<p>How many 4 year boarding schools go to Spanish 8 and 9? How many have smart boards in all classrooms?</p>
<p>I prefer my public school thank you very much.</p>
<p>Let’s not make this into another public vs. private school falme war.</p>
<p>“Let’s not make this into another public vs. private school falme war.”</p>
<p>We don’t have to. Most boarding schools like Andover, SPS, Exeter, and Deerfield don’t even compare to public schools. They’re just better. Period.</p>
<p>perhaps they don’t offer spanish 8 or 9, but i am pretty sure that the rigor of the classes could rival that. for example, “advanced” physics in your local public high school probably wouldn’t even be in the same tier as a regular physics class at an elite prep school.</p>
<p>thats very true, unfortunetly</p>
<p>Public schools suck, only reason I am in one is because my parents can’t afford a private school for me. =(</p>
<p>there is always financial aid and scholarships— alot of people dont pay full price</p>
<p>“prep schools are better than public schools. period”
jonathan k, i agree with you, but a “period” isnt very convincing. some prep schools arent good, but there are some that are truly spectacular, with the best teachers, resources, etc. yes, and it is true that it is because of money money money, because with their hundred-million endowments, they can afford the best in education. however, many prep and private schools do suck. i used to go to a private school, and then we moved and i went to a public. the public turned out to be one of the top fifty public schools in the nation, and it was ten times better than my old private one.</p>
<p>Public schools have enough money to be at least an average school. The truth is, most American public schools suck compared to those in Europe.</p>
<p>I keep a tally of the truly bad teachers and truly AWESOME teachers I’ve had in public school. Here is the count</p>
<p>BAD: 4/16
AWESOME: 7/16</p>
<p>The other 5 are average…just putting it out there. Honestly though, why would you want such tough competition? Advance the ranks with greater ease at the public I’d reccomend it</p>
<p>Some public schools are far better than some preparatory schools; funding and community support can go a long way in outdoing a prep school. Of course, most public school systems lack such things, and also have economic diversity, another limiting factor.</p>
<p>Another perspective-
Many years ago I graduated from a small elite prep school. From my graduating class of just over 80 students, the editor of the school paper is now a professional journalist at a major newspaper, the guy who had the lead in the school play is a highly successful movie & TV actor, the woman who won the history prize was recently nominated for the Pulitzer prize. Literally. Others are doctors, judges, and heads of Fortune 500 companies. The great thing about this is that these are your classmates-bright accomplished people who have interesting ideas and are going places. The hard thing is also that these are your classmates. It’s impossible for the moderately bright accomplished kid to feel in any way special in this environment. MNS finalist? Big deal. So was a quarter of your class. Competitive skier? The kid sitting next to you was in the junior olympics. It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized I was smart and finally took on some leadership roles.</p>
<p>It really boils down to one thing: $$$$$$$.</p>
<p>Sue22:
Such situations do happen in public schools as well, just with far less frequency. We have that same problem in band all the time: one thinks they are good until they find the Wind Ensemble, where many are in the CIM and Cleveland Orchestra systems designed to train those for professional musicianship. We have even had a few make the leap directly from high school to the professional world, and many are successful.
Of course, those who do it always have the $$$.</p>
<p>kman-
Absolutely true. The same talent pool exists in most public and private schools. The difference is that the top 5% of the average public school is the top 50% at the elite (and I stress “elite”, as there are many types of private schools serving many types of kid) prep school. Which often leaves the moderately talented kid feeling sub-par.</p>
<p>i think it depends where you go… someone earlier said something about languages though. I don’t know about most schools, I was taking french 4 my freshman year at my old school (which was know for language proficiency as a public) But my sophomore year french went from level 5 to 2… and it was hard stuff. I’m in my prep school’s french 4 now, and we’ve read 5 novels and collection of poems so far… so compared to some public school students I feel more comfortable than some students.
Also the summer before french 3, I was at a french summer program and all my classmates in my level were going into AP French the next year.
so for me, prep school is more intense,</p>
<p>in addition- the elite private schools arent just good for getting into elite colleges but also expose students to greater opportunities through a wide variety of in-depth classes, study-abroad programs, or by helping students get internships or fellowships for study opportunities.</p>
<p>elvenqueen, what school did you go to?</p>