Working Class income in an Upper Middle Class school district?

[sirtiger]

Originally Posted by vavrinl

My husband grew up in Manhasset, but was of middle class parents. In comparison to my neighborhood, he was considered weatlhy, but he hated it - even though he had alot more than most kids in LI, he said he felt poor in comparison to his classmates. We have friends in other towns who sent their kids to private high school after Catholic school, and the pressure to keep up was tremendous. The kids either feel inferior or the parents go broke trying to keep up with the clothes, huge sweet 16s and Bar Mitsvahs the kids are attending. I think it is better to try to keep your kids with kids that are more on a level playing field financially. It will be better for their self esteem.

Originally Posted by atypicalLIer

Poor children in poor school districts should be loaded with self esteem then, right?

How many parents actually buy in an area or school district looking at it solely from a socioeconomic standpoint vs. those who buy the best they can in an area or school district they deem desirable?

There are certainly communities where the pressure to keep up is outrageous; the parents in those areas establish a precedent for the children. They have to keep up with the Joneses, and they have to make certain that Petunia and Jeffy are keeping up with, or are ahead of Alyssa and Scott. Let's be honest -- the pressure the children place on one another stems directly from their parents! Oh, Alyssa's mom has a new BMW, Suzy had a nose job, tummy tuck, Ira's Bar Mitzvah was at the......Insert expensive facility here......

Children learn what they live.

More often than not: if a parent feels inferior, the child will feel inferior. If a parent is competitive, the child will be competitive.

I did have my apprehensions about moving to Manhasset since I don't consider myself wealthy by neighborhood standards. I do think about my children & how will they react in this environment as spoken above.

I grew up in a area where most classmates were smarter than me in a highly regarded school district. I admit it was very hard on me but in the long run it paid off. Kinda funny, even I attended a top university, I still felt average throughout but it didn't bother me much. I credit my parents with guiding me & providing me with a good upbringing. I think it is how you react in different circumstances & adversities. After much thought, its what I teach my children that will influence how they grow up here.