you would probably have a different view of the value of this school for the purpose of college admissions. If you're going to a private, it has to be for what the private school is giving you in and of itself. It can't be trying to buy your way into a better school because it probably will fail.

So yeah if I spent 500k and sent my kids to an elite or not elite private and they ended up at like Boston University or UVA, I would be pretty damn pissed.