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Agree with much of this for sure. Not quite sure how "Blake or Breck school" turned into parents trying to divulge their children's personal information, e.g.test scores etc. IMHO that's an example of some frightening parenting. If my children went to the best schools, had the best test scores and were doing the greatest things (not claiming that they are), I positively wouldn't be offering to compare their personal details with unknown parents of other children, particularly online. It seems unlikely that the parent of such high achievers is also responsible for thousands of posts on this forum, many of which are off-topic, as is the case here.
Kids of any upbringing can be successful in this country. No doubt about it. My grandfather came to the US with a 5th grade education and did very well for himself. Generally speaking, private schools are certainly better funded than public schools, and parents opinions are probably taken more seriously generally speaking. Lots of kids from public schools, obviously, go on to do great things as well.
To validate my topic as at least being on topic, I would just share that I've heard great things about Breck. I have hired several kids from there as interns and they were all kind and extremely bright. I haven't heard the greatest things about Blake, but I've also never hired anyone from there. One other data point: a good friend who went to Blake, and who sends his boys to Blake, told me recently that all of his old Blake friends now send their kids to Breck - he's trying to figure that one out.
Breck and Blake are obviously great schools. Re-read my points of this thread. I was pretty specific. i.e. Breck and Blake won’t teach Chemistry, Biology, or Calc better or worse than Edina, Anoka or ______________. Some teachers surely do! So get those great teachers and nurture your kids to their very best. It’s not rocket science. As I said, there are all kinds of unmotivated kids at Eden Prairie, Coon Rapids or ______________ . Often, that is a deficiency in parenting. We sent our kids to college in 11th and 12th grade (PSEO). That’s the wrong move for a lot of kids. So one size doesn’t fit all. Including assuming that a private school is superior. It depends on the parents, student, and what you are aiming for your kids.
I kind of agree with Born-n-bread. Its kind of like if you are a great athlete with great natural ability....does it really matter what school you go to for your talent to manifest? If you are a great basketball player in high school, do you need to go to the "Hopkins", "Delasalles" or one of the other perennial powerhouses to get a good DI scholarship? Would you then need to go to Duke, Kentucky or Kansas to get drafted into the NBA? Why does one then need to go to the Ivies, Cal Tech, or any of these other schools to make it big in business? Is it not true that many famous business people dropped out of college or did not even attend? Their natural talent and drive propelled them, not schools.
If you have talent and drive....its that talent and drive, above anything else, that is will determine how far you go, not so much the schools you attend. In essence the talented athlete or student is probably doing the school they attend a bigger service than the school is doing the talented student/athlete, as the schools can market themselves based upon all the famous/successful alumni (and their donations) that attended their schools, which helps them attract more talented people and increases their prestige. Are the schools creating the talent....our simply showcasing the talented?
I tend to think, and I maybe wrong, that rich people often seek things with status, like executive neighborhoods and elite schools. Rich people seem to like to have membership in the exclusive and their kids are often pawns in that desire. I mean, overall, as a parent, I just want my kids to be....HAPPY and I don't link that happiness to membership in exclusive clubs, neighborhoods, schools, etc. You can live a VERY happy and fulfilled existence without any of those things.
If you have talent and drive......you can make it regardless of the schools you do or do not attend. I agree that it is a waste of Money to send your kids to private school, unless you can use MONEY and influence to mask a deficit in talent and thus allow the student to get ahead off the reputation of the school, as opposed to their level of talent.
A small correction. the Ivy's as well as private schools have MANY needs based opportunities. So their are a lot of non-rich kids. Much more than anyone assumes. Every Ivy's attract 20% athletes for the programs. Most Ivy's go out of their way for a diverse group of students. There are no "free rides" but if a family makes under $170K (from memory) they pay 1/2 price at Harvard. IF their AGI is under $70K (from memory) it's $0.00 per year. There are a ton of $0.00 tuition paying students. I've had more than a few moderate means students visiting at our lake home and their stories are amazing. Like a single mom who raised an amazing dreamer student that now attends Harvard Medical School. As you say, he had talent and drive and a wonderful mom who motivated him to do his very best in life.
Some parents on this board assume that the school averages at Breck and Blake (which ARE incredible), by definition means the got a better education. Some parents even put their financial security on hold for their kids. My neighbor across the street sent their kids off to a private HS. He had no business writing out a check for $20K. If it matters, they did fine but IMHO fell way short of their potential. I'll I'm saying is if you know how to parent and motivate your kids to do their very best, the great opportunities are at nearly every school. I will say, an important point is you need motivated teachers. We were heavily involved parents and figured out a way to get our kids with the better teachers. That's not always possible as we had a few burntout duds. In those few situations, we stepped in and did work outside projects so that they understood more than the class taught.
What poster Archiworld, AJBSciences, and Racerlake (the same 1 post person by the way) isn't grasping is that 20% of Edina students don't pass the basic standards. That doesn't mean that the top 20% aren't getting an equal education to ________________ and going off to Wash U, Dartmouth or any other great institution of higher learning.
That's why I'm surprised that people are actually having a conversation about which is "better". Neither are unless you define "better" as more religion classes or more arts based programs, etc. oth are going to teach the sciences the same (well, one might leave out evolution). For me, I judge an education on opportunities, caliber of motivated teachers, reasonable class sizes, and material covered. So as a parent who looked at our kids standardized scores, they did exceptionally well. They we were well rounded, went to Boys and Girls State, did well (finalist) in Nation History Day, 3 sport athletes etc. The foundation was set so that they were independent enough to get all A's at the University in 11th and 12th grade (PSEO) then off to college on scholarships and off to great colleges inside a brutally competitive discipline. All with an Anoka education.
So in the end, they did have talent and drive and they are well on their way to do great things. The single poster Archiworld, AJBSciences, and Racerlake think it's impossible to go from Anoka to Harvard Medical School. He can call me "insecure". I mentioned it because some parents the the poster are so arrogant to use the phrase "hanging out with hooligans". Like I said, I'd be happy to compare and metric if someone thinks my cheapness (a.k.a. fiscally conservative) meant that our kids got a substandard education. To be clearer, I went to the exact same high school. My parents didn't know how to parent well and I absolutely would have gotten a much better education at a private. If I would have went to a Blake or Breck, I wouldn't have fallen though the cracks. But in order for someone to actually apply to the school, it says something positive about the parent. That wasn't going to happen with my mom or dad. But I rallied and came a lot farther that I should have. I vowed for that not to happen with our kids and it didn't.
I'm unclear why you have lumped me in with the posts of others. What IS clear is that you have trolled this thread (and so many others) with posts which any reasonable person would see as weak attempts to feel better about the fact that you couldn't send your kids to private schools. Saying that your kids maxed out their potential is bizarre, and offering up the personal information of your kids, even if true, is simply irresponsible. Proud or not, how do they feel about dad trolling online forums offering to share their test scores with strangers? They are, of course, too solid and humble of kids to be ok with that, right? Their school did teach them to be humble, right? I mean, really, dad posting pages of information about them online? Really? Did you learn to do this in public school? More importantly, you have offered nothing whatsoever to help answer the question of the thread, which is: Breck or Blake school?
And while it is clear that you are unable to bite your tongue, and have endless time to troll this thread and so many others, making rude accusations, adding sarcastic insecure smiles emojis, and embarrassing yourself with not only the content of your posts, but also the sheer length of them, it is no longer worth my time to respond to them.
Proceed to further show your lack of self-control and troll away! :-)
Quote:
Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised
A small correction. the Ivy's as well as private schools have MANY needs based opportunities. So their are a lot of non-rich kids. Much more than anyone assumes. Every Ivy's attract 20% athletes for the programs. Most Ivy's go out of their way for a diverse group of students. There are no "free rides" but if a family makes under $170K (from memory) they pay 1/2 price at Harvard. IF their AGI is under $70K (from memory) it's $0.00 per year. There are a ton of $0.00 tuition paying students. I've had more than a few moderate means students visiting at our lake home and their stories are amazing. Like a single mom who raised an amazing dreamer student that now attends Harvard Medical School. As you say, he had talent and drive and a wonderful mom who motivated him to do his very best in life.
Some parents on this board assume that the school averages at Breck and Blake (which ARE incredible), by definition means the got a better education. Some parents even put their financial security on hold for their kids. My neighbor across the street sent their kids off to a private HS. He had no business writing out a check for $20K. If it matters, they did fine but IMHO fell way short of their potential. I'll I'm saying is if you know how to parent and motivate your kids to do their very best, the great opportunities are at nearly every school. I will say, an important point is you need motivated teachers. We were heavily involved parents and figured out a way to get our kids with the better teachers. That's not always possible as we had a few burntout duds. In those few situations, we stepped in and did work outside projects so that they understood more than the class taught.
What poster Archiworld, AJBSciences, and Racerlake (the same 1 post person by the way) isn't grasping is that 20% of Edina students don't pass the basic standards. That doesn't mean that the top 20% aren't getting an equal education to ________________ and going off to Wash U, Dartmouth or any other great institution of higher learning.
That's why I'm surprised that people are actually having a conversation about which is "better". Neither are unless you define "better" as more religion classes or more arts based programs, etc. oth are going to teach the sciences the same (well, one might leave out evolution). For me, I judge an education on opportunities, caliber of motivated teachers, reasonable class sizes, and material covered. So as a parent who looked at our kids standardized scores, they did exceptionally well. They we were well rounded, went to Boys and Girls State, did well (finalist) in Nation History Day, 3 sport athletes etc. The foundation was set so that they were independent enough to get all A's at the University in 11th and 12th grade (PSEO) then off to college on scholarships and off to great colleges inside a brutally competitive discipline. All with an Anoka education.
So in the end, they did have talent and drive and they are well on their way to do great things. The single poster Archiworld, AJBSciences, and Racerlake think it's impossible to go from Anoka to Harvard Medical School. He can call me "insecure". I mentioned it because some parents the the poster are so arrogant to use the phrase "hanging out with hooligans". Like I said, I'd be happy to compare and metric if someone thinks my cheapness (a.k.a. fiscally conservative) meant that our kids got a substandard education. To be clearer, I went to the exact same high school. My parents didn't know how to parent well and I absolutely would have gotten a much better education at a private. If I would have went to a Blake or Breck, I wouldn't have fallen though the cracks. But in order for someone to actually apply to the school, it says something positive about the parent. That wasn't going to happen with my mom or dad. But I rallied and came a lot farther that I should have. I vowed for that not to happen with our kids and it didn't.
It sounds like we are alike. You found it necessary to sign up for a board (3 times possibly) to point out why I am wrong. You use phrases like "Hooligans", "can't afford", "troll", with some rather long-winded explanations.
Admittedly, my flaw is the desire to correct people with examples when others assume they are superior based off where they went to school or where they live. It is obvious you look down on people based off your perceived notions.
Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 03-13-2018 at 10:34 AM..
We weren't able to justify either school financially, but we spent a long time researching and looking. We were not at all impressed with Blake. Seemed like a Country Club attitude without the facilities or teachers to back it up. Breck was quite impressive in most every respect. Not being able to swing Breck hurt.
Interesting viewpoint - could you elaborate a bit on Blake v Breck? So many posters indicate parity on academics but you're detecting a difference in capabilities. I'm sure many would like to hear more.
Interesting viewpoint - could you elaborate a bit on Blake v Breck? So many posters indicate parity on academics but you're detecting a difference in capabilities. I'm sure many would like to hear more.
No kids so I don't have any first hand experience to answer your question. From what I see, though, the vast majority of people on this ancient thread seem to favor Breck. So many, in fact, that I'd be curious to know if anyone visited both schools and ended up choosing Blake. I may have missed that but it seems there are countless people who chose Breck after visiting both schools but not even 1 who chose Blake. Also many who started at Blake only to switch to Breck. At first glance, it seems like these schools aren't even competitors anymore as they may have been when the thread originated.
No kids so I don't have any first hand experience to answer your question. From what I see, though, the vast majority of people on this ancient thread seem to favor Breck. So many, in fact, that I'd be curious to know if anyone visited both schools and ended up choosing Blake. I may have missed that but it seems there are countless people who chose Breck after visiting both schools but not even 1 who chose Blake. Also many who started at Blake only to switch to Breck. At first glance, it seems like these schools aren't even competitors anymore as they may have been when the thread originated.
I actually wasted time and read through most of this thread just out of curiosity. I think its misleading to come to any conclusion based on who decided to respond to this thread over the past 10 years -- both Blake and Breck have good academic reputations as does many metro area public schools. I am certain there are plenty of families who were happy with their choice to send their child to Blake, Breck, another MSP private school, or their local public school. The biggest advantage to private schools, if you can afford it, is the smaller class sizes, emphasis on specialist teaching and STEM from a young age, and the enormous additional resources these private schools have.
The decision of whether to pursue a private school versus public school and specifically which one is very complex in Minnesota. This partly because of the availability of "open enrollment" which greatly increases the possible choices in public schools for many families. In addition, just within St Paul and Minneapolis, there are multiple city schools to choose from. Where I grew up (outside of Minnesota), you went to your neighborhood school or a private school. There were not so many permutations and combinations!
My goal isn't to start a debate - I've read this entire thread, done as much Internet research as reasonably possible, visited both schools, and talked to various families who have sent their kid to one or the other. Obviously, both would be wonderful for our kid (lower school age), but ultimately we still need to make a choice so here we are.
Other than flipping a coin, I am hoping that there might be an unicorn family out there who have sent one kid to each school for whatever reason and would like to share their perspective on objective differences and similarities between the schools as they perceive them.
Again, I am not looking for school x is better than school y at activity z, just objectively (as close as we can) what is similar and different as experienced by parents who have seen both sides.
Thank you so much and feel free to private message me if that is more appropriate.
My goal isn't to start a debate - I've visited both schools and think both would be wonderful for our lower school kid, but ultimately we still need to make a choice so here we are.
Other than flipping a coin, I am hoping that there might be an unicorn family out there who have sent one kid to each school for whatever reason and would like to share their perspective on objective differences and similarities between the schools as they perceive them.
Again, I am not looking for school x is better than school y at activity z, just objectively (as close as we can) what is similar and different as experienced by parents who have seen both sides.
Thank you so much and feel free to private message me if that is more appropriate.
I suggest that you visit at least one more school to provide additional context.
First make a list of all the things that are important to you: location, class size, language offerings, science programs, facilities, organizational values, continuity between elementary, middle and high school programs, etc.
Then, after you have visited the other school(s), reflect on each school’s attributes in your key areas. Your decision will be more clear if you go through this process.
As a Minnehaha Academy parent, I would invite you to visit our school, but the important thing is that you consider more than just these two schools in your evaluation.
The best thing that you can do is to go and see the schools yourself. Meet with the teachers and ask detailed questions about their individual teaching philosophy as well as how their philosophy connects with that of the school. See if you notice one school having more of a well thought out and coordinated educational plan. I would also suggest that you just take some time to observe the kinds of students you see in both schools and, certainly, (as Glenfield points out) any other schools that you visit. Breck and Blake are very different places, but I'm not interested in fueling the debate here. Just go visit them...
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the Ivy's as well as private schools have MANY needs based opportunities. So their are a lot of non-rich kids. Much more than anyone assumes. Every Ivy's attract 20% athletes for the programs. Most Ivy's go out of their way for a diverse group of students. There are no "free rides" but if a family makes under $170K (from memory) they pay 1/2 price at Harvard. IF their AGI is under $70K (from memory) it's $0.00 per year. There are a ton of $0.00 tuition paying students. I've had more than a few moderate means students visiting at our lake home and their stories are amazing. Like a single mom who raised an amazing dreamer student that now attends Harvard Medical School. As you say, he had talent and drive and a wonderful mom who motivated him to do his very best in life.
For me, I judge an education on opportunities, caliber of motivated teachers, reasonable class sizes, and material covered. So as a parent who looked at our kids standardized scores, they did exceptionally well. They we were well rounded, went to Boys and Girls State, did well (finalist) in Nation History Day, 3 sport athletes etc. The foundation was set so that they were independent enough to get all A's at the University in 11th and 12th grade (PSEO) then off to college on scholarships and off to great colleges inside a brutally competitive discipline. All with an Anoka education.
