Forum: Politics
Topic: Poll: Public vs Private Schools?
started by: CatKnight

Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 14 2002,03:02
Quote (demonk @ public edumacation)
If we are to do a decent comparison, we need to have two schools geographicly similar (ie, middle of suburbia) and relatively the same size (there is a big difference between a 1,000 person school and an 8,000 person school).  And we also need to compare all the students, not just a few, and not with standardized tests.  As we have already discussed, those just fuck up the teaching style.

Posted by TheTaxMan on Jun. 14 2002,03:34
I went to a large public school and it was good (by the current standard).
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 14 2002,03:43
this is in your personal opinion, do you think you got a quality education or not. this has nothing to do with any standard. sorry, i should have made that clearer.

oh yeah and you are in england, you weren't supposed to vote. this is for americans only :p


Posted by demonk on Jun. 14 2002,03:48
I've found that you get out of education what you put into it.  I put a lot in and got a lot out.  Therefore it was good.
Posted by TheTaxMan on Jun. 14 2002,04:01
I don't live in England you goon!

I think I got an excellent education.
Posted by Bozeman on Jun. 14 2002,05:10
I voted for large/public/good.  Tell me, Catknight, what is your definiton of a "good" education?  Would it involve aptitude on a standardized test?  Diversity of education?  Currentness of scientific knowledge?  Religious influences?  Secular humanism?  Emphasis on career?  Emphasis on comprehension?  Emphasis on test taking ability?  Inclusion of extra-schollarly classes? (i.e. career-based classes at a local community college, my HS had them.  It's for kids who want a job right out of high school.)  Inclusion of extra-curricular activities?  Emphasis on sports/competition?  Emphasis on grades/academics?  Emphasis on arts/humnaities?

All of these things can be considered good by someone.  Some people wish their kids to have religion in their schools, but also to stay away from evolution.  Some high schools are little more than an excuse for a football team to exist, and a place to babysit teenagers.  The point is, there are many facets to "good."  Which facets do you mean?
Posted by Beldurin on Jun. 14 2002,07:07
I really need to start remembering all of these polls I keep voting in.

I went to a very small public school.  Graduating class was 53.  (Graduated in 1996) It had its upsides and downsides.  

Good
Knew all the faculty and they knew me
Very safe
Faculty took interest in students
Less competition for sports teams, so I got to be on a lot of them

Bad
Everyone knew everyone's business
Small dating pool
Fewer opportunities for classes and jobs
Less funding, so less cool facilities

All in all, it was an okay place to grow up.  The education was about middle-of-the road.  I think the deciding factor was that I never really had to worry about being shot or stabbed at school.  That makes all the difference to me.
Posted by wix on Jun. 14 2002,08:02
It's sort of hard to answer the question was my public school good or bad. First of all the brightline distinction between small and large is mostly unspecified. But even more so, when we say good or bad it is usually in a specific department. My high school had an excellent english department (though I still never learned how to spell correctly), but failed miserably when it came to math and computer technologies. The sciences were ho-hum. If you judge it on a scale, I guess that makes the school 'bad' but if your an english major it's ruthless classes no doubt helped a lot.

On a side note I find it very interesting that the poll reflects that those of us who went to small schools tended to have a more negative expirence compared to those who attended large schools. Anyone care to comment on why they enjoyed the larger schools? My first guess would be classes and choices of teachers (for instance my school lacked a AP Bio or Computer class).


Posted by Bozeman on Jun. 14 2002,14:27
My school was a large school, and it was so large because it was in Northville, one of the places in Michigan where old, white, rich people have lived for more than a century.  (the old people didn't live that long, they were replaced as neccesary)  As such, there's a lot of money for the school system.  They just built a brand new high school, and it's pretty good.
Posted by Nikita on Jun. 14 2002,17:44
Hey Beldy, I went to a similar school! :p

My graduating class was 40

The good stuff sounds about the same
Same with the bad stuff

'Cept for the religion part ...
-force fed Bible class 8 am every #*$& morning
-missionary kids vs business kids - guess who the teachers liked more
-the missionary kids were cut a lot more slack.  Business kids weren't allowed to watch simpsons, and they'd turn off the TV during X-Files when there's too much swearing.
-didn't want me to take the AP Biology exam becase "there's evolution in it and we don't teach that"  (duh, I'll learn it) "well, you'll make us look bad since you won't pass" (I took it anyway and I got a 5, you motherfuckers)
-gave me bad recommendations for secular schools and good recommendations for christian colleges that cost a lot more than Big 10 out of state tuition.

Pfht and they're spouting fire and brimstone at me when a good missionary kid got knocked up her sophomore year in college (and her daddy's a pastor - no abortion for you).
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 14 2002,20:15
bozeman, do you just glaze over and pass out whenever you try to read my posts?
Posted by Wiley on Jun. 14 2002,20:25
Quote (Nikita @ 14 June 2002,09:44)
Pfht and they're spouting fire and brimstone at me when a good missionary kid got knocked up her sophomore year in college

Catholic school chicks rule!!  Except my lesbian ex who was one  ...but then again she was pretty kinky.

Anyway, I went to a large public school that didn't really teach me anything.  I ditched most of my junior year and was almost kept from graduating until my parents sued the school and forced them to graduate me.  (argh ...damn sue happy parents) So I guess it sucked as a place of education.  There is much reform that is needed in schools.  Mostly they need to teach teachers how to teach kids and not just hurl facts and figures at them.  Maybe we should lower the pay teachers make and force them compete for grant money.  Whadda you think?
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 14 2002,21:29
ew wiley that is just as lame as the girl who failed her senior english class, threatened to sue, and got to retake the exam she failed 5 hours before she graduated. she had many chances to do extra credit and make up tests, but she didn't, and now she got away with graduating when she shouldn't have. other students who failed had to take summer classes, but because she and her parents had no concept of personal responsibility, she passed.

and i did no work whatsoever at my high school and still graduated at the top of my class. probably because about half of my graduating class, which was about half of the total class, was illiterate.
Posted by Wiley on Jun. 14 2002,21:53
I woulda let me fail  ...there's no way I would sue the school because my kid was irresposible.  I missed an entire year of english  ...never went to class ..never.  That really just cements my view that it's not what you do  ...but who you know that gets you through life.
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 15 2002,05:06
that is only true in the entertainment buisness and possibly a few select others.
Posted by Bozeman on Jun. 15 2002,05:22
Quote (CatKnight @ 14 June 2002,16:15)
bozeman, do you just glaze over and pass out whenever you try to read my posts?

No, I just don't understand them because you don't really explain things satisfactorally.

I expected better from you Catknight.  Such a lame and ineffective flame...  What is Detnet coming to?
Posted by TheTaxMan on Jun. 15 2002,05:50
All you have to do is look at the posting over the past couple of days and it's fairly obvious...
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 15 2002,06:35
Quote
this is in your personal opinion, do you think you got a quality education or not.


how hard was this to understand? use your judgement for moses sake.

oh wait, I forgot, judging things forces catknight's morals on you and is evil and republican. on second thought, don't use your own judgement.
Posted by Beldurin on Jun. 15 2002,06:36
Quote (CatKnight @ 15 June 2002,00:35)
judging things forces catknight's morals on you and is evil and republican. on second thought, don't use your own judgement.

It's about damn time you figured that out!  It's what we've been trying to tell you for months!  :p
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 15 2002,07:54
u fool
Posted by Bozeman on Jun. 15 2002,13:42
Quote (Bozeman @ 14 June 2002,01:10)
I voted for large/public/good.

I used my own judgement, when I voted.  I was curious about YOU, that's all.  Are you sure you don't space out when you read MY posts?
Posted by CatKnight on Jun. 15 2002,20:52
you asked me what my definition of a good education was, not what my experience was. since I had given the definition two posts earlier, I concluded that you were an idiot.

I stand by my conclusion.
Posted by Bozeman on Jun. 16 2002,03:38
Quote (Bozeman @ 14 June 2002,01:10)
Tell me, Catknight, what is your definiton of a "good" education?

Your first post in this thread is a quote from Demonk, the second is a clarification, third is the lamest flame ever, fourth is an anecdote, fifth is a quip, sitxth was your clear misunderstanding of my intentions, seventh just says "u fool," and the post above this one says you already gave me the definition.  I conclude, therefore, that you are an idiot, because you claim to have given a definition "two posts earlier," but no definition of what you think is good is present in this thread.  If you meant something in a DIFFERENT thread, then you should have quoted, copy & pasted, or linked to it to clarify.
Posted by BigBear on Jun. 25 2002,07:16
Yeah, I go to a small private baptist school, about 360 something in K-12, there were 22 in my junior class last year.

GOOD
Actually taught grammer ::gasp::
familiar atmosphere

BAD
VERY small dating pool. In fact a few of you in here have seen my posts in other forums about my experiences with them. Everyone was tied to everyone, so I got pissed at one person and I had to seclude myself from EVERYONE and spend my lunches in the band room with a few band nerds because I was so friggin pissed at how subversive and immature people are in that school. In a Baptist school, people are taught to edify one another, so they can't talk about people openly or confront them, they have to talk about them behind their backs. Not to mention that baptists are everyday people who talk really fancy. More screwed up shit happened in that school than in public schools. The whole place was a mess, I spent two god damned years there and I'm leaving and never coming back. Never subject your children to parochial school education. Never. I can't help but thinking like that school has somehow made myself a disfunctional member of society. I mean just look at me, I have spent the last two years learning VB5, Javascript, PHP, Perl, Flash Actionscript [/XML], and Apache webservers just because it was the only time I could escape the shit that went on at that school. There wasn't a single crowd I could hang out with that wasn't involved in some way. Never, never, never put your children through that.
Posted by BigBear on Jun. 25 2002,07:20
One more thing, I second everything Beldurin said in his good/bad post. I have been to public schools, public uniform schools, and private schools. I liked public the best. It may be rougher, it may be full of things you don't want your children exposed to, but at least they can be functional members of society and find friends of true value who don't stab you in the back and ditch you.
Posted by Forum Whore on Jun. 25 2002,07:37
What is it like in Jesuit schools??
Posted by BigBear on Jun. 25 2002,17:20
wtf? Jesuit schools? Well if that was some attack on religious education, then I missed it. Religious schools do have their good points, but for the most part, they are full of nothing but whiny stuck up biatches. No lie. Yes, the missionary and pastor kids are DEFINATELY favored. They have this Christian Honor Society and the only people who get in are those that suck up because they won't let you in unless they think you are "saved".... guess who that is. That's right: missionary, pastor, and goodie goodie kids. Even if you met the 95 average, they won't let you in if they don't like you. Damn biased mother fuckers.
As for what life is like inside one, yes they preach at you non stop. Which is why I swear all the kids in that school don't listen anymore, they've learned to tune out the constant bitching. Bible class first thing in the morning, chapel on wednesdays, and any time a special event is held [sports baquet, band banquet, god damn, they even did it at the junior-senior banquet] they have a guest preacher. Most of the kids just pass notes to pass the time. Kids in religious schools aren't much different than public school kids, given a few differences. They dress fancy, they pretend to be someone, and when they talk about sex and drugs etc they do so under their breath. Shoot sex was our favorite lunch topic, we were constantly making sick jokes or laughing about it, and there were two girls at our table who were just as bad! We were quite frequently attracting attention with our hysterical laughter. My friends and I got on the subject one time of why we were even in this school, and we came to the unanimous conclusion it was for one of two reasons: 1) Our parents were missionaries or pastors or 2) Our parents were wild and crazy kids and tried to prevent us from doing the same stuff they did. Yes, I hung out with all the bad kids, I finished the year with 75 demerits [you get expelled at 100].
On the subject of people, they are all subversive rumorous bitches. Most of thier parents make alot of money, so they are generally bigger elitists than kids in public schools. I did enjoy the small atmosphere which made it a very comfortable school, but the shit that went on was unbearable. Is it apparent that I hate that school? Ok then, maybe I should have started a new thread under rants. Oh well, at least an informative opinion can be reached by the expressions of someone who's been there and knows what it's like on the outside as well.
Posted by Nikita on Jun. 25 2002,23:37
Pfht fuck demerits, someone in my school got expelled when he was caught smoking 1 lousy cigarette.  ONE.

Damn crazy baptist based school.  I swear that they get some sick kick out of dunking someone in the water ... they probably have drowning-murder fantasies or something.

Also, there were 2nd graders putting down "The Bible" as their favorite book.  I don't know if they have any brain left or if they're just kissing tight spinchtered missionary ass.  I'm glad that I didn't get lost in all that brainwashing.

Ok not all of em are bad ... but the vast majority is overwhelmingly scary ...
Posted by Necromancer on Jun. 26 2002,03:39
didn't want to start a whole new topic as it doesnt really affect americans. but over the last 2 year smy opinion of the british school educational system has radically changed. in short it sucks!

they have target settings at fucking nursery school with homework and shit. i never got set homework until the year before secondary school and even then that was seen as a radical change.

due to the government allowing public reports of a schools progress schools have been forced to increase the workload to try and compensate and get better grades. in an average 2 year a-level you will take about 50 exams. when i did my a-levels i took about 10 official and 5-8 mocks.

students are getting so much compulsory coursework that they have to stay up until 1-2am doing solid work. its got to the point where its not even possible to do all the work in the allotted time and parents are having to do the work for them. and this branches all the way up the educational ladder.

.....well at least it aint as fucked as the american educational system (just had to put that one in there)

fucking labour party.
Posted by Necromancer on Jun. 26 2002,03:44
oh and private schools suck cos they simply have the higher priced teachers who can teach better.

basically if you're rich enough you get the best education. thats not how it should be. although my school was one of the top 5% of "public" schools so i got lucky.
Posted by BigBear on Jun. 28 2002,00:39
HAHA they certainly aren't high priced in our school. The average teacher made $800 a month. Many of them had wives who worked at the school as well to make ends meet and lived in the worst parts of town. Still they were damn good teachers. My english teacher caught me up with 5 years of grammer in two. They taught there for "service of the lord" and crap. The school was really nice looking because they shared much of the same resources [school building, equipment, etc] with the church. It certainly wasn't a rich prep school, probably the individual attention is the only thing that makes it a better education.

Oh yeah, there were alot of suckups who listed crap like the bible as their favorite book just because that's what people expected them to do too.
Posted by Bozeman on Jun. 28 2002,00:46
Quote (Necromancer @ 25 June 2002,23:44)
basically if you're rich enough you get the best education. thats not how it should be.

Exactly.
Posted by waltre on Jul. 01 2002,20:47
I was forced through 2 years of private school, most of which I stayed home instead and smoked pot, i failed most of my subjects.

After first semester of public school i had my very first A. I  finally convinced my parents that sometimes it doesnt matter how disciplined and holy your kids are, if they are miserable then something has to give. This is something all 'pro private' parents should give some thought about. But I undersand why some may believe in the private approach.
Posted by humanoid on Jul. 03 2002,11:33
IMO private schools are meant for rich parents to have a feeling of security for there children, since they pay so much they most likely think it much more safe than a public school.

of course that's just my opinion.

::edit::
i went to a small public school and enjoyed it very much


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