I think having a part time job is what helped me to more easily work with people from different backgrounds - part time job from 14 - 20 in various customer service and restaurant jobs. I am excellent at difficult things now as an adult and very good at conflict resolution and sticky situations and people. I'm convinced its all this background.

It also enabled me to meet my 25 yo boyfriend at 16, so not sure I'll repeat the same setting for my kids...

My public school was far less diverse both in terms of race and socioeconomic status than my elite private school which tried to recruit from all over.

It taught you how to ride a city bus

Anonymous wrote:I went to private HS but went to college in the midwest, and that opened my eyes to life outside the bubble.

My DC went to public HS and it was much less diverse than my private school, both economically and demographically.

So important

Anonymous wrote:No. Working in fast food and retail did though.

NP.

Agree that working jobs like this is important. Public school is good too, depending where it is.

I went to public school and switched to private for HS. Then went to a private college. The entitlement in the private school environments was shocking and cringey... 18 yos with their parents credit cards trying to dress down the waiter at our colleges local pizza place. Yuk.

I’ll add that people on east coast are often shockingly unsophisticated and myopic. Not only about money but also about culture. Even the well traveled ones who go abroad but to the same luxury hotels all their friends go to. Blah

No. Working in fast food and retail did though.

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see if people feel it did.

No

Public school allowed me to figure stuff out for myself, my way. How to best study, how to apply for college, how to set my schedule, how to make the team or club, how to figure out my likes/dislikes, etc.

I got to college and my coddled roommates from private k-12s have been always given elaborate frameworks and steps. How to get an internship. How to be a math major. How to write a letter. It was bizarre!

What allowed me to work with people from all backgrounds was having No Preconceived Notions. And being friendly, adaptable and generally believing that the same bell curve or personalities and achievers are everywhere I go.

Went to all schools public in ghetto in Houston - all it made me is realize how poor I was (and am). Answer is no, ps.

I went to private HS but went to college in the midwest, and that opened my eyes to life outside the bubble.

My DC went to public HS and it was much less diverse than my private school, both economically and demographically.