Gifted programs: Dover, Wellesley, etc.? (Boston, Lynn: 2015, chapel, private school)

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by OrganicSmallHome

The country's public schools need parental investment, not abandonment. Ben Franklin is turning in his grave.

There is a good argument that one has a moral obligation to the community to stay in public schools, and participate in them to the fullest. An involved family is a huge asset to the community as a whole.

I know some extraordinarily smart people. They do some pretty impressive things and have great jobs. They all went to public school.

[CaseyB]

None of us know the extent of this child's intelligence. Some parents will exaggerate, some won't.

[mwbms28]

Originally Posted by OrganicSmallHome

Yes, best to keep your precious genius away from the riffraff.

Upper-middle-class parents today are too often insufferable, projecting their own neurotic obsessions with social status and cultural capital onto their children. As a result, of course, they all have "gifted" children. What self-inflated nonsense (and being in the profession I'm in, I hear this crap on a daily basis, not to mention having to deal with the often anxious and sad children of this species of parent). In any case, the schools in any of the towns you listed are good enough for anyone's child, and--in all likelihood--probably better than any money-guzzling private school would be. The country's public schools need parental investment, not abandonment. Ben Franklin is turning in his grave.

This quotation is on a good track until the "probably better than any money-guzzling private school would be" comment. First off, non-traditional learners may be much better off at schools like Cambridge School of Weston or Walnut Hill. Secondly, you mean to tell me that the bottom 50% of students at Middlesex, Nobles, or Roxbury Latin are in anyway comparable to the bottom 50% of learners at any public school in that state? Not even close. At the top levels, the students are comparable, but beyond that the private schools have far and away stronger student bodies. The average test scores, among other measures, reflect that.

There is reason that, despite the high rankings of the public schools, nearly 50% of families in Wellesley and Dover send their kids to private school. It's not an accident.

[NewfieMama]

There is no one right answer to this question. It's really about the kids personality and what works best for him. My husband has a high IQ. He stopped going to public school after 5th grade, studied at home for a couple of years, took the SATs when he was 12 and scored really high, then started college when he was 13 and graduated with a 4.0 in math. That worked best for him and he has no regrets. So long as the parents are making the effort to do what they feel is best for the kid, I don't think there is really a right or wrong choice.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

There is no one right answer to this question. It's really about the kids personality and what works best for him. My husband has a high IQ. He stopped going to public school after 5th grade, studied at home for a couple of years, took the SATs when he was 12 and scored really high, then started college when he was 13 and graduated with a 4.0 in math. That worked best for him and he has no regrets. So long as the parents are making the effort to do what they feel is best for the kid, I don't think there is really a right or wrong choice.

Impressive. Your husband sounds like a real life Doogie Howser.

[NewfieMama]

He's definitely brilliant, but there is a social aspect to school that he missed out on. Being a younger teenager in college has its drawbacks and I'd say he was socially delayed as a result. Still, he and his parents made a decision about his schooling taking that into account and it's worked out for him well. I don't mean to threadjack the public school vs. private school discussion, but if the OP's daughter truly has a high IQ, then at some point she will no longer be challenged at school among her peers, whether it be at a public or private school. So the parents will have to decide how important the social aspect of being in a traditional school is.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Impressive. Your husband sounds like a real life Doogie Howser.

I'm more of a real life Vinnie Delpino

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

I'm more of a real life Vinnie Delpino

He was the true star of the show.

[OrganicSmallHome]

Originally Posted by mwbms28

This quotation is on a good track until the "probably better than any money-guzzling private school would be" comment. First off, non-traditional learners may be much better off at schools like Cambridge School of Weston or Walnut Hill. Secondly, you mean to tell me that the bottom 50% of students at Middlesex, Nobles, or Roxbury Latin are in anyway comparable to the bottom 50% of learners at any public school in that state? Not even close. At the top levels, the students are comparable, but beyond that the private schools have far and away stronger student bodies. The average test scores, among other measures, reflect that.

There is reason that, despite the high rankings of the public schools, nearly 50% of families in Wellesley and Dover send their kids to private school. It's not an accident.

There's no evidence that "non-traditional learners" are better off at private schools than at well-funded public schools. And private school students are not even remotely "stronger" than students at good public schools. The parents in Wellesley and Dover should be investing in public schools, not abandoning them out of some class-conscious neurosis that compels them to place their precious snowflakes in ridiculously priced private schools. And we're talking about Wellesley and Dover here. Get real.

[BostonTankah]

Originally Posted by OrganicSmallHome

There's no evidence that "non-traditional learners" are better off at private schools than at well-funded public schools. And private school students are not even remotely "stronger" than students at good public schools. The parents in Wellesley and Dover should be investing in public schools, not abandoning them out of some class-conscious neurosis that compels them to place their precious snowflakes in ridiculously priced private schools. And we're talking about Wellesley and Dover here. Get real.

Love love love this.
I have a high iq.
I slept through junior high school and high school and was still national honor society.
My education was so watered down ( Lynn Public Schools ) That by the time I started college, I got an associate's and quit.
I've made out pretty good in trades .
Plus I cannot stand intellectual elites.