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[quote=Anonymous]OP:

I believe strongly that it is the average child -- like mine -- who benefits most from private school.
Brilliant kids usually find their way into magnet, AP and other enriched classes, and manage to remain motivated learners despite being in class of 30 students and more. The super talented ones will need no prodding to try their hand at yearbook or to try out for the school play.

I think the public schools for the most part -- speaking in broad generalities, of course -- don't do a particularly great job with the "average" kid. Lots of photocopied handouts, fill in the blank assignments, and rote learning. The middling student is the kid who needs to have learning brought to life, and I have no confidence that public school can do that consistently.

My DS was in private from pre-K through second, and in public for the last several years. He'll be back in private next year as he begins high school, and I cannot wait. I think that these years of public have taught him to study for the test, as opposed for the love of learning and to do enough to get by, rather than your best.

I really felt that the content at times was so devoid of real quality and thoughtfulness and rigor, that I worried that my intellectually average kid might not be prepared for college at all.

Another thing to keep in mind is that kids learn a lot from each other in any classroom. To the degree that they are motivated, engaged and challenge themselves and each other, your DC will have a richer educational experience.

One more thought, OP: I have a kid who is average in almost every way that a test (and there are many, many of these in public!) can measure. But we all know that most of our kids are exceptional at something. Mine is very, very good at the social sciences, including history and social studies, and is quite "emotionally intelligent" -- he thinks he may want to be a counselor someday.

If your DC is at all like my son, he'll have a far easier time identifying his area of talent,  developing it and having it validated, than he or she can in public. As far as I've been able to discern, if the public schools don't measure it with a standardized test of some sort -- and especially if it's not being assessed for No Child Left Behind -- your DC has no certainty of being taught the material well.  Just one mom's experience.[/quote]

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