[Theaterfan101]

How were you schooled? Public, Private, Home schooled, A mix? share your experience and how good or bad you think it was.

I went to Private school from Nursery School to 6th grade, and a Private all girls school from 7-present. The only religious school was Nursery school, but that doesn't really count. It was only religious because it shared a campus with a church. The all girls was/is by far my best experience. I defiantly find Private school the most effective (esp. in my area), and without boys I find the girls to be friendlier and it is easier to concentrate in class and have open discussions. Also my current school excels not only in academics, but the arts and sports where my old school solely focused on academics and even those weren't up to the high standards my school has (but still better than local public).

Please be respectful of others experiences and opinions.

[Quique]

I went to a private Catholic elementary school (from kinder to 8th) and also a private all-guy Catholic High School.

It was great. I have very fond memories of both. Wouldn't trade it for anything, especially after working for the L.A. public school system for more than 10 years now and seeing how crappy it is in comparison.

[The Very Angry Woman]

Entirely public. Mostly uneventful. Generally free of angst and drama.

[blue wind]

i went to a presbyterian preschool. then in kindergarten thru-8th grade i went to public schools.

in 9th grade i switched to private school because of swimming. i like private school better because it's smaller, which is better personally for me, and we have a lot more freedom.

the public schools i went to are in a really good area though, so it's not like i went to an inner-city school or something. i obviously don't know from experinece....but i've heard they can be rough.

[bare24601!]

I went to public school for my first year of high school and didn't really connect. I wasn't engaged in learning or being social, so I switched schools the next year. I'm currently a junior at a really small private art high school, with only about 50 students. We have no dress code, address our teachers by first name only, and are basically a little family. The school is just one hallway, and instead of a cafeteria we have a student lounge with a bunch of couches. It is also a college preparatory school. I love the close environment, but as it is so small, everyone knows everything about each other, teachers included. It's very diverse- we have a lot of foreign students from many countries and I'm enjoying learning about their cultures. There is still drama but for the most part, I love my school. It has its ups and downs.

[Theaterfan101]

[Quique]

My elementary school had about 270 students, and my high school a little over 200.

[wicked_diva]

The preschool I went to was a co-op, but I really don't remember anything about it, except I think it was held at a community center or something, and I took ballet in the same building.

Then I went to the same public elementary from K-5, a public middle school from 6-8, and a public high school from 9-12. The middle school and high school were both the best in the district for music, which was my main focus then. In fact, in high school most of the most popular people were in band, and the football players and cheerleaders were all looked down on. The school had about 1700 students. From K-12 I lived in the same house, and all of these schools were about 5-10 mins from each other, in the Bay Area.



Now I go to OCU (Oklahoma City University), and am finishing up my sophomore year next week. I'm a BFA Acting major with a minor in technical theatre with an emphasis in costume design. And I love it sooo much. There are only about 3000 students, including grads and law students, and the majority of the people attending here are doing so for music (including vocal perf and MT), theatre, or various dance majors, so it is extrememly performer oriented. Everyone is friendly, though there is a fairly big divide between the hundreds of international students and the rest of the student body, probably because of the language barrier more than anything else. But in general, I'd say I know nearly half of the people at this school.

I am involved in a bunch of organizations (Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Psi Omega, Sigma Alpha Iota, Phi Eta Sigma, Circle-K, and come next Wednesday, Order of Omega) as well as basically living in the theatre building.

I never thought I would have wound up in Oklahoma, but I am sooo glad I'm here!

[jackissensational]

Didn't go to preschool or kindergarten, microscopic Catholic school from 1-3rd, larger Catholic school from 4-8th, currently attending a rather small Catholic high school. (The one with the prostitute principal.)

[Annie]

Public elementary school K-6. With a uniform. It was a wonderful school, I had a grand time. When I was in my last year of high school, I started volunteering there! I started an after-school drama club open to all kids who signed up and ended up with 50+!! It was insane. The school has no drama program and I had always wanted one while there, so I figured, what the hell! It was a fantastic experience that I'll never forget.

Semi-Private Alternative high school 7-11. Yeah, in Quebec, high school is grades 7 - 11. So, we finish high school a year before kids in the USA and the rest of Canada, but we have CEGEP. It was technically a "public" school, in that there were no real tuition fees, but it was accelerated school, there was a very strict uniform, and admissions were crazy. Entrance exams (several!) and personal interview. Given that I was 12 when I had to be interviewed and assessed by those crazy people, it was a little nuts. I hated it, actually, for almost the entire time. I was in the Honour Band, social justice club, Free the Children chapter, Foster Parents Plan, girls basketball team for a couple of years, and a couple of the musicals.

Public English CEGEP, which is an acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel. Now, Cegep is a program only in Quebec, that is post-high school, pre-university schooling for two or three years depending on your program. ("Pre-University" programs are 2 and are more general , geared at sending you into a more specific program in actual University afterward. "Career" programs are 3 years of a very specific sort of study designed to send you straight into the field after you graduate.) I'm currently wrapping up my third year in the Professional Theatre program at my cegep, which is actually a program that ranks third in Canada for acting training institutions. (ooh la la) Most people who graduate from it go right into acting either in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver (the big 3 in Canada for acting work) or the States. But, a university degree has always been very important to me, so I'm going to try to so so far as a Master's, hopefully. I'm off to NYU next year for undergrad Educational Theatre. I'm applying for advanced standing, and hoping for loads of it, since I have over 80 college credits from CEGEP and have done all of my basic education there too. (I'm MAJORLY keeping my fingers crossed....I seriously can't afford NYU. haha)

[Beagle On Stage]

I went to two private preschools, great experience at both. Then I went to public school kindergarten through senior year, also a great experience - very caring and competent teachers throughout, not a ton of drama. In high school, I called most teachers by their first names, though not everyone could get away with it.

[lakmé]

I went to parochial grade school (two different ones) and then a private, all-girls Catholic high school.

The Catholic part I can take or leave, but I am a major proponent of all-girls high school. MAJOR. If I ever have a daughter, I will do whatever I can to have her in an all-girls high school.

[Theaterfan101]

[shakalakababy]

Public school my whole life.
Some of it's been good, some has been bad but i wouldn't have it any other way.
I'm thoroughly against private schools.

[Holly]

Public school my whole life :]

I am in one of the top public schools in the country (we're in the top 100 or something. I forget) though, so that's a plus.

[LaurelDP]

Public school my entire life!

And I just dropped out of high school!

Whoo!

[kozafluitmusique]

Preschool - Eighth grade: Private Catholic school, had about 400 students. There were about 60 in total between the classes in grades 1-8. I had good times and bad times. Grades 5-8 were just hard on friendships and I really didn't have any friends it seemed. I'm now closer to some of my classmates in that grade than I was then. I guess it's because we all kinda grew up. We were the cougars.

9th-10th grade: Although had a fair amount of rough moments, the BEST school on the face of the planet. I loved all the friends I made there and still keep in touch with a fair amount of them. It has the reputation of a really good music/theatre departments, and it's ah. Just simply the best school for me, despite the fact I had a tough moment each school year. It was a Catholic high school, and about 800 students. I LOVE THIS SCHOOL! I will always be a cardinal (that was our mascot) at heart. I've been back to visit three times (twice over Christmas break & once over Easter break for rehearsal). Ahh. I miss my friends. It was something - I was telling my mom yesterday how at my new school it should be the same model (and says the model) as this school, and she goes, "You do need order."

11th grade-(unfortunately)12th grade: An American International school in Holland. Blahh. Don't get me wrong - it has a stronger theatre department than my old school, I like the band teacher way more, I love having choir, and some other pluses, but I just miss my old school. Some of the people I'm meeting here are amazing and I'm so glad I get to know them! I like some of my classes, but I just feel shafted entirely because this school is so much harder (I mean, seriously...I'm putting in a similar effort for each class if not more what i put in my honors classes at my old school and getting lousy results still!) and wish I could start high school all over again knowing I was going to move. I also had so many high expectations that are crushed. One of my best friends has been there for me, although he's back home. I don't think I'd be able to survive this year without his messages/seeing him when I'm in the states. I say he's the one that not only helped me survive soph year but also junior year, and the one who has taught me a lot about friendship. Oh mascot=Trojan, and about 1100 in grades K-12.

[JIJane]

I have a sister who went to an all girls high school for 2 years. She had a fantastic time but ended up leaving back to a mixed school because the learning environment did not represent how she would have to "cope" and do business in an adult working environment later on. Best to learn how to deal with boys from day 1 in your learning/achieving environment. She found the girls to be very naive and "overwhelmed" when it came to dealing with boys at school parties, sports events or academic type competitions her school organised with the partner boys' school.

Why are people against private schools here? Do let me know.

My own schooling:

Grade 1 & 2 - public elementary school in Germany (German speaking only)

Grades 3 - a British private school in Malaysia (English speaking only)

Grades 4-8 - An American International private school in Malaysia (English speaking only)

Grades 9-11 - A German public school in Germany (German speaking only)

Grades 12-13 (in Germany you have 13 grades, which means one more grade than the UK, the US, etc and don't ask my why, no idea) - German private school in London, UK (German and English speaking, so bilingual schooling)

From my experience I can say that the best schools (generally) in the world are private international schools. Not all are great but if you hit a good one then you will benefit from it for the rest of your life. And not just the multi-lingual factor.

[Xxmcfly85xX]

Small private Catholic school for my entire schooling life. Primary school was pretty average, but my secondary schooling has been really very awesome. I've known the people in my year lever since prep, and we've never been in seperate forms or anything since year 7. As cliched as it sounds, school is pretty much my second home and the people there are practically my family

[Mumsytype]

Primary school - big state mixed school in New Zealand. Brilliant.
Junior and senior school - small private girls' school in England. Brilliant.
Ontario Grade 13 - huge mixed state high school in Ontario. Mind-blowingly good.

IMHO primary age children do fine in mixed classes, so long as they're well taught the basic Three R's and how to learn.

Junior/senior school, I'd segregate, as that's when the biologically programmed differences kick in and make teaching - and learning - in a mixed-sex environment tedious. Single-sex schools can get tremendous amounts of proper teaching done when the hormone element of misrule isn't there.

Sixth Form/Grade 13 (I suppose the Yank equivalent is junior college - ages 16-1 - mixed, as most kids by then have just about enough maturity to cope with having GURLS in with boys (urk urk) and they can stop the nonsense and just get on and work.

[sopranodespair]

In preschool-8th grade I went to a private Catholic school that sucks. I was bullied. It kinda messes someone up when they've been bullied pretty much all of their childhood. Then during 8th grade I got fed up and finally transferred to a public school. I like it an I have a good amount of friends there.

[Mara]

I have been to public coed schools my whole life.

I am a strong believer in learning to deal with all types of people in life and my public school education certainly did that for me.

Here in Australia public schools are heavily underfunded while the government gives private schools heaps of money.

I made the most of my senior years and ended up with a UAI higher than most people I knew at private schools and the highest mark for music in my region. I didn't go to a performing arts school, I didn't go to an academic school. I went to your average public high school and it was the greatest decision I ever made.

All my experiences with private schools (and I've had plenty) have not been as good as my experiences with public schools. I had some good and some bad and some excellent teachers. It's the same at private schools. The difference is in the resources they have. I have been so unimpressed with the disdain with which I was treated when I spent time in private schools for excursions and other miscellaneous things. I am cultured and educated and just like any one of them, but my parents don't have the money or the desire to send me to an expensive school. I feel private schools encourage an elitism which is against the basic principles of education - that it's free and available for any one.

Private schools are slowly becoming the only way to educate your child in Australia because thats where all the money is going, and I don't think that's fair.

Re same sex education, most of the girls I know who went to an all girls school are now very immature when it comes to boys and are still struggling to deal with their new environment at university. Most girls I know were sent to a girls school to keep them away from boys. I just don't think it's really that beneficial, but that's just in my experiences.

Also, I'm not religious at all and so I would never go to a school which promoted a certain religion. I feel that public education should always be secular also to promote equality.

[LisaKitty]

For me, preschool was private, as there were no public preschool classes where I lived "back in the day".

K-12 I went to public school. However, the high school I attended was very small (650 students for four grades), in a very affluent incorporated city (meaning no one could attend who did not live within city limits), with very high academic standards and emphasis on college prep. So for all intents and purposes, it might as well have been a private school.

Undergrad was done at a state school -- GO BRUINS!!!! I started grad school at another state university in CA, but dropped out after two quarters, once I realized that I didn't really want to be a teacher after all.

[Gwen]

High Five...5 years old. Not many memories. We had stories and songs and nap time...
Kindergarden...public.
Grade School...public, then transferred in the third grade to a "new school," though really, it wasn't even built yet. We shared another school with students who already went there.
Middle School..By this time I'm in the new built school. It was crap. No gym, (we had to walk over to the YMCA through a skyway,) no sports, no languages except spanish, only two small instrumental groups, and worst of all, no theater. In that school I spent the worst years of my schooling.
High School...The lights are dim, there are virtually no windows, and it's like a prison. However, there's a great theater program, a music program, sports...I go to an inner city high school. We get a few fights now and then..."3 fights per day" as one kid wrote upon visiting, feeling the need to exaggerate...
and I'm leaving high school!! On to college! WOOT! I'm so happy to be going.

[Theaterfan101]

[LadyOfTheLake]

Public school all my life.

The high school (Grades 9-12) I currently attend has 2,095 students currently enrolled. Entirely too many, in my opinion.

[shakalakababy]

[Cake_in_Song]

All public, including my current University (in Canada, there's really only a couple private Universities, and they're religious). I don't want to offend anyone, but I'm very against private schooling, as a socialist. It's unfair. Not only are less priveledged students denied access to these schools, but it fudges overall figures, as private schools can choose to accept only excellent students. Public schools must accept everyone, and attempt to cater to the needs of people with learning disablities. For some reason, it seems disgusting to me that the people who are getting the expensive education are not the ones who need the most resources. A rich WASP with a high IQ doesn't need resources. They can function in large classes and have their own computers and books. Less priviledged students might need computers or hot lunches, and children with learning disablities need smaller classes and more support workers. And yet, the first group is getting the expensive school, and the second and third are getting shoved into schools that can't even afford to patch up broken windows. What's wrong with that picture?

[Theaterfan101]

[Cake_in_Song]

^Read my post. It may not be strictly about financial bracket, but I'm inclined to think it's much more complicated than a simple "here's a scholarship if you're bright or talented" situation. A person who lives in poverty may not appear to be a high achiever initially. Things like poor nutrition and a troubled home life can affect grades. And, like I said, the kids that are too "difficult" and therefore not accepted by private schools need funding far more than bright, middle-class or well-off students.


And this is me speaking as a bright student who spent most of her life in the suburbs with a picture-perfect family. Academically, public school was a flipping breeze for me.

[sopranodespair]

[quote="shakalakababy"]

. I also think private schools make things wayy too sheltered. [quote]

Ditto to that. When I went to private school, it had like a graduating class of 16 and almost everyone there was Catholic and knew each other since they were 3. And there are only two black kids in the whole high school and a few Indian kids. Almost everyone is white. My sister still goes to that school and I'm worried about how she's going to react when she goes off to college and discovers that everyone's not the same.

[Theaterfan101]

what I've found interesting is that both shakalakababy and Cake_in_Song attended only public school and our against private, and I've only attended private, there fore am clearly for it. Not discrediting what either of you have said, but I would be interested to hear what some one who attended both types of schooling feels. I think that the 3 of us may be too biased. Once again, I'm not saying you our wrong just because you never went to private school. I'm one sided my self.

Also Cake_in_Song you have said public school was a breeze to get through. I personally thing that school should have some what of a challenge at my private school, but I may have had an easier time at a public. Though my best friend goes to public school and he is like a million times better at math that me so...but i'm better at history by that much.

[shakalakababy]

[mastachen]

I was in a Lutheran private school from K-8, then public high school and now I'm at a public university.

I highly regret going to a private school. I think it has stunted my social and academic growth. I entered high school thinking that I received a better education than everyone else, because that was what I was told my entire life. But once I got to high school, I realized I was a year behind everyone else. Also, I had no friends going into high school because most of my private school friends went to private high schools. It was a huge adjustment for me, learning to make friends with a class of 600 people, which is larger than my entire K-8 school. If I ever have kids, they're going through the country's public school system for sure.

[Cake_in_Song]

Of course I'm biased. I'm a socialist. I don't generally approve of private businesses, especially for essential services like education. But I am speaking as a person with a foot in two very different worlds. Half of me knows what it's like to be raised by a middle-class family, with a sheltered, pleasant life, and a natural gift for academic success. It was never a worry for me if I was going to get a meal or pass a test. But the other half of me knows what it's like to have different needs from the majority of society. I see my doctor for free through my school, and really all she does is give me pills and monitor the side effects. All the really good doctors who offer proper treatment are off charging a million bucks an hour for it. American schools seem to me to be similair, with the really talented teachers going to private schools, leaving the impoverished and troubled kids with the teachers who are tired, jaded, and can't get a better job. How is that supposed to help them?

[sopranodespair]

[shakalakababy]

there are great teachers in public schools ( i thought they got paid more in public schools but i could be totally wrong) i don't think the quality of teachers differs between the two, except the bad teachers in private schools probably get kicked out quicker

[Elphaba22]

I've been going to private school my whole life, but agree that there are pros and cons in both directions.
I actually go to boarding school and have been going since I was 12. It's a weird thing, I felt from the beginning, but now I don't even remember what it was like to be a day student, which is an experience I feel like I've missed out on. Not to say that I don't appreciate the wonderful arts program and theater classes that my school offers. Just I have truly not had some of the experiences I would've had going to public school.
I'm really glad I met my roomate. I love her so much, like I look to my right from where I'm sitting and theres quotes on the wall by Nietzsche, Tolstoy, James Joyce, Joanna Newsom, Poe, and Whitman written on magazine pages and right above that is a comic strip we drew together of a bunny who sucks peoples blood. She loves comic books and dressing up in costumes.
And she's an amazing playwright and one of the smartest and most caring people i've ever met. However, she's not an awesome student because she spends all her time reading things not for school and writing plays and short stories. She truly has taught me a ton, reading aloud to me from the Harry Potter books (while doing all the characters voices) and The Little Prince, and ranting to me about the state of the world. She cares so much and she really has taught me how living feels and what REALLY matters, as cliche as that sounds. I'm so glad I met her. I feel like everyone meets people that really have a strong effect on them in high school, at any school they attend public or private.

[Theaterfan101]

Once again I'm going to baisely(yes I know that is not a word) disagree. Every one at my school gets into multiple colleges and universities of their choice. Not all students from public schools go to college or end up at lower quality ones or the community college. Also I'm going to agree. All 10 years I've been taking French at school. I learned in Kindergarten (bon jour auvoir, and some colors) last year (Excellent teacher) and some this year which is a surprise. 7th grade comprised of drawing elephants and writing a story about it, and in 4th grade we were one text book short so guess who was the lucky pupil that didn't get one? I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to get a good education in French, esp since my school is phasing out French to make room for Mandarin, they aren't really concentrated on how well our teacher is teaching. We have however learned tons of culture, by watching movies made in different time periods and reading magazines. Besides French though (and music, but I just don't like music) the rest of my teachers have been wonderful. Because of the small classes they get to know you on a personal level and are able to help work around your needs. Most every substitute tells us that they prefer subbing at our school then the public ones because we respect them and actually get work done.

[mastachen]

[lakmé]

I am of the opinion that the majority of girls learn better when they are in an environment that is not dominated by boys and men. Men and women learn differently and use language differently...and that is definitely true in high school.

I think it is excellent for girls to be put in an environment where they have no choice but to be the best. When I was in grade school, I was mocked incessantly for being smart by boys (who I guess I emasculated by being better at school then they were). When I got to high school, the girls HAD to be the smartest because there were no boys. I know I was way more confident in my intelligence and way more articulate by the time I went to college--and I have no doubt that had a LOT to do with the all-girls high school experience.

I think that the social dynamic was aided by the prevalence of single-sex schools in the St. Louis area. There are at least 11, possibly more...so we always had guys to hang out with socially. That provided plenty of opportunities for spazzy girliness about boys on the weekends--but it didn't bleed over into the classroom much at all.

OH. And I should also note it took till my senior year of college to appreciate fully my all-girls high school education.

[Beagle On Stage]

[Nudelkopf]

Lutheran daycare, kindergarten and preschool.
Public primary school (Year 1 to 7)
Public college (Year 8 to 12)

Loved it Public all the way!
Most Australian high schools have ridiculous uniforms, but mine was so relaxed. Not quite as relaxed as I think US schools are, but very relaxed for Australia. Haha. Good ol' Outback Queensland.. Once had a kid ride his horse around the Cross Country track

[Mara]

Re the comment about drugs and burning down the school.

Yes, maybe public schools have more of that.

But did you ever think to consider that this is because all the "good" children are being sent to private schools, and disrupting the balance? I went to a middle of the road public school. We had discipline problems, yes, but we also had an equal amount of well-behaved, bright, considerate and caring pupils.

The most expensive private school in my area also has the biggest drug problem.

[kozafluitmusique]

Speaking of Pepperdine (sp?) I know someone who's going there next year and she's from a private school. ..go figure.

I think it all depends on the area one lives. There are some areas that the private schools are better than the public schools. For someone that was in Catholic school all her life until moving to Europe, my area is one of the top areas in the country for education. The reason I wanted to go to a Catholic school for high school was because of the Religion component, and because my parents wanted me. I also believed I'd be better prepared for college, and I still think that although here I don't feel that way (because I'm thrown into the fact that they have to do some IB-prep stuff, even if you're not doing IB). My American international school in Europe, for crying out loud, compares themselves (subtly) to the public school district from where I from and want to be like them to some extent, apparently, for academically. So what that area has the top school in the country? It's a private school trying compare to a public school that is top notch. You can't have that when you have kids coming from all over the world.

I know people here from a variety of public schools in the U.S. Some find this school that I'm going to ridiculously harder than their old school...and how when they go back to their old schools (if they do) they'll be a super genius. Some also know that they're getting a better education here than if they stayed at their school. I feel I'm getting about the same educational value, just more intensive in work load.

However, you still have the people who think my school isn't intense at all.
Go figure.

To sum it up, it all depends on the area and where you live how each school is.

[Beagle On Stage]

[Nudelkopf]

Gossip Girl, anyone?

[Beagle On Stage]

What, is it a private school on "Gossip Girl"? I've never watched it.

[Nudelkopf]

[sopranodespair]

On the topic of same-sex schools:
I actually wouldn't mind going to an all-girls school. I think I might actually feel more comfortable if I was in one.

[Nudelkopf]

I think I'd get more distracted at an all girls school

[Quique]

Wow, private schools suck in your areas, lol. My private schools were fantastic; great teachers, no drug problems whatsoever, very few discipline problems, intimiate atmosphere, just great. Like Lakmé, I can take or leave the religious aspect of it, but everything else was priceless. It also took me a few years to really appreciate my time spent there.

[Beagle On Stage]

A few years ago, though. I don't know how your old schools are still doing, but remember that my mother has seen them steadily go to hell just in the last ten years or so.

[qpidsangel]

My sister is a teacher and her first job was a teaching at a private religious school teaching 4&5 grade with 10 people in her class. She was paid significally less than if she had taught in a public school and her comparison after she finally moved to a public school, the children were MUCH brattier at the private school.

Not to say that there are not good private schools because that would be ignorant.

Though primarily I am against private schools because in each of our countries the government provides us with a "free" education, this should be the best education you can get, we shouldn't be looking at opening private schools because we feel the public schools don't offer a good enough education, we should be looking at ways to give a better education with public school.

That probably makes no sense to anyway, I'm having trouble articulating lol.

[lakmé]

I'm still in contact with plenty of kids who are at a variety of private high schools in St. Louis, as well as with plenty of kids who are at a variety of public high schools. There's not a whole lot of difference from when I was there--and keep in mind, I graduated from high school 6 years ago, so we're not exactly talking ancient history here.

Depending on where you go, some of the public school kids are way better off than private school kids. It's so expensive to live in some of the best school districts in this area, that the vast majority of their students come from the wealthiest families.

I think it's generally impossible to make gross generalizations about schools in areas with which you are unfamiliar.

[Beagle On Stage]

I've been very clear this whole time that I'm just making a comparison based on my considerable experience with both sides.

[lakmé]

Your particular experience comes from your particular part of the world. You don't go to school where I went to school or where Quique went to school, therefore you have absolutely no idea what the schools are like where we are.

The St. Louis Public schools lost their accreditation in 2007. Growing up in this school district was why my family opted for private schools, and my experience there was primarily excellent, as it was for my friends who went to various other private high schools (all told, my core group of friends in HS represented 7 private, Catholic, single-sex schools).

I think it's entirely possible that people in other parts of the country would have experiences at similar schools that were completely different from mine.

[Theaterfan101]

[UniquePerspective]

Edit: Wow I'm out of it. Thought this was the random facts thread.

[Theaterfan101]

[UniquePerspective]

Yeah, sorry about that from before, completely wrong thread. Mind was out of it.

But now on the actual topic of the thread:

I went to public school for all of my life up until now in Ithaca. I didn't mind it, offered me a taste of what the real world environment is like, plus I got to meet a ton of people, although I wonder now that I got here whether the education itself wasn't that good.

[Theaterfan101]

no probs.

[mastachen]

[Theaterfan101]

[star2ballie]

I went to private pre-school (there were no public pre-schools when I was young, and I don't actually think there are any in my area even now...), and then I went to public school K-12 (I graduate this June).

I have been pleased with my schooling overall, but as it is with anything, there are good and bad sides.

Good:
-My particular HS/district has an incredible arts/performing arts program and a professional, gigandous, performing arts center.
-About a year before I entered each new building (Middle School, Jr. High, High School), new buildings were built or existing building were renovated. We have state-of-the-art everything, and I am so thankful for that.
-We have some incredible, wonderful, amazing teachers. Some of them are inspirations for me every single day.
-Our variety of classes and extracirriculars rivals any in our area. We have so many different unique things you can do/take.

Bad:
-We are ginormous. In my graduating class there is about 900, and that is without the 100 who aren't graduating for whatever reason. There is about 3, 800 total in my 4-grade school. It makes it hard to get individual attention with your guidance counselor (and we have like 10), and the administration.
-Re: administration...they bite. They are (generally) a bunch of pricks. I only actually respect like 2 of them, one of the Asst. Principals and one guy on the Board.
-There are some shit-tastic teachers. Many of them have been teaching for so so so so long (which isn't neccessarily a bad thing, I know), but they are just there to collect the paycheck, and are either apathetic about teaching, or really despise it.
-The area I live in has a definite "divide": one side of our community is upper-middle-class and generally speaking, caucasian; and then the other side is the side that has been hit harder by MI's bad economy, the poorer side, and this side includes the migrant workers who come for different seasons, and the many immigrants from Laos, Cambodia, etc. I am not speaking from a racist viewpoint because that is something I pride myself on NOT being, but from my experience, we have many gangs and gang fights at my school because the certain groups of people at my school do not (or choose not to) "mix" well together. If I had a quarter for everytime I've heard the Mexican girl in my seminar cuss out the Laotian girls that sit behind me, I would be rich. I think because of the extreme change of social classes (there really is no "middle ground") and cultures, there is a lot more tension and problems.

But I am thankful to have gone to school where I have, because I (mainly) like who I am today, and I feel that a large part of that is where I grew up and where I went to school.

I echo the sentiment that everyone's situations are different and no one can speak in blanket terms about public/private schools.

Also, Gossip Girl is my favorite show.

And, I am jealous of Lakme and I sort of wish I went to an all-girls school now.

[Nudelkopf]

[Mara]

[Quique]

My and my sis' private schools required uniform, so there were no 'dress to impress' issues at either.

[Nudelkopf]

[Quique]

At first it was odd, since we had spent 10 years (including pre-school) at the same co-ed private school. But we got over it after like, 2 days, haha.

[Mara]

[lakmé]

I was in uniform from 1st grade through graduating from high school, and I really loved it. It was SO easy. My freshman college roommate never tired of laughing at my bewilderment when I tried to get dressed in the mornings.

There was NO dressing to impress at my school, or any of the schools I had friends at. If anything, by senior year it was perhaps a contest to see who get away with the most disheveled appearance. At dances when you saw all the girls you didn't hang out with on weekends, it was always choruses of, "WOAH, you look cute! Hey, we clean up pretty good, don't we?"

I'm not saying my HS experience was idyllic. But for me and my personal development, it was the best that I could have had.

[Theaterfan101]

[Quique]

My schools had very strict dress and grooming codes, so reflecting any individuality in our appearance was quite limited. At the time, I hated it. But looking back, it probably eliminated a lot of unnecessary problems.

[Theaterfan101]

we do too, but there are just some people who never seem to get noticed. The girl i mentioned before is one. So is a senior who for some reason the administration doesn't notice if she wears jeans.

But other people...on a rainy day my fried was wearing a sweatshirt that said Paris across it. Uniform code says only solid sweatshirts allowed. She had to wear it inside out.

[Quique]

Yeah, dress code violations were not tolerated at my school. The principal once drove my sister home to change because she showed up in sneakers, lol.

[Theaterfan101]

[kozafluitmusique]

One time I actually made a comment to one of my friends here I missed uniforms.
She was like, "WHY?"

I mean, I do miss uniforms to some extent. But that's only because I LOVED my old school's uniform.

but it's nice dressing warmly for weather.