Public vs Private & Academics

[MPHSTIGERS87]

Ever think that God might want a kid to go to a particular school?

 

You bet your bottom dollar I do. I just dont think he wants my kids to go to a private. LOL.

[psychomom24]

Excellent point! Conclusion: parental involvement is a key to educational success. Does that also hold true for athletic success? Just wondering...

Absolutely! Someone has to get the kids to practices and summer workouts at 7am, buy the athletic equipment not provided by the team, pay for camp, etc. Some kids might be a good athlete, but unmotivated. These kids need a little push from the parents. And of course, without the parents who [/u]really care (i.e., booster club, concession stand workers, etc.) there wouldn't even be any athletics.

[Morton]

I have no doubt that if I lived in Davidson County...my kids would have gone to a private school. I totally agree with your reasoning.

 

The sad truth though is...no school today is immune from a lot of the things you mentioned. School shootings can happen anywhere. I think the one in Paducah Ky. (Heath High) proves that. It's a very small school in rural West Paducah.

 

We do know what we have in our rural schools in this state. I am glad my kids got to attend one. We are very lucky here. Great school with great facilities. It's like most schools. A quality education is there if you want it. We have a lot of graduates that have done very well after their days here. I think the days of the small community public school in urban areas is a thing of the past. That really is a shame.

 

As for borrowing the money to pay for a private school...that was your choice. You could have lived in a rural area...and commuted. We have people (living in Smith County) commuting to Nashville and beyond every day. There are many good rural communities within commuting distance of any urban area.

 

I agree with you 100% that there is no guarantee. A kid could become violent in the supposed 'safe' environment I've paid for. I was fortunate enough to have the means to 'buy' the small school and involved parents. It was a choice, an expensive choice. Even if you live in the 'city.' it does not mean you do not have a 45 minute commute - as I have every day (sadly). I could not commute further when my child was little, because I could not get to day-care before 6:00/6:30, and no extended day program goes past 5:30. Trust me...I wanted to go rural!!

 

I really appreciate your acknowledging the dilemma. It sounds like you understand the pitfalls of the urban school system

 

This was meant as food for thought for all of us about the state of public education in this state. I stand by my plea... vote to return schools to the neighborhoods!!!! All of us (after the taxes we pay) should be able to send our kid to the neighborhood school, and feel like they will be safe (mentally and physically). Oh... and participate in athletics for that neighborhood school

Edited January 25, 2007 by Morton

[Antwan]

I agree with you 100% that there is no guarantee. A kid could become violent in the supposed 'safe' environment I've paid for. I was fortunate enough to have the means to 'buy' the small school and involved parents. It was a choice, an expensive choice. Even if you live in the 'city.' it does not mean you do not have a 45 minute commute - as I have every day (sadly). I could not commute further when my child was little, because I could not get to day-care before 6:00/6:30, and no extended day program goes past 5:30. Trust me...I wanted to go rural!!

 

I really appreciate your acknowledging the dilemma. It sounds like you understand the pitfalls of the urban school system

 

This was meant as food for thought for all of us about the state of public education in this state. I stand by my plea... vote to return schools to the neighborhoods!!!! All of us (after the taxes we pay) should be able to send our kid to the neighborhood school, and feel like they will be safe (mentally and physically). Oh... and participate in athletics for that neighborhood school

 

Yeah...I wish that were the case...but you know...as well as I do...it is not going to happen. Small private schools are the closest thing to neighborhood schools in urban areas. I will acknowledge that. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[observations]

Great post. I am one of those lucky ones who live in a rural community and am not forced to send my kid to a large public school. However I attend a large high school in a different state and I learned some valuable lessons on how to deal with certain situations that I wouldnt have recieved in a private or rural school. There are pros and cons to all things, and not all large schools are bad. Risk is everywhere, even in small schools. Look at Richland, a small rural barely 2A school had one of the first ever shootings. There is a private christain school near here where several kids in high school were caught drining alcohol under age. Nowhwere is excactly safe and kids have tough choices to make today in any size school. If you trust God and believe he has a purpose, you shouldn't feel fear to send your kid to any school.

I am not quite sure of your theology. Trusting God and not using your brain seems to be a conflict for you. The poster and what they posted has nothing to do with trusting God. They simply are using their God-Given ability to make decisions, (free-will) to do the best thing possible for their children and that was in their situation to send them to a private school. There are other reasons that people send their children to private schools that have not even been mentioned here. These reasons have nothing to do with sports at all. Some people send their children to private schools because that is what they believe is the right thing to do. Just like you state that your children aren't supposed to go to a private school, other people believe their children are supposed to go to a private school. For some people it is a faith decision to educate their children in their church schools. They want to ensure that the total child is being educated, morally, socially, academics, everything. For some, this is the private school setting. For myself and my children, this was the choice. I don't have a high paying job, and have struggled the whole way, but it is worth it to me. The results for my children have been nothing short of amazing. I would do it over again in a heartbeat. One other thing, posters keep saying that private school children may not be as prepared to go into the world, I totally disagree with that statement and have seen no evidence of that at all with my own children or other people's. A previous poster posted that the reason for rural private schools is the busing issue etc. That may or may not be true. But I can tell you that Catholic schools have been around for hundreds of years and their goal is to educate and teach to make good solid citizens period. There were Catholic schools before there was a bus invented. So when you link private schools into one big basket, you are giving a tunnel vision explanation that falls far short of fully explaining a complex and massive issue. What I find most interesting is that sports of all things could promote some of the comments that have been made about private schools and for that matter public schools too. As always, whether it is private or public school students, the parents of both have the primary responsibility of showing their kids how to live, how to act, how to study, and the importance of doing your best in any situation. Any school anywhere and how they achieve is directly related to the people who attend there and more importantly their parents and what they demand of that school for their children. Sad to say, there are great gaps in the demands of parents, some could care less, some care a great deal. As for sports, in order for a child to be successful IMO, the parents have to be heavily involved with the child almost year round. In other words, if a parent does this, they don't have much of a personal life. So what, we are talking about our children and sacrifices have to be made to garner success. If I had a dollar for every gym I have sat in, AAU, high school etc, I could retire tomorrow. But so what, that was for my children and I would do it all over again. One last thing, the previous poster has to trust a little or they would not even send their children out the front door. And when we do send them out, we all worry about them. If you don't worry, then you need to re-evaluate your notion of this world which is full of pit-falls and danger. And finally, if everybody could get to the raw truth, we all want the best for our children. As to how that is achieved is one of the greatest gifts from the almighty, free choice. The best of everything to all the children and the special people that try their best to raise them.

[MPHSTIGERS87]

I am not quite sure of your theology. Trusting God and not using your brain seems to be a conflict for you. The poster and what they posted has nothing to do with trusting God. They simply are using their God-Given ability to make decisions, (free-will) to do the best thing possible for their children and that was in their situation to send them to a private school.

 

Wow I make a comment about people making a different choice than a private school and 'trusting God" is an issue. Look send your kids to a private school I'm happy for ya. As for me, mine will never step foot in one. Not because of a religious thing, because I love the public school system here and have watched several children go to succeed in great careers. It doesnt take a private school to achieve that. I have a strong Christian home and my family and I attend church 3 times a week (I know that doesnt save ya) we are active in our church and we all believe Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Then we were all baptized. I know if something happens tomorrow to me or my family, I know where we will go. Saying that, my kids will still attend public school, get a great education, learn valuable life lessons, and go on to succeed greatly. All without the help of a private school.

Edited January 29, 2007 by MPHSTIGERS87

[observations]

Wow I make a comment about people making a different choice than a private school and 'trusting God" is an issue. Look send your kids to a private school I'm happy for ya. As for me, mine will never step foot in one. Not because of a religious thing, because I love the public school system here and have watched several children go to succeed in great careers. It doesnt take a private school to achieve that. I have a strong Christian home and my family and I attend church 3 times a week (I know that doesnt save ya) we are active in our church and we all believe Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Then we were all baptized. I know if something happens tomoorow to me or my family, I know where we will go. saying that my kids will still attend public school, get a great education, learn valuable life lessons, and go on to succeed greatly. All without the help of a private school.

That may be true, but the same for mine with going to a private school. So if you are going to argue about sports, keep it to sports only, because the reasons for children attending private schools are as numerous as stars in the sky. And private schools are not all the same, not by a long shot, either of purpose or reason of existence. I'm glad the public school system is good where you are located. But even if it were where I am, I still would send my kids where they are attending, for different reasons. I would hope you will allow people to follow their own consciences without being second-guessed by others who may not fully understand. I still say the parents are what make the difference in any kind of school, so you must be blessed by a bunch of good parents.

[MPHSTIGERS87]

That may be true, but the same for mine with going to a private school. So if you are going to argue about sports, keep it to sports only, because the reasons for children attending private schools are as numerous as stars in the sky. And private schools are not all the same, not by a long shot, either of purpose or reason of existence. I'm glad the public school system is good where you are located. But even if it were where I am, I still would send my kids where they are attending, for different reasons. I would hope you will allow people to follow their own consciences without being second-guessed by others who may not fully understand. I still say the parents are what make the difference in any kind of school, so you must be blessed by a bunch of good parents.

 

I never told anybody not attend private schools. I just said mine would never step foot in one. As far as sports are concerned, privates have a few advantages over publics in several sports because they can draw kids from anywhere and other reasons that I have explained a million times. I do believe however that private "christian" schools have to behave a little more at sporting events because they are "christian" schools. They need be careful how they act because they are representing something much bigger than sports. Saying that, publics have no right being a bunch of idiots either.

[big red big blue]

Until public schools are returned to the neighborhoods, privates will continue to the thrive. Of course, the separation of church and state is probably the #1 reason for privates to begin with, and I won't touch that issue with a ten foot poll.... I think the parings of publics vs. privates and this on-going debate will facilitate lawmakers seeing the inherit problems with the education issues in this state (and country). Return the schools to the neighborhoods and parents WILL get involved. I'm jealous of the rurals. You have such a sense of community and great, safe schools (you don't know how lucky you are). You are neighbors with the parents and teachers. The last thing I would worry about is the ability to compete in a state championship sport... that is such a small part of the picture (IMO).

 

wow, what a great summary of the situation. It seems that metro areas, especially Nashville, fuel a lot of the public/private angst. Look at the school systems outside of Nashville--Williamson, Sumner, and Rutherford County schools all seem to be thriving precisely for the reasons you mentioned. Namely community ownership and community involvement.

 

How that translates to sports--looking back at the all of the 5A champions ('93+), 2 of those counties have produced 10 of the 14 champions:

Rutherford: 6 (Smyrna '06; Riverdale '94, '97, '01, '04; Oakland '98)

Williamson: 4 (Ravenwood '05; Brentwood '02; BA '95, '96).

 

I don't disagree that small privates have distinct advantages over comparable publics....but a lesser addressed issue (and equally valid) is the advantages that suburban publics have over comparable metro publics.

[observations]

I never told anybody not attend private schools. I just said mine would never step foot in one. As far as sports are concerned, privates have a few advantages over publics in several sports because they can draw kids from anywhere and other reasons that I have explained a million times. I do believe however that private "christian" schools have to behave a little more at sporting events because they are "christian" schools. They need be careful how they act because they are representing something much bigger than sports. Saying that, publics have no right being a bunch of idiots either.

I would go one step further, I would say that public schools are representing someone too that is equally important. A church school is just that a church school, a public school is a bunch of different churches that are being represented. I think the responsibility is equal as I think the people in both schools are. The private school my children attend draw about 80% from their particular faith, believe me sports is not number one. And we all need to act right. I believe we both have a few blessings that we are thankful for.

[MPHSTIGERS87]

I would go one step further, I would say that public schools are representing someone too that is equally important. A church school is just that a church school, a public school is a bunch of different churches that are being represented. I think the responsibility is equal as I think the people in both schools are. The private school my children attend draw about 80% from their particular faith, believe me sports is not number one. And we all need to act right. I believe we both have a few blessings that we are thankful for.

 

I totally agree. As I have stated before, I'm a dedicated christian who has kids attending public school and they better act right at sporting events. However, let me give you an example. Mt. Pleasant plays lets say Nashville Christian (these are only examples) MP gets beat and throws helmets cuses refs, parents go after officials and a huge mess is created. People will just say well thats just your southern hicks from MP coming out, they cant help it. If the roles are reversed however, Nashville Christian would be held at a higher standard beacause they are a christain school. People would say if thats what a christian school is all about I dont want my kid attending one. People would ask is that the way a christian should act? So christian schools do have more at risk when acting like idiots at a sporting event.

[JaxMan]

I think when we as private schools chose to put the word Christian in our name we are held at a higher level of expectations...it may not be fair and maybe everyone should act the same...but it is reality...JCS has a mission to always reflect Christ in all we do...like all schools we have parents, players and fans who respect our mission and do a fairly good job at living up to it...but also like all schools we have some who lose sight of our real goal and act poorly...we have yet to master how to make everyone act as we wish they would...we preach it...we talk about it...but we can't guarantee it...it is a shame when anyone at any event forgets that winning while important is not the most important thing...if we are christians at a private or public school we should let it be reflected in our actions...and even if we aren't we should at least remember it is just kids having the time of their life playing a great game and not reduce the event to an ugly situation...are Christian schools held to a higher standard...yes...but then we kind of ask for it by using the word in our name...are we perfect at it...no...never will be....our fans our human and as such often fail...

Edited January 30, 2007 by JaxMan