Reply to Paying 32K and my DD's teacher has NO idea what she's doing

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "Paying 32K and my DD's teacher has NO idea what she's doing"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Very good question 22:14.  In retrospect (and unfortunately we don't get that perspective in this life), I would have gone public throughout for my two kids.  I think they would have made better friends locally, in the neighborhood.  I think they would have better memories of some of their educational experiences  . . . . some of their experiences in private left them depressed and feeling like losers, which they were not.  They unfortunately occasionally pulled an old, tired, punitive teacher who couldn't give a damn about learning differentiation or passing on a love of learning.   Everything was homework, homework, homework and rote memorization.  Or 20 min. of Latin a week just so the school could say the kids were taught Latin (on top of the French and Spanish).  Just far too much stress and for far too many years of stress.  Looking back, I would completely change the environment in which I've raised them but that might mean moving out of state to get out of this pressure-cooker environment.  I think they would have been more well-rounded citizens of the world if they had been in public all their lives and maybe not even here in the Fairfax system.  There is simply too much wealth, entitlement and pretentiousness here, but that's life in D.C.

However, due to the switch to public, they have both received training in areas that interested them not provided in most privates, such as Russian, debate team, freshman volleyball, traveling robotics team, computer design, choir, award wining, traveling orchestras, gymnastics.  Had they been in public longer, I think they would have a much larger group of friends in our neighborhood of McLean, which is sad.  Because of the private school experiences, their friends are now dotted all over MD, DC and VA which means they can't walk down to the street to visit their best friend as I could growing up.  Even at 18 we have to schedule "play dates" because friends are now in college but home for the holidays but live in Chevy Chase.  Or so and so is available for a playdate but lives in Rockville.

I think we spent far too much valuable time driving, carpooling and getting stuck in traffic.  The Fairfax school bus stops in front of our house.  I know my kids are safe getting on, and safe getting home.  Far safer than being in someone's carpool being driven by a nanny.

The Fairfax system allows for the astonishing AP system, which is good if your kid can handle true college-level courses.  Not good if they can't and have been misguidedly pushed into AP courses by their parents, counselors or selves.

That being said, my kids are good kids.  There's no sex, drugs and rock 'n roll going on.  We're a tight-knit family on a tight schedule.  There's no room for parties, drugs, alcohol abuse, or other issues.  That can be a big problem in certain public schools.  Of course it can be  a problem at privates as well but some privates have more control over those issues.   (But now I'm thinking of one famous private school in particular that has had some serious drug, alcohol and ethics problems, so maybe i have that wrong).  Drugs, alcohol, and parties just aren't issues affecting us (yet, knock on wood) but I do hear thru the PTA that the public schools are very concerned about drugs and alcohol abuse and to his credit, our principal is very vocal about it and extremely proactive.  Kids show up drunk at a football game and they are not allowed to graduate.  Period.

And, finally, if we had not gone private, I would now have the money to send both on to the most expensive college and indefinite grad schools of their choice.  That's not so clear anymore with the recession.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics