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Looking back at my own life, I now realize what my father tried to do for me and help me.
I was in a private school in Fort Lauderdale and loved it. This was late 60's - early 70's but I'm sure the
1% ers were among us.
Unfortunately, my father lost everything when I was 15 but I remember our talks, our drives and it was about relationships and what you described. I was also smart so I did have that drive and did envision myself someday as being much more than I became.
I even attending a finishing school on the side to learn the finer graces, modeling and such so when I was presented to society I would meet the right person. All that ended when I was 15.
However, one of my friends from that era got back in touch years later and we were close as adults with young children. She always wanted to know why I left the school. I finally told her; she had lunch with me a week later and told me her dad told her he would have continued to pay my tuition and that he would have loved to see both of us go to the Univ of PA - I wanted to be a lawyer like he was. He also owned a savings and loan. Just a lovely, wonderful family who could have helped me in ways I never even dreamed about.
(My father grew up in the Northeast, Greenwich, CT and Ridgewood, NJ and went to boarding school at Mount Hermon so this was something he knew growing up. My mother, however, didn't grow up like that but went to college on her own and even got an MBA - unusual for a woman of her time).
These transformations will eventually level the playing field in every sphere of every industry. Education will be a bigger and bigger peice of the puzzle and feudal cliques, inheritance, hereditary and pedigree will mean less and less.
Oh it will change. Look around you.
Some would suggest that the Educational System is, in fact already FAILING most students. "Look Around".
You can't be serious given the specific and overal rankings of many many American students. Many can't read on grade level, compute on grade level, or even compose a complex sentence.
Have you, as a professional, seen and read the international rankings of our students? If you have, you would not make such a specious, "pie-in-the-sky" assertion.
Do you see what (or how) these "teachers" are teaching? Hell, the teachers aren't that "smart" either !
If "education will become a bigger and bigger piece of the puzzle" as you assert, we are doing an AWFUL and miserable job especially on the undergraduate level not to mention on the graduate level.
And it's LAUGHABLE concerning K-12. Have you read about the failures of public schools across this great nation? We can't even get "school choice" in key US cities and states !
"Education" has become a "bigger and bigger piece" of societal FAILURE most experts would say. If you beilieve that education alone is the magic bullet for "leveling the playing field", then we're doing an awful job.
Nope, relationships will always exist - it's human nature. There's nothing wrong with leveraging every advantage - it's the American way. There is no guarantee of same outcomes. Opportunity is essential however.
You won't live long enough, nor your children to witness such a sea-change in normal human conduct.
This ain't a robotic technocracy - human behavior doesn't work like that.
Looking back at my own life, I now realize what my father tried to do for me and help me.
I was in a private school in Fort Lauderdale and loved it. This was late 60's - early 70's but I'm sure the
1% ers were among us.
Unfortunately, my father lost everything when I was 15 but I remember our talks, our drives and it was about relationships and what you described. I was also smart so I did have that drive and did envision myself someday as being much more than I became.
I even attending a finishing school on the side to learn the finer graces, modeling and such so when I was presented to society I would meet the right person. All that ended when I was 15.
However, one of my friends from that era got back in touch years later and we were close as adults with young children. She always wanted to know why I left the school. I finally told her; she had lunch with me a week later and told me her dad told her he would have continued to pay my tuition and that he would have loved to see both of us go to the Univ of PA - I wanted to be a lawyer like he was. He also owned a savings and loan. Just a lovely, wonderful family who could have helped me in ways I never even dreamed about.
(My father grew up in the Northeast, Greenwich, CT and Ridgewood, NJ and went to boarding school at Mount Hermon so this was something he knew growing up. My mother, however, didn't grow up like that but went to college on her own and even got an MBA - unusual for a woman of her time).
Great personal story Bette. Thanks for sharing it.
But children are creatures of their environment. They learn from their ecosystem through osmosis. They need to lively social environment and interactions with other kids. That's the main reason to be in selective schools like Pine View.
I hope you know that you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. You seem to criticize relationships on one hand, the laud them on another.
Relationships are key in life's journey. You strangley seek Pine View viz "selectivity" then bemoan that same selectivity when it comes to future success and visibility perhaps in a chosen field of expertise.
If you think Pine View public school, i.e. high school is regarded in the socio-cultural-business milieu the same as private schools or noted boardng schools mentioned above, then you don't know what reality is.
Is Pine View a good school? well yes indeed. Is it Choate or Exeter or Deerfield or...... no it isn't. ..so stop pretending or comparing....having said that, no one asks your GPA in high school, but I ASSURE you that if your kid attended Andover etc, they will get more favourable first look.
How about students finishing at West Point? you think they just might have some visibility?
What about Citadel? MIT? Stanford? BU? Brandeis? Wharton? GATech? StetsonLAW? Uchicago? UABMedical? UT? ...not just Ivy League stuff....Carlton, Grinnell, New College, or even great schools like McGill.
No, life is not fair. That's for sure, and all that glitters is NOT gold.
No - Pine View cannot compete with all the very expensive privates schools - even though I notice the rich send their kids there - the parking lot of always full of Mercedes - even the kids had them - one good thing about Pine View is that it is free and your kid will be prepared for college
- to be honest - after I have read about what is being taught in schools these days I would homeschool - thank God my son has graduated and has a mind of his own. Hopefully college will not ruin him
No - Pine View cannot compete with all the very expensive privates schools - even though I notice the rich send their kids there - the parking lot of always full of Mercedes - even the kids had them - one good thing about Pine View is that it is free and your kid will be prepared for college
- to be honest - after I have read about what is being taught in schools these days I would homeschool - thank God my son has graduated and has a mind of his own. Hopefully college will not ruin him
I disagree. NOTHING is "free". Somebody always pays.
Perhaps you don't understand the difference, advantages, disadvantages of a thing called "funding".
Funding through the public's taxes means allocation of resources. In the case of Pine View, resources of everyone's tax dollars are taken from one area to fund another. In short, there is a finite pool of dollars. Funds are "earmarked" not always based of real need. Some schools actually LOSE, while a few squeaky others get the "grease".
Pine View is NOT free. It's funding however is on the backs of parents who don't send their kids their because they "aren't smart enough" allegedly. So their is institutional discrimination and a different brand of elitism - at the true expense of a broader electorate.
In private school, e.g. boarding schools, the funding is not on the backs of Joe Blow Taxpayer. Parents pay to send their children there - they get what they pay for (generally speaking).....a good education and yes, "status".
Again, nothing is free.
Pine View smacks of just a different brand of "notoriety" cleverly cloaked in a public wrapper. In short, their mission has nothing to do with public access and public excellence.
Pine View's aura has nothing to do with public accessibility bolstering public anything. In this respect, this is plainly disingenuous.
At least schools such as Collegiate, ChoateRH, NMH, Exeter, Andover, Deerfield etc., don't pretend to be an institution of education that they are not. They don't have to. Parents are PAYING through the nose for this experience, rarely if ever with any public, local tax dollars, state dollars or federal dollars. The funding for Pine View comes out of all of the pockets of tax payers in Sarasota County.
Nope, Pine View is not "free". That would be sleight of hand, which is a lie. Taxpayers of Sarasota County pay the "tuition". Parents et al pay the "tuition" at "Andovers" of the world.
Well -KMerendino - here is another view on what is free and elitism
- my other son is special needs - we moved from NP to Nokomis to attend Laurel Nokomis - we thought the high rating would be better school - NOPE - we were wrong - because the school he attended in NP was poorer they had more funding for special needs and my son had access many more services there - so - the lower rated and poorer district ended up being better for him - ironic - Laurel Nokomis was terrible and the former principal was rotten and laughed at my poor son - they only cared about high performers to make their ratings look good
Actually for special needs I have heard that schools like Booker Middle and High - in the so-called poorer end of town - are the superior schools.
Everyone has anecdotal stories and individual conditions. Conflating school selection (Pine View) issues with issues/choices surrounding disability education or special-ed seems tangential to the OP's inquiry.
Pine View is not a school for everybody. No school is without challenges, and I agree that nothing is free at Pine View. Property taxes are the source of organization and continued support and development. Private schools have endowments and tuition - even Catholic schools aren't "free".
What was your decision? (In a similar boat as you...)
Quote:
Originally Posted by NaplesDad
Question for Pine View parents: The school is great. If a gifted kid qualifies, is it worth it to move the whole family to Sarasota? Both parents work from home so we have the freedom to move that many don't.
Here are some issues that we are struggling with as we make our decision. We would love to get the opinion of parents whose kids either currently attend or graduated from Pine View.
1. A comparable house near the school costs $300,000 more than where we are in the Naples area. Is that money better spent on local private schools here?
2. Does the name recognition of the school help in college admissions?
3. With famed gifted program schools around the country (Thomas Jefferson in Virginia, Stuyvesant in NYC) dropping their gifted admissions criteria under political pressure, can Pine View be far behind? What happens to the class composition then?
4. I've heard that if a kid is gifted they'll do well anywhere, and don't really need to attend Pine View. That may be true, but doesn't the school surely enrich them with experiences they won't get elsewhere?
5. Bullying and violence - is it the same as anywhere else? Are the kids at Pine View focused on academics and studious enough that the chances of a school shooting are lesser than elsewhere? Wasn't there an threat incident recently? Where we are, it seems like every other kid is training for an upcoming war that no one told us about. I see a school shooting in our future here. One macho parent's response to complaints about bullying by his 9 year old was to give the boy a hunting knife and teaching him how to use an assault rifle. Seems unbelievable but this is Florida. they even posted photos on social media.
Good morning @NaplesDad,
I am curious as to which was your final decision? We are currently in a similar boat where we need a better option for our 2E kiddo. We live in Hillsborough County and unfortunately, the options are quite slim.
We are looking at Pine View or Fruitville but open to other options. Any recommendations?
P.S. Hope you fared well after the hurricane.
We were essentially frozen out of the Sarasota housing market by the bottomless pit of retiree money coming from all over the country after some big magazine voted Sarasota the No 1 place to retire in America. We were outbid on three homes, all by mid-westerners bidding sight unseen with all cash.
Plus, the Sarasota school board has been in national news recently for politics-driven termination of the Superintendent. I don't know what effect the new board/Superintendent are going to have on Pine View.
With mortgage rates at 7%, I'm waiting to see if there is a housing/stock crash in the next few years. Maybe the outlook will be clearer then.
All the best!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lauramsr
Good morning @NaplesDad,
I am curious as to which was your final decision? We are currently in a similar boat where we need a better option for our 2E kiddo. We live in Hillsborough County and unfortunately, the options are quite slim.
We are looking at Pine View or Fruitville but open to other options. Any recommendations?
P.S. Hope you fared well after the hurricane.
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What was your decision? (In a similar boat as you...)
