<p>I don’t find it at all surprising that for many parents, a smaller school, fewer students per class, a more nurturing/protective environ and some arts programming (not to mention PE/sports) make private schools worth the money. And it’s not just affluent families paying $30k; lots of parents of modest means are paying $5-10K and bypassing public school in favor of Catholic or other religious school.</p>
<p>class size is overrated. </p>
<p>In Singapore I was in a class of 41 students in primary school. But because the teacher was brilliant, it felt more tight-knit than the Cape Elizabeth Elementary spoilt, rich, children-of-yuppies class of 22.</p>
<p>My mother’s bill? 30 Singapore dollars every 3 months for excellent education.</p>
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<p>public education is capable of this, but Americans for some reason feel that protecting Confederate-era “states’ rights” is more important than good public education.</p>
<p>Also the American private-public distinction is silly. The government should encourage and support passionate school builders rather than appoint careerist administrators to important positions. Education schools should be abolished and replaced by national teacher training institutes. </p>
<p>Then we wouldn’t need silly standards testing because all fifty states would be following the same national syllabus, with permitted modifications. Administrators and teachers in well-performing schools would be permitted greater autonomy and intellectual freedom over what they teach. Independent and private schools are given government aid in exchange for subsidising the tuition of low-income students. This is how public education works in Singapore and the rest of the world. </p>
<p>But of course American educators prefer to remain in the Confederacy because they believe the right of some backwater school board in Kansas to enforce the teaching of creationism (“states’ rights”!) should be paramount.</p>
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<p>Some parents send their kids to private schools because they believe they will magically confer superior academic achievement/ability onto their child(ren) even if the he/she/they happen to be average at best intellectually, disinterested, and/or lazy. One only needs to look at a recent president to see the inherent fallacy of that thinking. </p>
<p>Many parents also send their kids to private schools for reasons other than a superior education when their motives and other factors are scrutinized more closely. </p>
<p>How else to explain why private schools formerly known as “segregation academies” with poor or sometimes worse academic performance records than their local public schools are still popular among many parents. It certainly caused some “bewilderment” and scorn among several southern classmates and friends who recounted this phenomenon. </p>
<p>Motives which are not limited solely to the southern US judging by the countless unguarded remarks I’ve heard from some NYC area parents as reasons why they sent their kids to private schools…even when they lived in areas with comparable/better public school options.</p>
<p>People send their children to private schools for all sorts of reasons. It is ridiculous to generalize based upon a couple of children’s situations or conversations listened upon. Most of us try to give our children the best opportunities possible, based upon their personalities, our incomes, experiences, location, and particular school choices. I never thought I would put my children in private schools, it was never even a consideration. A half a million dollars later, my second kid is graduating high school next year. Sure, I would have liked to have the money in my bank account instead.</p>
<p>Was it worth it? Well, financially, probably not. Are my kids very happy, doing better and have more opportunities than they would have if they’d gone to our local public school? I think so. Who knows? We made a choice to do that with our money and the kids are challenged, have been in an amazing school, haven’t gotten in with drugs or the wrong crowd, and are quite motivated. And maybe they would have done fine or better at our local school. But I don’t know. We made the decision several years ago, and I think it is pretty arrogant for people to try to judge others for their decisions about their children. Whether parents choose private or public schools is their own business. Freedom, baby, it’s a b****!</p>
<p>I feel sorry for the child =[ It seems to me her mother is so hyped about preparing the child for a school, which is not only putting the child in tremendous pressure but robbing her of a childhood that can be luscious with play and interaction. (I’m not saying that she won’t have one. But if the mom is suing a school for hurting her daughter’s chances of getting into an Ivy, which is about 13-14 years a long ways . . . than that’s a bit overboard). Imagine being 4 years old and already being prepped for an Ivy through the sakes of standardized tests. =/ Standardize testing again . . . I’m not too huge of a fan. Poor kid.</p>
<p>talk about a crazy parent much! I moved to the US when I was 6, didn’t know any english at all and I was in ESOL until 3rd grade, and never did anything fancy besides going to public school
And now I got into every Ivy</p>
<p>^too bad your stats magically changed from your 1st to 3rd post.</p>