<p>The level of quality of a public high school is directly proportional to the level of the socioeconomic status of an area. The better the public school, the wealthier the area; the worse the public school, the less wealthier the area.</p>
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The level of quality of a public high school is directly proportional to the level of the socioeconomic status of an area. The better the public school, the wealthier the area; the worse the public school, the less wealthier the area.*</p>
<p>My daughter attended an inner city public school that was ranked in the top ten in the state, and in the top 320’s of schools in the country by USNews.</p>
<p>It’s a true public school, not a charter or one that uses exams for admission.</p>
<p>I went to two high schools. The first was larger and had access to better resources because it bordered a military base. The second was about an hour away and had severely limited resources. I am actually in the process of trying to get my transcripts this fall and there are debates about whether to shut it down or keep it running because a new one nearby opened up (20 minutes away). I know that probably around 90% of the graduating class of my first one went to NMSU. I only know one person who made it to UC Davis from the last school I was at straight out of HS (4.0, 1600ish SAT’s, URM, super poor). The type of valedictorians they churn out end up enrolling in places such as CSU San Bernardino or Long Beach. I don’t honestly remember anything I learned in that high school and my sister who graduated valedictorian there does not either.</p>
<p>I had wanted my last year to be at a high performing high school, but it was an hour away from my dad’s work. They wouldn’t hear of it, so I definitely know what approach I’m going to put my kids in for HS: avoid public high school entirely unless I know what kind of students they’re churning out. I will probably opt for private. I went to a private overseas all of my life until HS in the U.S. Being surrounded by a bunch of pregnant 14 year olds in my Geometry class was not a highlight of my high school career or in the first week there being a riot where students fought against teachers. Or having stuff constantly stolen from me. There is a lot more, but this is just my experience. </p>
<p>I’m thinking private or homeschooling my future children.</p>
<p>emeraldkity4-one of the “top” high schools in our state is also an inner city school. It got the ranking because that survey only ranked the school based on the kids in the IB program–not the rest of the school with it’s 48% graduation rate. It ranks higher than the top high school in the state with a 100% graduation rate and a 99% rate of kids going on to 4 year colleges ;). I wouldn’t put too much stock in those “rankings”.</p>
<p>For the most part the public schools here are excellent.</p>
<p>CalDud–your experience isn’t what you would find in schools here at all. There is no way to really compare schools from city to city and say they are all “bad” like this article is suggesting.</p>
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No. But I wouldn’t live there either</p>
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I suspect that nearly every high school in this country has a drug problem. For sure, ours does. In fact, an armed resource officer has been hired for this year, in an affluent school district with no reported crimes of violence in recent memory. Lots of drugs, though. No gangs - but that’s a result of geographic location, not the schools.</p>
<p>No one wants to send their children to school in a high crime area. No one wants to live there, either, but many have to. The schools are not responsible for the crime rate.</p>
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<p>Meh, there are exceptions.</p>
<p>Perhaps I should have reworded what I said to be “…tends to be directly related…”</p>
<p>"Yep, there is an America with 60,000,000 football temples (a la Allen, Texas) and there is quite another in Detroit, or … in the urban wastelands of Dallas or Houston. "</p>
<p>That football stadium will be used for 35 years.</p>
<p>How much money will be spent on public schools in Detroit, Houston, Dallas, New York, Philly, Baltimore, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, L.A., etc. over the next 35 years?</p>
<p>RFK High School in LA cost a helluva lot more than $60 million, alone.</p>
<p>Americans spend a lot of money on public education. </p>
<p>Now, that is not to say that all of the money is spent well . . .</p>
<p>"biggest bashers of the public schools, which are some of the best in our region. "</p>
<p>-Not good enough by far. Our public and PRIVATE schools should be the best in the world. They are golden in regard to how much $$ we spend on each student. The result is not golden at all though. But if we continue saying that it is just bashing by some rich (who if you check closer are not always rich at all), then we get what we deserve. If there is no problem with k -12 education here, public and PRIVATE, then what is the purpose of this thread? OK, we are all satisfied, happy go lucky, do not need to address any issues, they do not exist…but many immigrants orginize their own schools, by far not the richest people here, they want their kids to have a real education, fillling in the blanks is not good enough for them, they want kids to develop analytical skills so they can pursue their dreams, no matter how challenging…and pursue they do. As one example, check out Asian population in Medical school classes, you will be amazed at huge overrepresentation, some close to 50%, some of these students do not even speak English very well, their parents do not have driver licences, and as ORMs they have to show higher stats than everybody else. Why they get accepted in much higher numbers? And there are other immigrants’ kids who are not as easily to identify. We want kids who were born here and went to local PUBLIC school to be able to do the same, not be limited, feel free to pursue anything they want…or maybe we do not…maybe we do not want to challenge little Jimmy, god forbid, he migh loose his self-estime, the most precious possesion of all, he does not need to go to engineering, and who cares about this long road to become an MD at all?</p>
<p>“It’s not rocket science!”</p>
<p>Yes and no. Parenting and PTA-ing the way middle-class white Americans do it IS rocket science if you have no idea what is involved, how to do it, why it might matter, what advantages it could confer to upwardly mobile American kids, etc. It is not surprising that the people who run the society set it up to reward those who were brought up their way. But it is also not surprising that parents who were brought up differently don’t just snap their fingers, agree that a different way is better, and then execute it. That’s especially true if they have less education and fewer resources than the middle-class white parents.</p>
<p>It’s kind of like speaking English. If you’re brought up in it, it’s the easiest thing in the world. It’s obvious. If you’re learning it as a foreign language, parsing each little step, it takes years of intensive effort, and at best, you’ll always have an accent.</p>
<p>I attended public school, my husband attended private, including an all-male private hs. I am convinced I got a better education in hs than he did. He graduated with a 94 average but couldn’t write to save his life. Both of our kids ended up attending public schools and have had no remedial problems in college - except perhaps in science, where our public school equipment was so out of date that they did almost no labs, so my kids didn’t know how to write a lab report.</p>
<p>I worked for our public schools for about 6 years, but now I work at a private school. It’s nice to see what we can do with a little more money, no union/seniority system (jobs are given to those best suited for them, not those with the most seniority), and a faculty & staff that are in agreement about supporting our mission. But the biggest difference I’ve seen is in the PARENTS. Our private school parents all put a high priority on education. When we run programs for parents, we get a very large turnout. 90% or more will come to Curriculum/Meet the Teachers night. In the public school there were some parents who were appropriately involved, but there were also a lot who felt that education was the school’s job, and they didn’t get involved at all. Maybe they were just afraid of being called helicopter parents, but frankly if you don’t know the names of your kids’ teachers or what classes they’re taking, you need to get more involved. Then there was the other end of the spectrum, the few parents who only cared about their own kids and would scream until that child got what they wanted and would “protect” their kid from the school’s discipline procedures. </p>
<p>The truth is that no school, public or private, can educate your kid by itself - they need your support at home. Encouragement, providing the right supplies and a quiet place to study, setting your family’s schedule to allow/encourage homework time and to NOT miss school unless it is unavoidable, and showing a genuine interest in education by asking your kid to tell you about what they’re learning in school - these small steps make a HUGE difference in a child’s education.</p>
<p>In my experience with public schools, the bottom 25% will get a lot of attention and special education. The top 25% get honors and AP classes, and generally get the most engaged teachers. The middle 50% can get a good education if they put in the effort and seek out help… or they can do very little, slide by and graduate without learning a lot. IMHO, it’s the middle 50% would would benefit most from the increased attention from parents and perhaps private school.</p>
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<p>I see K-12 education in the US as “tale of two cities”. On one hand, it does not work for the masses trapped in failing schools, but, on the other hand, we see an increasing body of students heading for the top selective universities/colleges who are taking 10-12 AP classes, learning multivariable calculus and linear algebra in High School, and doing things their parents and grandparents couldn’t even dream about when they were their age. Maybe the problem is the “one-size-fit-all” model of secondary school that does not take into account the different needs, abilities and interests of a very diverse student population in a continental and multiethnic country like the US.</p>
<p>“s one example, check out Asian population in Medical school classes, you will be amazed at huge overrepresentation, some close to 50%, some of these students do not even speak English very well, their parents do not have driver licences, and as ORMs they have to show higher stats than everybody else. Why they get accepted in much higher numbers?”</p>
<p>I know your views of medical school - MiamiDAP - however at my D’s top UG school, most students who were premed were non - caucasian.</p>
<p>Perhaps I should have reworded…</p>
<p>Yes, I agree. Accuracy in language is critical, IMO, and although I am far from the grammar police, the phrasing in your comment struck me as ironic.
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<p>I knew what the person meant - people post awkward things all the time; sometimes it really is hard to figure it out and I just ask in those cases. I have more problems reading some things written by the younger generations.</p>
<p>" however at my D’s top UG school, most students who were premed were non - caucasian. "</p>
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<li>So, your statements supports mine. But I am asking why this situation exists? Why they can where others fall out or not even attempt? Seems not right to me. Seems that EVERYBODY should be educated especially when k -12 is practically gold-plated. That gold is merely wasted…not spent on educating kids, spent on something else, where mere fraction of what is spent would be enough to get superior educatio for all just like it was intended.</li>
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<p>^^because most students preferred going into finance - investment banking and hedge funds where the potential return can be significantly greater. Upper income families (including doctors) are in general not as enamored of medical school as you appear to be.</p>
<p>“It is meaningless to speak of the American school “system.” Some public schools are excellent, while others are abysmal.”</p>
<p>I agree. I’ve been in a couple different public school systems, and my education was fantastic. No complaints, to pay for private woulda been a waste of money. </p>
<p>I actually think that a Private school system would be better for troubled students, as the systems are often smaller and there may be more one-on-one adult contact. But for most others, I think paying for a HS education outside the public school system is often a silly thing to do (unless the public school system in your area is truely terrible).</p>
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<p>Sigh. Another gross oversimplification and overgeneralization.</p>
<p>It depends, like always, on your school district, child, etc.</p>
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<p>I think many people, regardless of socio-economic status, are not attracted to the medical profession, for obvious reasons. Examining the diseased body parts of complete strangers all day, everyday is not attractive to a lot of people.</p>