[floridaorange]

Just wondering what everyones opinions are on this. Our kids are in 1st and 7th grade. Both public. Both schools were founded 100 yrs ago and do have a strong tradition and have 5 star ratings.

I know a ton of kids who are homeschooled, that's a hard pass for us, but man is it trending!

Do you think highly rated public schools are good enough or do you think private schools make more sense, and if so what grades specifically?

[TboneS54]

Oh boy here we go. Unfortunately, I'm not able to share my opinions on this board as free thought and questioning of the mainstream is censored in these here parts.

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

Just wondering what everyones opinions are on this. Our kids are in 1st and 7th grade. Both public. Both schools were founded 100 yrs ago and do have a strong tradition and have 5 star ratings.

I know a ton of kids who are homeschooled, that's a hard pass for us, but man is it trending!

Do you think highly rated public schools are good enough or do you think private schools make more sense, and if so what grades specifically?

I think it depends on the school, mainly the curriculum and whether this "wokeness" is permeating the school or not. That can happen in public or private, so private is no silver bullet although you certainly have more options.

We personally do not like the public school system here in Canada. Therefore, our kids are in a private Christian school which we really like. Homeschooling would not work for us either. Plus I think kids benefit from being with other kids during the day, and not just their siblings. We put them in starting in Grade 1 for the oldest, and SK for the youngest. Honestly, its been a good decision. But part of it is how you parent too - a lot of parents abdicate their responsibility to the school and don't parent much when the kids are home in the evening. There's a lot of good kids who go to public school too...but there are a whole lot that aren't. A good deal of that I ascribe to the parenting style, but some is just the kid and the kids personality, and sometimes it is nothing to do with the parent (but that's rare I think).

Here's an interesting aside for you - my wife's secretary has two boys in highschool. Did you know (at least at her boys school), that after tests / exams, the students have this "reflection" period of three days to think back on the test / exam, determine how they feel about it and study if they'd like anything they want to. Then, at any point in that three day reflection period, they can retake the test/exam if they'd like.

How pathetic is that? Does that teach kids to be responsible? That there are consequences in life? Nope. Its a terrible decision and one that is going to have long lasting effects I fear if it is adopted widely. Also, given that they can just study the parts that are on the exam and increase their score, how do you separate the students who are truly good from those who have just gamed the system when it comes to university and higher education...and then ultimately this affects a job.

It may very well be contained to that school only, I have no idea.

[floridaorange]

Our kids elementary school is not woke, but the middle school is. And although I am anti-woke, because it's a school for the performing arts, I do like that his school does have an art component. I actually went to the school for meet the teacher night, thinking I was going to have a list of issues to discuss and feel really out of place in the classrooms with the kind of teacher I assumed was there, but instead I found some really fantastic humans there teaching and left feeling pretty impressed by how professional, serious and passionate they were. So while he is going through puberty (which is just a fact) I don't mind the middle school. But I am not so sure its going to be a good fit for my current first grader.

We do like the 1st graders school. My Dad and aunts and uncles and majority of my cousins attended this school. I like it pretty well.

My primary concern is highschool.

But ya that's crazy that they can choose to retake every single test after seeing it.

[gatorfast]

Its hard to answer that without money playing a huge factor. At least where I live, the good private schools can be around $30K annually for tuition. So no matter your opinion, its still not a consideration for 99% of people due to the economics.

[2000cs]

I had three sons. The oldest went to public schools and Jesuit HS, until they told him he had to attend 4 years to graduate. He transferred back to the public school and graduated in 3 years.
The youngest was told no kids can skip 1st grade although the school told us he had mastered the first grade subjects by the end of kindergarten. So we pulled him and the middle son (4 years older) out and home schooled them until high school. We found good curricula and an experimental math course at Stanford on line, and many ways for them to get social interaction.

Observations on home school: it takes a lot less time to cover the material at home than it does in school - they waste a huge amount of time between classes, between classrooms, etc. Homeschooling was typically around 2 hours a day (including Latin), never more than 3 hours. And really easy to enrich lessons with activities around the house (like using their math skills to help lay out a deck and make sure it was built square). But it does require at least one engaged parent, and while there isn’t a ton of lesson prep, there is some. More important is finding the curricula that fit the kid.

Every time we looked at private schools we found that they were essentially high-priced versions of the public schools. Basically the same curriculum and fluff, but with a uniform and attitude (I attended parochial schools myself).

For a bright or special needs kid I would strongly consider home schooling. I’d go to a private school if there was some really compelling reason that it was safer or better than the public school where we live. Otherwise public schools are great at preparing kids for a life of corporate peonage.

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

I had three sons. The oldest went to public schools and Jesuit HS, until they told him he had to attend 4 years to graduate. He transferred back to the public school and graduated in 3 years.
The youngest was told no kids can skip 1st grade although the school told us he had mastered the first grade subjects by the end of kindergarten. So we pulled him and the middle son (4 years older) out and home schooled them until high school. We found good curricula and an experimental math course at Stanford on line, and many ways for them to get social interaction.

Observations on home school: it takes a lot less time to cover the material at home than it does in school - they waste a huge amount of time between classes, between classrooms, etc. Homeschooling was typically around 2 hours a day (including Latin), never more than 3 hours. And really easy to enrich lessons with activities around the house (like using their math skills to help lay out a deck and make sure it was built square). But it does require at least one engaged parent, and while there isn’t a ton of lesson prep, there is some. More important is finding the curricula that fit the kid.

Every time we looked at private schools we found that they were essentially high-priced versions of the public schools. Basically the same curriculum and fluff, but with a uniform and attitude (I attended parochial schools myself).

For a bright or special needs kid I would strongly consider home schooling. I’d go to a private school if there was some really compelling reason that it was safer or better than the [...]

Thank you - that’s great info!

[spazzyfry123]

We homeschool.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

I know a ton of kids who are homeschooled, that's a hard pass for us, but man is it trending!

Do you think highly rated public schools are good enough or do you think private schools make more sense, and if so what grades specifically?

There is no such thing as a "generic" public vs. private school archetype. It always comes down to the particular school's strengths and weaknesses. And those have huge variance across both flavors of K-12 institutions. You can identify them yourself (but that takes time and effort), or just look at the history of colleges the graduates of a particular school have been accepted into over the last few years. Or how the schools are ranked nationally, if you are lucky enough to live within a driving distance of a Nationally ranked HS.

I’ve been interviewing kids for admission to a highly selective private institution for more than a decade. Fewer than 1 : 10 get in. I've had fantastic student applicants come out of both public and private schools. I've got to know which private schools in my 50-mile radius are great, and which ones are consistently sub-par. I also know a few fantastic public schools (and many mediocre ones) in the same area, but occasionally, amazing kids apply from public high schools without history of excellence. That can usually be traced back to their parents investing in their kids education well beyond what is otherwise offered by the school’s curriculum.
I am yet to meet a well-rounded compelling homeschooled applicant. Not saying that homeschooling can’t achieve that, just that I haven’t run into one, yet.

The only thing that's consistent is the fact that the most amazing applicants come from families that have consistently invested into their kids well beyond putting them on a school bus or dropping them off. Year after year. The rest (type of school, it's funding model, etc.) is secondary.

HTH,
a

P.S.: If a high school you are considering is on the list below, your kids are likely in good hands:
https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...ional-rankings

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by TboneS54

Oh boy here we go. Unfortunately, I'm not able to share my opinions on this board as free thought and questioning of the mainstream is censored in these here parts.

I got you -

We are home schooling

[MoeTE87]

I went to public from K-8 grade then private high school then public college.

Wife went to private all her school life until college.

Private schools are huge here in Cincinnati as they are a lot of the better sports schools than public.

[bucketfoot]

This is highly dependent on where you live and the quality of your school districts.

We specifically bought in what has historically been the best & most supported school district in our state. The schools were great with both girls earning enough AP credits to cut a year off the time to get their bachelor and being in the running for the Boettcher scholarship here in Colorado.

[Donut Lord]

Homeschool is a joke or a joke as much as the parent allows.

My best friend growing up was homeschooled. He was consistently bullied in middle school. One of those bullied, but he fights back and beats your ass and he gets in trouble type situations. Victim gets most of the blame, you know typical American school stuff.

Anyway his home was like okay your doing homeschooling. He had to do these pamphlet workbook things all day at the end would be a daily quiz. His mom kept the quiz answers in a filing cabinet. 90s filing cabinets you could just unlock from the back, so he did and would just get 80-90%s occasional 100%s on the quizzes.

[Alfisti]

We took the plunge and decided to send my oldest to a private high school, the local Elementary school has been incredibly disappointing. The public system here is run by a ruthless teachers union where they make 6 figures, work to rule and retire at 55 so they dumb down the curriculum, it's an absolute shit show of the highest order.

We don't have the whole crime/stabby/behavior issues here that some of you seem to mention, more a totally ambivalent teaching cohort. So given I am taxed at 53% I need to find $45K pre-tax to send him to school after pumping money into public system that has failed us.

[S EyeLand]

Originally Posted by Donut Lord

Homeschool is a joke or a joke as much as the parent allows.

My best friend growing up was homeschooled. He was consistently bullied in middle school. One of those bullied, but he fights back and beats your ass and he gets in trouble type situations. Victim gets most of the blame, you know typical American school stuff.

Anyway his home was like okay your doing homeschooling. He had to do these pamphlet workbook things all day at the end would be a daily quiz. His mom kept the quiz answers in a filing cabinet. 90s filing cabinets you could just unlock from the back, so he did and would just get 80-90%s occasional 100%s on the quizzes.

How did this all work out for him in the end? Honest question. I didn't pay attention or try a single time during my entire education. Was able to graduate from a pretty good University and get a job in iBanking. For myself, school didn't matter.

[CLTMDA]

Every situation, locale and kid are different. There is no way to answer the question without first acknowledging that and taking that into your calculus.

Charlotte, and my part of Charlotte in particular, is different depending on where you live. They introduced some pretty severe MtoM (minority to majority) here in the early 70's that caused a real explosion (relative) of private schools in a small radius. All, or most, of them are very good, but the public schools can also be very good in this area, depending on the parent's involvement, focus and expectations.

I have three boys and we sent them to one of the private schools here. Why?, probably because we could afford to and we moved here when one was starting high school, one middle school and one kindergarten. It seemed safer and we were not sure where we would end up living since we rented initially. I also like the idea of the school managing to its' clients and not to some larger system.

Everyone's situation is different and what works for one may not for another, parents or children.

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

We took the plunge and decided to send my oldest to a private high school, the local Elementary school has been incredibly disappointing. The public system here is run by a ruthless teachers union where they make 6 figures, work to rule and retire at 55 so they dumb down the curriculum, it's an absolute shit show of the highest order.

We don't have the whole crime/stabby/behavior issues here that some of you seem to mention, more a totally ambivalent teaching cohort. So given I am taxed at 53% I need to find $45K pre-tax to send him to school after pumping money into public system that has failed us.

Isn't it fun paying for public schooling through our property tax, and then paying for private school too? I personally just love it.

Florida has a good system though from what I understand - I believe down there you can choose to put your kids in public school just like here, no cost as you already pay for it just like we do, BUT if you choose to take your kids out of public school and put them in private, the government recognizes you aren't using the public school system and gives you a lump sum amount that you then can put towards private school. I think it might even be something like $6-8K or so per kid, but not sure. Not that it fully covers private school, but at least it doesn't feel like you are paying twice.

Any Florida peeps able to confirm what I've heard?

[floridaorange]

^yes that’s true

[Vindicator3]

All three options can be fantastic, and all three options can be terrible. Generally (speaking for the USA) there is a correlation between quality and cost in each option. To quote Supertramp, "they say it all depends on your money and who is in your family tree," and there's something to that.

Public - houses in the best school districts generally cost more to buy and/or have higher property taxes (in gross amount if not rate) than houses in lousy school districts. Not everyone can afford to live in them.

Private - the really excellent private schools generally have eye-watering tuition. Not everyone can afford to pay it.

Home School - The opportunity cost of having one parent take time away from generating income can be significant, and presumably doing it well takes even more time than doing it poorly. Not everyone can afford that (and not every family even has two parents if one has died or taken off). Not to mention you need to be lucky enough to have a parent in the home with the talent and temperament to pull it off.

Two things I've observed in addition to these generalities -

The best private High Schools can definitely confer an advantage (beyond what they deserve on just the merits of the education) over all other options if your goal is for the student to gain admission to one of the two or three dozen most highly selective colleges/universities.

In public schools, even if you are in excellent district that has overcome all the normal challenges to achieving that status, you have to be alert (these days anyway) for stealth or not-so-stealth attempts to take over the school board by folks with a variety of fringe political agendas, usually in some combination of anti-vax and/or book banning (or removing everything in the curriculum to which even one parent objects) and/or trying to dumb down the curriculum with "PragerU" type nonsense. It can be frustrating. We've had some districts nearby go through some pretty serious back and forth battles on all that stuff, which is a real shame and a real distraction. Luckily the district in which I live, while it has seen such candidates, hasn't voted any of them in.

I don't know how anyone would be able to make a blanket statement that any one of the three options is best for every family regardless of their circumstances.

[erickonphoenix]

I can't overstate the importance of a good school district.

In elementary school we got stuck in some backwoods East Texas school district. That ghetto school was so bad all the teachers were either coaches, or so old they would just assign pages to read while they slept at their desks.

By the time my pops got things turned around and put us in a better financial situation I was so far behind I had to repeat both the fifth and sixth grade. I don't think I ever really lined up with my peers until my junior year of high school.

[floridaorange]

We do live in a fantastic school district. To be a bit more transparent with why I ask. My son is in 7th, my younger son is finishing first. The HS buses in kids from very rough areas. I’m not opposed to that school, but - I also don’t want to be naive, or worse.

[Vindicator3]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

kids from very rough areas.

IMO, this is another question to which the only correct answer is "it depends." My HS back in the day and my kids' HS more recently faced that challenge and did so successfully. I'm sure there are some otherwise good schools who don't handle it well for one reason or another. You'll have to dive in and figure out how well your public HS is doing with the issue. I'd be optimistic (given your description of the district), but as you say not naive.