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Old 10-29-2014, 11:31 AM
 
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I see people often ask this question when they're asking about what neighborhood to move to. "I'm moving to this new city can you tell me which areas have good schools?"

The obvious answer is to look at test scores, college placement, and graduation rates. Objectively measurable standards that are simple to compare but don't really tell the whole story. Affluent neighborhoods tend to come out on top in all three. Of course those school districts have more resources and more support for extracurricular activities. But I would argue that teachers in poorer districts are actually better and more dedicated than teachers of spoiled brats.

Wealthy families also tend to place more importance on education. For poorer families, just getting into college would be a huge deal, but for wealthy parents, it's an embarrassment if they don't get into a good school or end up going to community college. Parents in affluent neighborhoods use their kids to compete with their neighbors and colleagues, a sort of keeping up with the joneses.

Few parents ask "what school is right for my kids?"

Affluent schools also have a much higher incidence of drug use and underage drinking. From what I've seen from "good schools", the high achieving students in the top 10% tend to go to prestigious colleges and many have successful careers. But a lot of the students end up worse off than average students in average schools. So many of the people I know who went to top high schools, who didn't "make it", ended up having serious drug problems and got diagnosed with mental health issues.
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Old 10-29-2014, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Coastal Georgia
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What I mean when I ask that is, is there discipline and structure in the school? Or, to put it bluntly, do the families that send their children to a certain school share the same values as I do?
I assume that each school has the same access to the raw materials, like teachers, books and facilities. It's what they are able to do with them that we look at.
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Old 10-29-2014, 12:12 PM
 
122 posts, read 187,493 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts View Post
What I mean when I ask that is, is there discipline and structure in the school? Or, to put it bluntly, do the families that send their children to a certain school share the same values as I do?
I assume that each school has the same access to the raw materials, like teachers, books and facilities. It's what they are able to do with them that we look at.
What exactly does that mean? How are you supposed to know if they share the same values if you're just asking if the school are good?
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Old 10-29-2014, 12:16 PM
 
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This question is asked as often as the "will I fit into or like" a specific neighborhood, town, state, area, etc.

What they fail to realize is that no one knows how well they will like anything and no one knows how well their child will fit into any school.

Just because one person is successful in a particular area and their child does well in that school does not mean that the one asked the question will be the same.

It is about the same as trying to guess "What does my girlfriend mean when she says...." or "What will the courts do about my situation...".
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Old 10-29-2014, 12:28 PM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TravelingBluesBrother View Post
I see people often ask this question when they're asking about what neighborhood to move to. "I'm moving to this new city can you tell me which areas have good schools?"
They mean "which areas are middle class neighborhoods"?

Nothing too tricky about it, really. Most middle class parents want their kids to go to school with other middle class kids, the moms want to hang out with other middle class moms, etc.
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Old 10-29-2014, 12:28 PM
 
Location: southwestern PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TravelingBluesBrother View Post
Few parents ask "what school is right for my kids?"
We did... and to find that 'right' school, we asked "where are the good schools" in our county.

We found several and based out residence on the one we thought best for our kids.

The good schools are often the right schools.
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Old 10-29-2014, 12:39 PM
 
Location: On the brink of WWIII
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I think they are asking if the current students are "different" from their children.
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Old 10-29-2014, 12:47 PM
 
Location: Coastal Georgia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TravelingBluesBrother View Post
What exactly does that mean? How are you supposed to know if they share the same values if you're just asking if the school are good?
What I mean is, do the parents tend to be involved in their children's education? Are there active sports programs to keep kids active and out of trouble? Is there school pride? Is the physical facility taken care of?
You need to look at them, and talk to people. Believe me, people in the community, like real estate agents, know these things about the schools.
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Old 10-29-2014, 01:04 PM
 
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Default "Good" is so vague...

I've often wondered the question myself. Just before I began home educating my children, I became a substitute in their public school system to get a better view. Our schools were reputed as "good schools." I saw science and lab equipment that discouraged me as a prospective home educator; could I provide microscopes and flasks? The longer I observed, the more I saw that very few students actually got to go to the labs and even utilize any of that. I try to follow Christ and eventually began my own homeschooling program. We then moved to TN where the neighbors told me that the Gideons (those people that outfit all motel/hotels with Bibles) were allowed on campus of public schools to pass out Bibles in Sevier County BUT no other county. I was impressed by this as "good." The things that meant so much to me about a good education changed after I began learning with my own kids. Schools are cookie cutter and we are dynamic individuals with talents and interests that schools do not always cultivate. I think it is a tragedy sometimes to be forced to learn a certain thing, a certain way, and by a certain time frame or be labeled. Save that for working but not the time where they are supposed to be discovering the world and themselves in it. Granted some Math and Grammar skills are much needed and sequential. Conversely, some public schools would do a better job than some homeschool settings because of the contrast they provide in a child's life. Contrast is good for clarification and evaluating things. Guidance counselors bringing speakers and events to schools to educate on non academic things is a big plus because many do not get relevant information at home or in church. There's not much time or funding for this with schools. It's all government paced. I guess I am not a statistics type of gal--I like alternative measures. DO the kids have a strong sense of community/identity in good/moral helpful things? How involved are parents? Are parents made to feel that they are interrupting the pace of learning and not really welcome? Does the school strengthen society as a whole or separate people into an artificial groups of peers their own age for 12 years so that when they graduate and get a job in the nursing home or daycare setting they cannot relate well to either group? These are what I deem to be queries for evaluating if a school is "good" or not.
Education is the lighting of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. ~Socrates/Plutarch/William Butler Yeats~
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Old 10-29-2014, 02:04 PM
 
Location: Tucson for awhile longer
8,869 posts, read 16,280,653 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TravelingBluesBrother View Post
... Few parents ask "what school is right for my kids?"

Affluent schools also have a much higher incidence of drug use and underage drinking. From what I've seen from "good schools", the high achieving students in the top 10% tend to go to prestigious colleges and many have successful careers. But a lot of the students end up worse off than average students in average schools. So many of the people I know who went to top high schools, who didn't "make it", ended up having serious drug problems and got diagnosed with mental health issues.
That's true in my experience. Where I live, the richer the school, the more likely kids from supposedly "good" families are involved in drug and alcohol abuse, even when they are "making it" in terms of their ability to get into college. Parental participation in kids' lives is much more important than what school they go to. Some of the most successful people I know, in the true sense of accomplishment and value to mankind, not merely piling up money, are the product of less than stellar school districts.

Also, finding a school that fits with a child's interests is also key. I know a couple who ferried their two children to a school district in a poor neighborhood because the schools had great arts programs and their children were focused on that type of activity. The kids both became fluent in Spanish at school, graduated with honors, and earned impressive college scholarships. Surprisingly, one is now in grad school studying speech-related brain disorders and the other one is pursuing a career in international public health.

For kids with an interest in STEM subjects, there are now a lot of schools with that as their focus. For kids with an interest in sports, not all schools have the same opportunities in that regard and parents might want to investigate that carefully.
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