9th grade Kinkaid Wait-pool (Austin, Brady: buying, high school, community college)

[Raider Scott]

Originally Posted by donblackie

I can respect your position, my parents came here as refugees from a war torn country with nothing but the shirts on their back. They left a very good life back home and started over mid life with nothing. We are also old school in some sorts.....but I am also open minded. I see things for what they are.

Your responses honestly kind of sound like you have a chip on your shoulder. If you are insinuating that most people send their kids to private schools so they dont have to be around "dark skinned or bad people" i think you are making generalizations out of the few. There are bad apples in all walks of life and that POV is just as bad as other people thinking all people who are not wealthy are just "lazy"....which is equally as unfounded.

Your choice of words like "upper crust, ritzy, etc" show you have some sort of resentment or anger towards that reality. I have met many kids from that environment who are stand up, very welcoming, volunteer, very thoughtful, great manners and are already building solutions towards problems we face every day in our society.

On the whole harvard and politics thing.....im not even going to engage in that as I have no interest in politics.

As stated, is building a robot not workign with their hands? Is wrestling another trained individual not as well? Is getting someone who is on your back choking you off your back (jiu jitsu) not hands on work? I also believe hard work is important for building a foundation for a child. But I am not so old school to not be able to shift my practice to things that are more productive. Do your kids also walk 3 miles to school in the snow as well? Or would you opt to use more modern forms of transportation for them to get there? Or is that also too "ritzy"?

I have no chip on my shoulder.

I just told you that I worked around private school grads and did not find them any more useful or better at our tasks that those of us that went to public schools. In fact, their insulation of private school and not being around a more racially and economically diverse population made some of them snobby and unable to relate to people that did not share their backgrounds. I didn't need the Tanglewood or Memorial Drive kiddos to lead me or tell me what to do. LOL



You may not want to engage the "Harvard thing" but again...I am right on this. Our DC leaders mostly went to Harvard, Yale, Stanford an other "ritzy" colleges and their policies and solutions have been disastrous to our country on many levels. They have left us in crushing debt and made costly domestic and foreign policy decisions that have negatively affected millions of US citizens. Please...tell me where I am wrong on this one.

[astrohip]

You say you have no chip, then you literally tell us the opposite...

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

I have no chip on my shoulder.

In fact, their insulation of private school and not being around a more racially and economically diverse population made some of them snobby and unable to relate to people that did not share their backgrounds. I didn't need the Tanglewood or Memorial Drive kiddos to lead me or tell me what to do. LOL

This once informative thread has devolved into inanity. I'm out...

[Raider Scott]

Originally Posted by astrohip

You say you have no chip, then you literally tell us the opposite...




This once informative thread has devolved into inanity. I'm out...

Why? Because I told the truth about a bunch of rich kids that I encountered?


Sorry but just because your life experiences with these people is different does not make me jealous or untruthful.


Enjoy your pricey school, if that rings your bell. LOL

[donblackie]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

I have no chip on my shoulder.

I just told you that I worked around private school grads and did not find them any more useful or better at our tasks that those of us that went to public schools. In fact, their insulation of private school and not being around a more racially and economically diverse population made some of them snobby and unable to relate to people that did not share their backgrounds. I didn't need the Tanglewood or Memorial Drive kiddos to lead me or tell me what to do. LOL



You may not want to engage the "Harvard thing" but again...I am right on this. Our DC leaders mostly went to Harvard, Yale, Stanford an other "ritzy" colleges and their policies and solutions have been disastrous to our country on many levels. They have left us in crushing debt and made costly domestic and foreign policy decisions that have negatively affected millions of US citizens. Please...tell me where I am wrong on this one.

First of all, you mention "you have worked with several kids etc etc" yet you never give detail on what you are working on. So its impossible to have a conversation about it.

If you are tilling the farmlands of Magnolia, then yes, you are probably correct that these inner city kids probably arent as good.

If you are tutoring inner city underprivileged youth then again, you are probably correct.

But guess what? Im sure some kids from public schools in the woodlands would also not have that perspective or capability as well.

The problem with bringing politics into an argument is that neither you (assuming) are I really knows what goes on behind close doors in those circumstances. If you actually do know and have the data, then i stand corrected and would love to see why they are making the decisions they are. Its pretty easy to sit on the side line and cry about someone doing a bad job. Again, I am not saying they are doing a good job, and i am also not saying they are doing a bad job. Frankly I dont care. I spend more of my time caring about what I can do. What is in my control. How I can help others, etc. I simply dont have enough info to make accusations about a job poorly done at that level. Most only see what is shown in the media.

It would be super easy for me to say something like - but our non ivy league voters put these people in their positions right? Isnt that what democracy is?
If I were to vote, Id cast my vote for someone like Jocko Willink.

[RVD26]

Originally Posted by donblackie

So are you saying people blindly pay upwards of $30k a year to send their kids to these places for 12 years with no upside? Dont you think these institutions would be out of business?

How did you derive that the kids going to private vs the kids via public are equally qualified?
Are some kids spoiled? Yes, absolutely. Some kids in public school are also spoiled.
And what manual tasks are these kids learning in public school that they are not learning in private?
Do i hold it against a kid if he doesnt know how to operate a lawn mower due to the fact that he never had to mow a lawn in his life? Not at all.

I grew mowing my parents lawn from a very young age. My kids will not mow our lawn. Id rather pay a professional $40 a week to do it. And the 2 hours they would have spent doing manual work, id rather them spend extra time on the wrestling matt, or in the robotics lab. Both of those activities are also hands on no?

For the record, my kids go to public schools. I chose that because while I do believe private school is better, im not quite sold on its value at $30k ish per year. Question for all those saying the education are equal. If Sj Johns offered your kid a full ride for all 12 years, would you really turn that down?

A lot of these private schools have connections to admission boards at the universities that one cannot get attending a public school. So it often becomes a case of who you know over what you know. That's why parents are willing to spend so much on private school.

[donblackie]

Originally Posted by RVD26

A lot of these private schools have connections to admission boards at the universities that one cannot get attending a public school. So it often becomes a case of who you know over what you know. That's why parents are willing to spend so much on private school.

Correct. That is part of life.....your network is very important. There are several ways to expand your network.

So we are agreeing that there is value to some paying for this correct? To many, $30k/year is a rounding error in the budget.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by donblackie

Correct. That is part of life.....your network is very important. There are several ways to expand your network.

So we are agreeing that there is value to some paying for this correct? To many, $30k/year is a rounding error in the budget.

I would say it's less often "connections" with the admissions board in that cozy, golf-buddies sounding way, then the fact that the private schools have a team of counselors dedicated to matching kids with colleges. They meet with the students multiple times over fours years, they meet with admissions reps, they know the students well, they write good letters for them, they advise students and help them with all aspects of their applications.

On the other hand, at the public school one of my kids is at, there are two college counselors for over 3,000 students. As someone said previously, if you have parents who understand the process well and help a lot, it can help fill that gap. But the private school kids will have huge advantages in college admissions simply because they have an army of trained staff members helping.

[RVD26]

Originally Posted by donblackie

Correct. That is part of life.....your network is very important. There are several ways to expand your network.

So we are agreeing that there is value to some paying for this correct? To many, $30k/year is a rounding error in the budget.

The value for a lot of parents is the belief that they can buy their way into an elite university by spending a lot of money on high school tuition.
I've said already if you have the money and $30k/year is pocket change, then sure go for it.
For most folks though, including myself, $30k/year is a lot of money and I'd rather put that money in a college savings plan to help pay for college.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by RVD26

The value for a lot of parents is the belief that they can buy their way into an elite university by spending a lot of money on high school tuition.
I've said already if you have the money and $30k/year is pocket change, then sure go for it.
For most folks though, including myself, $30k/year is a lot of money and I'd rather put that money in a college savings plan to help pay for college.

Makes sense. Then again, depends on the kid, depends on the schools. Arguably, a good private school prepares a kid to really achieve in college. And potentially, all those counselors help them find a school that gives them a merit scholarship. But that depends on the school. And the kid.

[kasb713]

Originally Posted by RVD26

The value for a lot of parents is the belief that they can buy their way into an elite university by spending a lot of money on high school tuition.
I've said already if you have the money and $30k/year is pocket change, then sure go for it.
For most folks though, including myself, $30k/year is a lot of money and I'd rather put that money in a college savings plan to help pay for college.

I think that's a common misconception about private school parents -that "they [think] they can buy their way into an elite university by spending a lot of money on high school tuition..."


For our family and every family we know who chose private school -not one has ever said that. There are a number of reasons. Some do it because of safety reasons, some for religious, and some because of the perception that the academics will be more rigorous, or that their child will be more prepared for university.



Some families do want/expect that their child(ren) will attend the Ivy League, but a decent portion of private school parents would be okay if they went to U.T. The reason that they're dropping the money on private schools (which to be fair, costs more than tuition at U.T.) is because they know that as a patron they will have a voice in their child's education. They know that the community as a whole is of like-minded parents that will be involved and pushing their children. Some of us want a community where our school reinforces strong character development. Some of us have kids that might struggle, or get lost in the large classes in public school. I can't count the amount of times our friends with children at school would dread asking their child's current teacher to complete a teacher recommendation because the teacher didn't really seem to know their kid.



I think that there are some strong public school options in Houston. I think there are great teachers, resourceful parents and students. There are some kids who will do amazing no matter where they attend, but it was not the right fit for our family.