Private schools are indefensible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public schools have tons of money sloshing around, in addition to the $15-30k per pupil from property taxes, fed and title 1 they also pay for a ton of administration, defined benefit plans and healthcare plans for life for all retirees.

Maybe you should look into why their budget is 50% benefits and then 50% active salaries and facilities. And let’s not forget the mandatory teacher union dues each paycheck for the lobby group.

Where is this? I'm a public school teacher, and union membership is not mandatory. I do not know of a single district where teachers are required to join a union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are over 1,000 universities in the US. Why focus so much on the 10-20 "elite" universities. People can and do perfectly well at any of the other universities.

When the most successful and wealthiest people in this country come from the top 20 schools, it’s hard not to focus on the elite schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read about Caitlin Flanagan's history of misogynist articles before you waste brain cells on this one.

I can still read an article and IS the facts versus any biases or opinions. I usually have a few key questions after reading most articles.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/...hools-are-indefensible/618078/

Don’t let the title turn you off and give this a read!

This article was SO good and thought provoking. None of it was surprised because I figured things were the way they were regarding the chasm between private school and public schools; As well as the wealthy and everyone else.

The world has gotten more competitive. Hence the obsession with getting kids into the right school. Furthermore, I do think it’s unfair that public schools don’t have the same amount of resources as private school. I always knew they had more but I didn’t realize they had *that much more*. It’s no wonder that so many people that make it to the top come from private schools. It feels as if there are no hope for regular public school kids.

Again, really think that every parent should give this a read. Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!
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This is nonsense. 70% of students at top colleges are from public schools and always have been.

this is what the author wrote "Less than 2 percent of the nation’s students attend so-called independent schools. But 24 percent of Yale’s class of 2024 attended an independent school. At Princeton, that figure is 25 percent. At Brown and Dartmouth, it is higher still: 29 percent." are they incorrect?

I have no reason to believe they are incorrect. But the question is, what do they tell you?

that life isn't fair? The whole Horatio Alger narrative of doing well in high school and then getting into an elite university and going on to fame and fortune is a fantasy. The reality is that the hedge fund manager's kid goes to the elite private with the other rich kids. Those kids, by and large, go to elite universities and then begin adult life with immense advantages. For some reason people still insist that there is a meritocracy, but they are demonstrably wrong- this is just another data point

It’s like the blatant truth is flying above so many people’s head. This is why so many everyday poor, working class. middle class, and upper middle classAmericans are frustrated!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read about Caitlin Flanagan's history of misogynist articles before you waste brain cells on this one.

I can still read an article and IS the facts versus any biases or opinions. I usually have a few key questions after reading most articles.

It would be better to be able to have an article from someone who does not seem so inherently untrustworthy, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that public schools are expected to do much more than educate children. They provide social services, distribute food, offer healthcare, and childcare. Teachers are there to teach, but the school as an institution has far more responsibilities to meet the needs of the local community than they have the capacity or budget to.
Private schools certainly don't have to grapple with those social challenges, and they can focus on delivering on educating the student academically, physically, and emotionally.
We're leaving MCPS for private HS in September, not because we don't believe in public education, but because this strain on public schools has become so apparent during the pandemic. We'll miss being with kids with true grit, determined to excel and driven to get into the best colleges. But the top 5% of students in public schools are being dragged down by all the other competing issues facing public school administrators.

Lol is this a joke? Private schools as the article conveys provide FAR MORE than public schools so give me a break. This is a bad attempt at trying to demonize poor children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are over 1,000 universities in the US. Why focus so much on the 10-20 "elite" universities. People can and do perfectly well at any of the other universities.

When the most successful and wealthiest people in this country come from the top 20 schools, it’s hard not to focus on the elite schools.

That may be true for the 1%, but what about being in the top 2% or top 5% instead? We live in a smaller city outside of the DC area, and just about everyone who has been to college has been to second or third-tier schools. Not a single Ivy leaguer among them, and that's fine. They still are the business elite here and do quite well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public schools have tons of money sloshing around, in addition to the $15-30k per pupil from property taxes, fed and title 1 they also pay for a ton of administration, defined benefit plans and healthcare plans for life for all retirees.

Maybe you should look into why their budget is 50% benefits and then 50% active salaries and facilities. And let’s not forget the mandatory teacher union dues each paycheck for the lobby group.

in some states an Assistant superintendent of a small school district makes 240k full tenure with benefits and a pension, bonuses and incentives and guaranteed pay increases in a guaranteed job for life. The problem with public schools is not private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was disappointed in this article, actually. We are new to private school this year (covid) and have done a lot of hand-wringing over whether moving to, or staying in, private school aligns with our values. So I came to this with an open mind and read the whole thing.

Unfortunately this is just a string of anecdotes about the excesses of very wealthy parents. It does not make arguments against private schools, other than that there's a huge equity problem in education. The author waits until the final paragraphs to acknowledge that public schools are broken, and that in a just society private schools wouldn't need to exist. Another way of saying that is that the school situation is a symptom not the problem.

A better article would have looked like this:
1. The state of public schools is indefensible.
2. The existence of private schools is a response to the state of public schools and, even more, to the inequalities we have created while pretending that merit drives success.
3. Both 1 and 2 are the result of profound disagreements in this country about what school is for, and what we are all obligated to do in support of the public good.

There will always be very wealthy, very demanding parents who provide something different for their kids -- in the old days, these people's children were educated at home with governors and tutors. Their existence doesn't need to affect education policy one way or the other, which is why this article's focus on them is disappointing.

number 2 is demonstrably false. Privates have existed for as long as there have been schools in this country- the oldest literally predate the county.

Had the same exact response in my head and then saw you responded before. A lot of people lack a knowledge of America’s history.

[Anonymous]

Decidedly NOT a Caitlin Flanagan fan, but I did chuckle at her description of Sidwell's Meeting Room. I remember sitting in it with what felt like thousands of people (at an extremely well-attended open house, back when we could attend such things), reflecting that it was far nicer, more aesthetically pleasing and expensive than my house. And leagues above any space in my highly-resourced public high school, which sent plenty of kids to elite colleges back in the 80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools have tons of money sloshing around, in addition to the $15-30k per pupil from property taxes, fed and title 1 they also pay for a ton of administration, defined benefit plans and healthcare plans for life for all retirees.

Maybe you should look into why their budget is 50% benefits and then 50% active salaries and facilities. And let’s not forget the mandatory teacher union dues each paycheck for the lobby group.

in some states an Assistant superintendent of a small school district makes 240k full tenure with benefits and a pension, bonuses and incentives and guaranteed pay increases in a guaranteed job for life. The problem with public schools is not private school.

And compare that with the salary and benefits package of a private school HOS who often times has less students and headaches to worry about. You’ll be surprised to find, most school district superintendents make significantly less then their counterparts in private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Decidedly NOT a Caitlin Flanagan fan, but I did chuckle at her description of Sidwell's Meeting Room. I remember sitting in it with what felt like thousands of people (at an extremely well-attended open house, back when we could attend such things), reflecting that it was far nicer, more aesthetically pleasing and expensive than my house. And leagues above any space in my highly-resourced public high school, which sent plenty of kids to elite colleges back in the 80s.

Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools have tons of money sloshing around, in addition to the $15-30k per pupil from property taxes, fed and title 1 they also pay for a ton of administration, defined benefit plans and healthcare plans for life for all retirees.

Maybe you should look into why their budget is 50% benefits and then 50% active salaries and facilities. And let’s not forget the mandatory teacher union dues each paycheck for the lobby group.

Where is this? I'm a public school teacher, and union membership is not mandatory. I do not know of a single district where teachers are required to join a union.

In my district public school teachers are required to join and dues are removed from our paychecks along with taxes and retirement savings.

[Anonymous]

Private school parent (not in DC area). Everything she wrote about the wealth disparity, pressures on teachers and staff is absolutely 100% true.
Same for pressure on students.
The story on Sidwell - INSANE.

But the answer isn't no more private schools. Private education has always existed in some fashion. These schools do prepare children (well) for college. And that is what I am paying for. That and small classrooms which are better for my children. Sacrificing a lot of other things to pay for 3 in private school through high school

[Anonymous]

At yet, the author sent her own children to one of the private schools she mocks. She also attended prep school herself and then on to UVa. She has a lot of “for me but not for thee” about her. She’s also been churning out this same mocking private school article about every 2-3 years for a while now.