Actually, I think that its both teachers and students. Private schools can have a lot of religious diversity among the student body--and private school teachers are free to teach about religious traditions, celebrate them, and engage students about religious traditions.

Studies have shown (there's a section in Nurtureshock about this) that simple exposure to diversity is not enough to stop discrimination in young children. Children need adults to talk about it. I don't see why you keep insisting that merely having diversity is sufficient to raise children to be knowledgeable about diversity. It's not.

I suspect you're correct here. I was the beneficiary of fine teaching about American Indian history and slavery with texts and teachers in the 1950s and 1960s that were fallacious. I had to re-educate myself with independent research and not your high priced fancy teachers. That has made all the intellectual difference in truth and fact (as opposed to the spin from the prestigious schools I attended from K through graduate school).

Wow, this thread is still going strong?

And it's moved on to somebody arguing that actual religious diversity in public schools is less useful than teachers teaching about religion in private schools?

And the same poster is still arguing--against all evidence--that there's more religious diversity in private schools than in public schools? Because, what, all those buddhist vietnamese and muslim somali immigrants are wealthy enough to go private?

LOL!

My kid studied comparative religions in a private school. Let me tell you, it wasn't a very impressive. For one thing, the teachers themselves don't always know a lot about the various religions, unless they belong to that religion themselves. The teacher presented a bland, sterile picture of each of the major world religions.

Anonymous wrote:

So you admit that teachers at public schools can't do a good job teaching kids about religious diversity?

Where did you read this? Your imagination running wild as usual.

But, you did confirm your belief that true diversity (e.g., in religion) is gained by having students taught religion by teachers and not necessarily having a setting of students and teachers of mixed religion. Sounds like more like a segregationist and apartheid educational philosophy where learning about other religions is preferably accomplished by the teacher, the book and the podium.

Can your super duper teachers instruct your kids about poverty and pupils working after school to help bring income to the family? If so, I'm sure you can avoid having to rub shoulders with students and families of this elk.

Actually, I think that its both teachers and students. Private schools can have a lot of religious diversity among the student body--and private school teachers are free to teach about religious traditions, celebrate them, and engage students about religious traditions.

Studies have shown (there's a section in Nurtureshock about this) that simple exposure to diversity is not enough to stop discrimination in young children. Children need adults to talk about it. I don't see why you keep insisting that merely having diversity is sufficient to raise children to be knowledgeable about diversity. It's not.

So you admit that teachers at public schools can't do a good job teaching kids about religious diversity?

Where did you read this? Your imagination running wild as usual.

But, you did confirm your belief that true diversity (e.g., in religion) is gained by having students taught religion by teachers and not necessarily having a setting of students and teachers of mixed religion. Sounds like more like a segregationist and apartheid educational philosophy where learning about other religions is preferably accomplished by the teacher, the book and the podium.

Can your super duper teachers instruct your kids about poverty and pupils working after school to help bring income to the family? If so, I'm sure you can avoid having to rub shoulders with students and families of this elk.

Anonymous wrote:Well, let's see. In my child's private there are Christian (many denoms), Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Quaker, Agnostic and Atheist families. There are also more students of color than we ever see at the local public. Both of my children have a best friend who is another race (and no, not 1/8th of something).

I am not the one with a fig leaf. The fig leaf is that by going to public school there is a diversity benefit. In my neighborhood, there is not. I am not moving east of the park just to get diversity. If that is not authentic or whatever, I honestly do not care. I know what I do to help others, and I am satisfied with it. I won't sacrifice my children's education or safety to pursue some false promise that going to a school with many income levels in it will somehow lead to world peace.

Name of the school please, and your local public....it's the only way to ensure your credibility.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah right smartie pants! Teachers are the panacea. Diversity at rich, exclusive and elite private schools, nestled in wealthy communities, simply overcome by fancy teachers capable of teaching diversity with power point and overheads. This will surely mark the end of entitlement syndrome and its assorted diseases. I see your point. Teachers in private schools instruct homogeneous rich kids the heterogeneous view point with their supreme intellect and diverse view points.

Have you ever considered a cabinet position in Education rather than the kitchen?

So you admit that teachers at public schools can't do a good job teaching kids about religious diversity?

Yeah right smartie pants! Teachers are the panacea. Diversity at rich, exclusive and elite private schools, nestled in wealthy communities, simply overcome by fancy teachers capable of teaching diversity with power point and overheads. This will surely mark the end of entitlement syndrome and its assorted diseases. I see your point. Teachers in private schools instruct homogeneous rich kids the heterogeneous view point with their supreme intellect and diverse view points.

Have you ever considered a cabinet position in Education rather than the kitchen?

Anonymous wrote:

lease explain to me how a public school addresses the issue of religious diversity? I don't think that this is an "idiotic" statement.

I mean, not just having kids of different religious backgrounds, but actually teaching children that there are different religious beliefs out there, what they believe, how they practice, etc.? From my limited exposure to public schools, most public school teachers and administrators don't trust themselves to teach about different religions beyond a few paragraphs in a history textbook, so that they don't violate separation of church and state. You can't perform religious ceremonies at school. You can't bring in religious practitioners to talk about what they believe and how they practice. So, explain, please, how a public school is able to address the religion meaningfully?

Of course, typical refrain...how does public school address religious diversity if the teachers don't teach it from a textbook or power point presentation. You can still live in your bubble in public school waiting for education from from the podium and a textbook or you can rub shoulders with Jews, atheists, Christians and Muslim students and get a real education!!

Right. Why bother having teachers! Let's just put a bunch of different looking kids together and, hey, they'll learn all about the history of each others' families/communities/ethnicities with such great depth and accuracy.

You betcha.

Anonymous wrote:While your answer is not responsive (but defensive) to the OP question you are of course "entitled" to your opinion. I respect that.
My remarks were intended to respond to the question addressed by this thread so please don't take offense.

You are "entitled" too.

No offense taken.

lease explain to me how a public school addresses the issue of religious diversity? I don't think that this is an "idiotic" statement.

I mean, not just having kids of different religious backgrounds, but actually teaching children that there are different religious beliefs out there, what they believe, how they practice, etc.? From my limited exposure to public schools, most public school teachers and administrators don't trust themselves to teach about different religions beyond a few paragraphs in a history textbook, so that they don't violate separation of church and state. You can't perform religious ceremonies at school. You can't bring in religious practitioners to talk about what they believe and how they practice. So, explain, please, how a public school is able to address the religion meaningfully?

Of course, typical refrain...how does public school address religious diversity if the teachers don't teach it from a textbook or power point presentation. You can still live in your bubble in public school waiting for education from from the podium and a textbook or you can rub shoulders with Jews, atheists, Christians and Muslim students and get a real education!!

Anonymous wrote:I am not a private school basher. Some private schools are great institutions.
I have children in both private and public schools and I attended both public and private schools.
What works for my family: public school during the formative and early school years to immunise against entitlement syndrome and private school later if there is a need or interest for depth in particular areas. Crew and/or Math and Science at Exeter for example.
So far, we are fortunate--learning disabilities and a required need for small classes or one-on-one instruction have not forced our hands to seek a small private school earlier. Our kids love and are thriving in the big public pond and have neither need nor requirement for an elite and exclusive private educational bubble for their primary education.

We have kids in public and private. Our experience is that private can be more diverse than public. I agree with PPs that kids need to rub shoulders with kids for whom an ipad is an impossibility. My kids have friends who can't come over to play because their parents don't have gas money to drive them. Tickets to various events are out of the question for these kids. My kids see that and understand that they are privileged. I don't see how they could see that if they spent 24/7 around upper middle class kids.

I don't want to raise kids who think people are poor because they don't work hard. They know kids whose parents work at two crappy jobs just to keep the family fed. These kids' families are poor, but their parents work harder than anyone I know. My kids see this and understand that when a someone gets a BMW for a graduation gift, that is extraordinary, not the norm.

I don't know if you can truly have empathy for people if you don't sit next to them, talk with them, begin to care about them. I would be doing a disservice to my children if I were to prevent them from having that experience. That's why I won't let them go to any school that is exclusively upper middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
GOOD LUCK finding a public school that will be able to address the extremely important issue of religious diversity in any meaningful way.

The sheer idiocy of this statement is breath-taking!

Please explain to me how a public school addresses the issue of religious diversity? I don't think that this is an "idiotic" statement.

I mean, not just having kids of different religious backgrounds, but actually teaching children that there are different religious beliefs out there, what they believe, how they practice, etc.? From my limited exposure to public schools, most public school teachers and administrators don't trust themselves to teach about different religions beyond a few paragraphs in a history textbook, so that they don't violate separation of church and state. You can't perform religious ceremonies at school. You can't bring in religious practitioners to talk about what they believe and how they practice. So, explain, please, how a public school is able to address the religion meaningfully?

Exactly, you don't need private for education and I don't need public for immunization.

A non controversial statement. This country does prides itself on free choice?

While your answer is not responsive (but defensive) to the OP question you are of course "entitled" to your opinion. I respect that.
My remarks were intended to respond to the question addressed by this thread so please don't take offense.