r.a.d. Observation

Jeez, how lame can you get? What's that old dork saying, "So funny I forgot to laugh"?

Well, that's got to be the nerdiest sig I've ever seen in Usenet.

Thanks for this post. It has proven that my initial summation of this group's mindset was dead on.

Reply to
CobraJet
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Here's a question for you. Why don't you "man up" and tell us what private school you attended?

Just because a school is private doesn't mean it's good. There are plenty of private schools that are so focused on religion that students end up less educated than those in the worst public schools.

Being at the "top of the class" in one of those schools is nothing to brag about.

Reply to
Fred G. Mackey

"Fred G. Mackey" wrote in news:otKdnSrqq8NOp9jbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

T.

N8N

students

And public schools are better? You had to have gone to one to come up with idiotic statements like yours.

Reply to
Joe

Depends on where you are. Where I live now, the public school system is reputed to be quite good.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Nice try, accounting nerd. Lame, yet transparent.

Reply to
CobraJet

In some cases, they are better than some private schools.

Reply to
Fred G. Mackey

Nate Nagel wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news3.newsguy.com:

Where might that be?

Reply to
Joe

"Fred G. Mackey" wrote in news:gNedndyrKMac19vbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Care to cite those cases?

Reply to
Joe

Falls Church, VA.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Nate Nagel wrote in news:f27vnb0cm5 @news3.newsguy.com:

Matthew

A quick look at the stats tells why it's good. The entire district is smaller than some private schools. Per pupil expenditure is substantially above the average. 75% of the student population is Caucasion. Etc.

Truly the exception rather than the rule.

Reply to
Joe

Yes public schools can be better. I went to college with a girl from Marion HS in the South Suburbs of Chicago. A "very prestigious" Catholic school.

She was at the top of her class in HS.

She was a frickin dumb shit in college.

Basic science and math skills were non existent even though she excelled in them in her "prestigious" Catholic HS.

Reply to
DTJ

There are people who are simply good at school. They don't have any skills, they don't learn anything. They know how to write papers and take tests.

Some of these people go through very good schools, very difficult schools and can come out on the top of their class. And that includes high schools and colleges. They won't have a clue about anything that was covered when they need to apply it or use it outside the setting of taking an exam. They will have no real world skills.

Then there is the opposite kind of person. One who is very good at applying knowledge, actually understands the subject matter very well but does poorly in school because he can't or won't adjust to the system of measurement used in classes.

Doing well in school is a skill in and of itself.

There is little reason to blame Marion for the lack of skills of one person. When I was a TA I found students in senior level engineering courses lacking skills I learned in the 5th grade. They had to have gotten it somewhere before they got to me, but they just did it like robots to get a good grade and no real learning occured.

Reply to
Brent P

Which just goes to show you that it's not the difference between public and private; it's small class sizes, the commitment of the tax base (or pool of parents in the case of private schools) to appropriately fund, etc.

I've got to disagree with your last statement though - not that the student body isn't predominantly Caucasian - I haven't been inside a school and don't plan on it, at least not for a few years - but I graduated from an engineering school where the graduating class in my major was maybe only 50% caucasian and the non-caucasian students certainly didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.

I think what you were trying to imply was that Falls Church wasn't an inner-city DC school district, which is true. However, the difference is economic as much if not more so than racial. School-wise, I'd rather live in a neighborhood where my neighbors make more money than I, not less :) (of course, higher-income neighbors tend to be uptight about other things, like DIY car repair etc. so there are tradeoffs.)

nate

Reply to
N8N

N8N wrote in news:1179318277.638760.278990 @u30g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

Right. My point was that Falls Church is probably a very unique area. Certainly not representative of most areas in the U.S.

I didn't mean to have that factoid stick out - I just wrote it with the 'etc.' implying that there were other statistics that should be considered.

The difference is economic and probably political and religious to a degree. Just guessing though..

Of course. But as a generality, public schools suck simply because most of them are run by the government.

Reply to
Joe

I would say that more than economics it is the result of parents who care about the quality of their children's education. Falls Church is a small affluent community but the people who live there are more active in community affairs than most places, IMO. Tie that to plenty of money and there is the reason for success. On the whole, Fairfax County, VA has a very good school system, in general, for the same reasons. Now DC is the opposite in most cases and throwing money at their problems hasn't helped much at all. The parents just don't get involved as much and if that isn't there then no amount of money will fix the problems.

In Northern Virginia each community spends about 50-55% of their annual budget on schools. Next year Fairfax will spend $2.2 billion on 164,000 students ($13,414/student). If you want to see a community throwing money at the school system then look at Arlington, Virginia. They spend well over $18,000 per student. Given all this private schools are where the best learning occurs around here. A student graduating from a good private school in this area can start as a sophomore or junior in most colleges.

Given all this I still think a parent's best bet is a private school. Not a religious zealot private school but a good moderate one. I have a nephew that went to private school for 11 years a niece that didn't who are the same age. The nephew received a MUCH better education in all respects. Their overall difference in knowledge level was huge by the time they graduated high school.

Agreed.

Reply to
Michael Johnson

Small class sizes make a great difference in individual attention for each student, but economics can make or break. My stepson went to private schools until he found out what the private schools didn't offer.... no auto shop, no wood shop, no computer programs, no work study, etc. He transfered to a public school which had 17 different computer programs, several auto shop programs, etc. Police, fire and medical explorer programs, etc.

Private schools seem to be interested in accelerated classes. My kid had so much home work that he was up late, beginning when he arrived home and breaking for dinner, doing homework. I swear, the kid never had a real childhood from the time he was about 7 until he graduated. There are many great teachers across the nation, and many who started out as great teachers with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, the Teachers Union was and I believe is, more concerned with higher pay and more time off than in the students. Add in text books written by idiots who say George Washington discovered America, and Alan Alda was an astronaut....

There are great schools systems and shoddy ones. We need to redirect priorities. I'd sure love to see kids be able to handle finances , balance their checkbook, and boil water when they graduate. Not how fast they can spend the minimum wages. Much rather they attended a prom without feeling they have to go by limo. That their parents better co-sign for a brand new car

We have good kids in this country if only they were influenced better. As it stands now, if this country ever hits really hard times, there will be a large number of lost souls who will likely either learn to prey on others, or will become prey.

Reply to
Spike

Government schools are often designed to what is best for those in power to remain in power along with those who put them there. That's all I am going to say on the matter. Instead I'll just refer to two books, now available online for free regarding how the school system has been modified over the last century and a half.

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We are pretty much there now, except right now it's more financial than physical. It's almost a constant message of screw over the other guy to get more money.

Reply to
Brent P

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