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I'm sorry but you guys tend to generalize from your own bad experiences way too much. I am a product of the NYC public school system and so is my sister and I know for a fact not all of it is bad. I also have plenty of friends who went through the NYC public schools. Some had worse experience than others but for the most part we had pretty good experiences in H.S., and we all went to college. I don't feel my education was worse than that of people who grew up in decent neighborhoods in Long Island and Jersey, and went to what are considered better public schools, and I can comfortably say that because I work with quite a few people from Long Island, and I have cousins who are from Jersey.
I think the main difference (if you go to a good high school in NYC) is in facilities and extra stuff. The kids in Long Island and other nicer areas have better school faciliities like nicer gyms, bigger classrooms, football fields, better extracurricular activities, better proms, etc. In the city you have to more with less often.
I graduated from high school in 99 to give you an idea...
I didn't go to a public school on the UES but I would imagine that an elementary or junior high school there would no bad at all. I would like to see a post from someone who actually went to elementary or junior high in the UES.
Also like I pointed out before, if your grades are good, you can pretty much have your pick of the NYC high schools, and not all of them are bad. Heck if your really smart you can go to Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, or Stuyvesant.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 05-22-2007 at 07:49 AM..
You are probably not going to see a "real" post like that because an actual cheerleader of that system in recent times is someone who grew up with advantages. They would know that they grew up with advantages and would not paint a rosy picture of the NYC public schools. Would it be an accurate picture if someone went to elem/middle school on the UWS and to one of the elites for HS? Of course it would. There are public schools that the wealthy of those areas actually support now by contributing to associations that pay for extra assistants in the classrooms. Keep in mind that those areas are so expensive to live in now that they are out of reach for most people in the city.
As far as HS goes yes you can get admitted to an elite but that does not excuse the rest of the system that has been on a downward spiral for what seems like forever. You are speaking of exception to the rule. If you graduated in 99 and went to college already I am sure you came from a background where you had options. Anyone who goes thru 12 years in that system is going to be critical and it is not because of individual bad experience. The Catholic schools in NYC are not what they used to be either.
You are probably not going to see a "real" post like that because an actual cheerleader of that system in recent times is someone who grew up with advantages. They would know that they grew up with advantages and would not paint a rosy picture of the NYC public schools. Would it be an accurate picture if someone went to elem/middle school on the UWS and to one of the elites for HS? Of course it would. There are public schools that the wealthy of those areas actually support now by contributing to associations that pay for extra assistants in the classrooms. Keep in mind that those areas are so expensive to live in now that they are out of reach for most people in the city.
As far as HS goes yes you can get admitted to an elite but that does not excuse the rest of the system that has been on a downward spiral for what seems like forever. You are speaking of exception to the rule. If you graduated in 99 and went to college already I am sure you came from a background where you had options. Anyone who goes thru 12 years in that system is going to be critical and it is not because of individual bad experience. The Catholic schools in NYC are not what they used to be either.
I don't know what options your speaking of. I just had a good upbringing, in the sense that I had caring parents that raised my sister and I right. My family was poor and were immigrants. They just worked really hard and did the best that they could. I went to public schools from elementary through high school.
I think some of you don't really know how it works once you get ready to go to high school in the city. Generally the worst students don't have much of a choice and they have to go the school right in their neighborhood, or what is called the zone school. But everyone is allowed to apply to about 10 or 11 schools of your choice, it was like this when I got to high school age, and I have a cousin who recently went through the same process. If you have good grades you get into most of the schools you apply to.
Also the three "specialized," public high schools are Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant that you can take a test for. These are considered the three best public high schools in the city. You have to get a certain score to be able to get into Brooklyn Tech, then Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant has the highest requirement. I got into Brook. Tech, but I didn't want to go there, plus it was a little too far, I had my heart set on Bronx Science. I ended up going to another high school, which was a very good school.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 05-22-2007 at 09:22 AM..
There are other public high schools that are also elite ...Hunter comes to mind. But, again, this is for someone who'd going to be an ex-pat with little, little kids. Not her problem right now. In my experience, and I work with a LOT of ex-pats from all over the world, is that they like to go back home when the kids are of high school age...
Hunter High was very hard to get into when I was growing up. I don't know if it still like that. It used to be that people would get in through a recommendation if someone at your school knew faculty at Hunter. They then would put you through a whole screening process. Very exclusive school.
Good luck getting into those schools. First you have to score very well on the test and hopefully you are selected. A lot of people want in.
BTW, the JHS in NYC ain't gonna cut it. Hopefully you learn enough to score high on those test. Especially if you are Black or Latino things will be a LOT tougher. The Elementary/JH schools in Black/Latino areas are HORRIBLE as it is, so good luck getting in. Kid better study hard at 12-13 becuase this can be the decision of his or her life. Either going to one of the few decent specialized schools, or being lucky to finish high school at all.
If you don't get into one of those schools (and chances are not on your side being the city is overpopulated) then you will end up in some ****ty school. And a ****ty school in NYC is a ****TY school. Metal detectors, police in the halls, gangs, swiping in, drug dealing, fights, stabbings, assualts, not learning, overpopulated, terrible facilities. They have new schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn to help with the crowding in older schools, inside old abandonded warehouses. These buildings sometimes have no gyms (a field, you must be joking) and house 2 or 3 different schools. Overcrowded schools lead to tension, lots of fighting, lots of problems and little or no learning. It's tough dealing with all that, and sadly it seems most don't. Even the few high schools that were "decent" are now dumps since kids from horrible schools can request a transfer. Now those "decent" schools are overpopulated and inherit the same problems as the ****ty high schools.
Last edited by Hustla718; 05-22-2007 at 02:49 PM..
If you work hard and STUDY, you CAN get into those schools.
The problem is that is not encouraged in these environments. The kids today don't give a **** about school. I don't blame them. The system doesn't give a **** about them. Especially minorities.
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