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Parent vs. Parent: Why we chose public school
Filed under: Day Care & Education
This fall, Jared will enter kindergarten at a San Francisco public school. For us, there was never really any question of whether or not our kids would go to public school. It's one thing we both agree on wholeheartedly. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Rachel is a public school teacher, but that's not the whole reason, nor is it even a major reason.The first reason for sending our kids to public school is the cost. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but around here decent private schools start around $10k per year and quickly go up from there. Because Jared is so far ahead, academically, Rachel recently told me she would consider one of the better local private schools, but at nearly $20k per year, it's unlikely we could afford it easily. Together, we don't earn enough to be able to pay for it even while we make too much to qualify for any kind of scholarship or other assistance. Even so, we would do it, if we thought it was worth it.
That's the next reason. We don't see private schools as being that much better than public -- and in some ways, they fall far short. Many of the better private schools are fairly picky about the kids they accept; its helps keep their test scores up. They are also fairly homogenous -- there's not a lot of diversity among the students. While certainly not all are rich, there definitely isn't the wide range of kids that one finds in a public school. While some might see that as a benefit, Rachel and I both see it as placing kids at a disadvantage -- that's not the way the world is outside of school.
When I was younger, I knew a lot of kids who went to a very prestigious private school here. While they weren't anything really wrong with them (and lord knows, I was envious of their families' financial situations!), they just weren't as interesting as the kids I knew from school. They certainly weren't the kind of kid I could raise Jared and Sara to be, even if I wanted to.
While some might say we are settling for second best, I would disagree. In California, public school teachers must, by law, have a teaching credential. (Many actually have advanced degrees.) It is not a requirement in the private schools. Certainly the better private schools' teachers all have a teaching credential, but they also have the higher tuition to go along with it. Test scores are, in any real sense, meaningless, so relative scores don't mean much to me; even so, with the ability to cherrypick their students (public schools have to take pretty much everyone), I would expect scores to be higher.
Some also might argue that the lack of disruptive, lower-performing students would allow the above-average kids to concentrate better and get more attention from the teacher. While that may be true, I think that in this case, growing up with kids from all backgrounds, of differing abilities, and, yes, whose presence creates a disturbance is an important life skill. If you knew all the people I've had to work with and around (and even, in some cases, in spite of), you might agree. None of these arguments make a convincing argument for shelling out a whole lot of money that could go to enriching their lives in other ways.
I have no problem with anyone who chooses to send their kids to a private school. For some, the arguments that don't cut it for us might seem more compelling. The public schools elsewhere might not be as good as our oft-maligned, but actually quite good schools here. A child might have special needs that would be better met at a private school set up to handle them. Of course, there's always the religious component. Parents who want their children taught their religion in school alongside other subjects have no other option but to choose a private school. For us, however, public school is the way to go.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-13-2007 @ 5:21PM
Sophie. said...Dear Roger,
I've been reading your posts with exitement, and I thank you for that one.
We are in the same boat (althowe got our first choice ;-) ).
I agree with pretty much all your argumentation.
also. public school MUST accomodate by law any need, and lord knows SFUSD does it pretty well. Have your child in a wheel chair for 2 months (ski trip turned sour?) - your child will be better in a ADA environement than in one of the broadway $20K+ schools (that I know very well).
then, we are the few extremely lucky ones to choose pretty much ANY of the 118 programs taugh in 79 schools - for FREE!. We picked a very specific program that the private competition sells at 17K - and their program doesnt even reach the bases of the public program (we know, our friends daughters are there). (and the public teachers have a mandatory additional credential on the subject, where teaches in the corresponding private school dont have ANY requirement. To be honest I even did apply for one of their position in the past - when they were begging for a sub on craigslist)
Yes, our friends are mainstream, and we are the greedy freaks. But we do our choices on what we believe is in the best interest of OUR kids. and for us, learning to navigate in the real world of rich and poor, and white and no-so-white skin is the most important asset that will lead them into respectful adults.
then, you forget to point to the money factor. We picked a STAR school (it's an underscoring school) because they get MONEY, tons of MONEY. Those schools have great playgrounds, reduced class sizes (it the law says 30, they'll aim at 24).They have a nurse on staff, they have a speech therapist on staff. ANY kid will do better in such an environement. And I even believe that the only smart kid in the class will do better in a normal class rather than being one of the 15 "my parent call me smart" kids in a hand-picked class.
If you child need an evaluation (whether he's just behind, or ahead for his age), public schools will PAY for the full evaluation - something private schools dont offer (can cost up to $8000 for the whole evaluation). And what about your other child who doesnt really "fit" ?
if one has allergies, medical needs, mild autism... you would need to enrol your children in TWO different schools miles apart?
I believe in inclusion. HarveyMilk is a treasure to this aspect (was our choice 7th), but many principals in public are true jems. And we did find a school that WILL include our next child who has one need, and they WILL include our last child who has another need.
To that I'm very grateful that I needed to find only ONE school fullfilling all the needs of all my children - something I havent found in any private SF school (and I'm still looking around - because we want a plan B at anytime for whatever reason that might come up).
last, THANK YOU SO MUCH about your honesty regarding the test scores. They reflect only the kids 4 YEARS ahead of yours anyway... and in san francisco hot market - it simply means nothing, beyond the school gets money - or not.
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4-13-2007 @ 11:41PM
Molly said...When I got pregnant, I thought that private schools would be the best way to go so I started to do my research. Even in a large metro area like Dallas I've had a hard time finding a secular private school (we're not religious), so I'm now fine with going with our local public schools. The elementary is a block from our house, and our neighborhood is wonderfully diverse. I think we could do a lot worse for a good learning environment for our daughter.
All this talk of choice has me confused, since I'm pretty sure that around here the child goes to the school they happen to live in the district in. Of course, my daughter isn't yet two, so it's not something I know a lot about.
I think that if you can afford it, then private school is fine, but I don't think that you'll ruin your child if you have them go to public school! There is a mom that I know that asked a group of us (in a horrified tone), "You're not going to send your kids to public school, are you?" Huh, sort of a loaded question there. That's the attitude I don't like.
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