Did our parents focus on school choices

[Anonymous]

the way our generation of parents is focusing?

[Anonymous]

HEEEEEEEELLLLLL NOOOOOO. I think it would have physically impossible! 8 )

[Anonymous]

In our case, our parents were far less affluent than we are, so they didn't have the luxury of obsessing about so many choices, but they definitely focused on getting into the best school district they could afford. My parents settled in a town that involved a two-hour commute for my father to work each way(fortunately as a university professor he didn't have to go in every day), where they were basically cut off from friends and family, and where for a long time, you could probably count the number of non-white families on the fingers of two hands. I'm sure they would have been happier elsewhere, but we had an excellent education.

[Anonymous]

My parents didn't obsess.

Neither do I.

I came from a reasonably well off family with all of the kids expected to go to college, and no one obsessed like I see people obsess here.

And I actually don't know anyone in the real world who obsesses like I see on this board.

[Anonymous]

I know real world people who obsess. Oh, definitely.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my parents put me in the best school that they could afford. I understood that much much later, since I was never really involved in decision / discussions on school when I was a child.

[Anonymous]

I don't think my parents obsessed but I did go to a "Big 3" for high school which represented a financial sacrifice for my parents. Even back in the 70's many people I knew went to the same schools people obsess about now. The rankings were different then, but the elitism was largely the same.

[Anonymous]

My parents did. Admittedly, both my parents are from unusually well-educated families (both genders on both sides) from generations back and my mother had several advanced degrees in education but, yes, they defintely did.

[Anonymous]

My parents did. They did not have a lot of money and put everything into our education. It was actually one of the few things they agreed on! In addition to the huge cost of a private school for both kids, my mother drove us 30 miles each way (four times a day) to get us there. I am from a small town with one of the worst public school systems in the state of Illinois. In a strange twist I am not as obsessed. I feel so fortunate to be in one of the best public school areas (Montgomery County) and I really want t give it a shot. If we find it doesn't work then we will evaluate, but why wouldn't we try? I hope I still feel this optimistic in 5 years.

[Anonymous]

It governed their housing choice. It hasn't governed ours. But they lived in a place where public was clearly the best/only option (so district was the key factor) and we don't. So transportation options shaped our choice of where to live and we chose school separately and on the merits (and to serve the needs of a single child rather than a number of kids).

That said, my parents did a great job of planting us in a place with not only a good school system but also easy access to good and cheap colleges and universities which I availed myself of during HS.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in DC, east of the park, and private school was not financially viable, so yes, my parents focused on school choices. They had to learn how to work the system to get us into the best that DCPS had to offer, so to speak.

[Anonymous]

I would have been served well if my parents "obsessed" a bit more. They chose a bigger house over better schools, and were fairly hands off once we were in school. I'm glad they didn't hover, but I'd have been served better had they
hovered just a little. (Wouldn't have gotten away with dropping honors science.)

[Anonymous]

YES! More so than we do. My parents were breaking through middle class to upper middle or upper depending on your definition and status as well as a good college name was very, very important to them. DH and I are very well educated with PHds but not interested in the corporate status and schools for networking in future business opportunities. The big name schools at any level can offer very educations but there are other less name brand schools that may offer more strengths in different area.

Our kids will probably turn out to be corporate types

[Anonymous]

Yup, that's where we're at too!

[Anonymous]

My parents absolutely focused on school choice. I grew up in Massachusetts in the late 60s/early 70s - back when there were gifted programs in public elementary schools - and they knew enough about the public school system to get proper placement for me. (It also helped that I finished the 2nd grade curriculum by Columbus Day and the only thing the teacher could do with me was have me work in the office doing things like running the mimeograph machine!) Thankfully my parents work paid off!