Anonymous wrote:There is a simple solution and that’s to send your kids to public

Anonymous wrote:Curious about this. I hear people denigrating private all the time on this forum and saying it’s not worth the tuition. Wondering if there’s any difference between that $10-20k range vs. $40k+. Are they all equally a waste of money?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an anecdote. I toured Catholic and a few fancy privates. At the Catholic k-8, two eighth graders spoke. The girl was so nervous she literally passed out. The speeches were not great. At the fancy private, an eighth grader spoke and my husband, who frequently is on panels for his area of expertise, turned to me and said “this kid is as good as anyone I’ve seen.” And it was true. Our child is at a fancy private, and they are presenting all the time. They have to perform in front of everyone in music class, there are class plays, and many assignments presenting to the class. They are encouraged to self advocate and all the confidence shows. I’m not saying Catholic schools aren’t good - it’s a different experience.

Rich privileged kids are often confident. There is no way of knowing if the school has anything to do with that.

Yes, there is. My kid was at a very wealthy public that mimicked their private school as far as parental income (country club memberships). The main difference was that the public had less diversity!

So you live in a fairly homogeneous neighborhood? How’d that happen?

Anonymous wrote:So basically you’re saying that a $40 k private is synonymous with public schools 35 years ago? I’ll stick with homeschooling, it’s cheaper and the programming well surpasses private or public.

Anonymous wrote:All schools have the potential for some degree of behavior problems, but the most extreme problems at public school with be more disruptive than the extreme problems in private schools.

Friends of ours were die-hard public school advocates until one of their elementary school daughters ended up in class with a child who was having violent meltdowns several times a week. The rest of the class was trained in how to safely evacuate the classroom when something set this this child off, and they had to do it at least every other day. The public school was doing their best, but didn't have the resources to safely manage and support the student in the mainstream classroom that the IEP mandated (they couldn't find enough 1:1 aides). Our friends moved their daughter to a small religious private school that had mid-year openings and haven't looked back.

My parents moved my brother to private school when they realized that it was the norm to have students putting other students in headlocks during lunch (and sometimes during unstructured time in class!) in his well-ranked public middle school.

All that said, those are extreme examples. Most people won't encounter situations like this, but it is possible in public school. I can't think of a single mainstream private school that would allow it, let alone make it the norm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an anecdote. I toured Catholic and a few fancy privates. At the Catholic k-8, two eighth graders spoke. The girl was so nervous she literally passed out. The speeches were not great. At the fancy private, an eighth grader spoke and my husband, who frequently is on panels for his area of expertise, turned to me and said “this kid is as good as anyone I’ve seen.” And it was true. Our child is at a fancy private, and they are presenting all the time. They have to perform in front of everyone in music class, there are class plays, and many assignments presenting to the class. They are encouraged to self advocate and all the confidence shows. I’m not saying Catholic schools aren’t good - it’s a different experience.

Rich privileged kids are often confident. There is no way of knowing if the school has anything to do with that.

Yes, there is. My kid was at a very wealthy public that mimicked their private school as far as parental income (country club memberships). The main difference was that the public had less diversity!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an anecdote. I toured Catholic and a few fancy privates. At the Catholic k-8, two eighth graders spoke. The girl was so nervous she literally passed out. The speeches were not great. At the fancy private, an eighth grader spoke and my husband, who frequently is on panels for his area of expertise, turned to me and said “this kid is as good as anyone I’ve seen.” And it was true. Our child is at a fancy private, and they are presenting all the time. They have to perform in front of everyone in music class, there are class plays, and many assignments presenting to the class. They are encouraged to self advocate and all the confidence shows. I’m not saying Catholic schools aren’t good - it’s a different experience.

Rich privileged kids are often confident. There is no way of knowing if the school has anything to do with that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically you’re saying that a $40 k private is synonymous with public schools 35 years ago? I’ll stick with homeschooling, it’s cheaper and the programming well surpasses private or public.

This person really validates the stereotypes of homeschooling families being socially awkward outcasts!

Anonymous wrote:So basically you’re saying that a $40 k private is synonymous with public schools 35 years ago? I’ll stick with homeschooling, it’s cheaper and the programming well surpasses private or public.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically you’re saying that a $40 k private is synonymous with public schools 35 years ago? I’ll stick with homeschooling, it’s cheaper and the programming well surpasses private or public.

No that’s not what we’re saying. Hopefully your kid is not getting instructed in reading comprehension from you.

Anonymous wrote:$40 K gets your kid out of the grind of constant SOL prep and testing. The constant repetition and review seemed unfair to the kids that were ready to move on. I have had zero complaints about being bored in private, DC loves going to school, so to me that is the value.

Anonymous wrote:So basically you’re saying that a $40 k private is synonymous with public schools 35 years ago? I’ll stick with homeschooling, it’s cheaper and the programming well surpasses private or public.

Anonymous wrote:DC loves going to school, so to me that is the value.