Private school v public schools, where’d you go, where you send your youngsters?

[smitho]

I went to public for the first 3 years of high school and then private for the last 3.

The main difference was the culture of the place. At the private school the expectation was that you were going to university, the question was only what for. That said, there was actually pretty strong support for people looking at a trade or other opportunities. It was more of an expectation of achievement which probably drove people to work harder.

There was a bit more respect for academic high achievers rather than the ridicule at the public school. More of a culture valuing education and academic/sporting/artistic achievement.

I initially went to quite a good public school but the attitude was really about just finishing school rather than doing well.

That’s all before you get to the massive disparity in resources, facilities, experience and qualifications of the teaching staff, and academic, sporting and artistic opportunities.

It’s an unfortunate reality that people attending private schools have a significant advantage which only reinforces the socioeconomic gap. I’m from a fairly middle class background and my parents sacrificed a lot to give me an opportunity at private school for the last few years of my education. I’m now in a profession that requires tertiary qualifications and have no doubt that if I didn’t change schools I wouldn’t be where I am.


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[Flow-Rider]

There's good public schools and then there's ordinary public schools, most of the people that I knew that had done well in public schools here in Qld back in the 90's had private after school tutors and most had no choice but to enter the workforce even after they finished high school with a good TE score. Some of them went onto Uni degrees after in their 30's and I've actually got a mate now that's finishing a degree in teaching at 50 odd after working as a sparky for many years.

 

[poita]

Melbourne high?

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nope! different state

 

[Oddjob]

nope! different state

Perth modern? If it was Perth modern you would have been surrounded by entitled douches at UWA.

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[The Reverend]

Most likely public in Melb, i went to a Catholic school and I wouldn’t put my kids through that shit. I grew up in the country, this whole private/public school debate is such a city based first world problem.. I vomit in mouth a little bit as soon as the bbq talk heads towards which fkn school.. The most successful bloke I know went a public school in the middle of bum fuck Idaho (rural nsw) and made millions..
It is what happens at home that is the most important thing in a kids education.. If the parents are dead shits, most likely little Johnny is going to be up against it...

In short I recall a report in The Economist some years ago saying exactly the same thing.
Home environment is the single greatest factor in school / academic success.

Despite this we sent ours to Private for yrs 7-12 due to the toxic reputation of the local school.

Ours did well enough at VCE but it certainly wasn't a 100% positive experience.

Doing it again I'd buy a house in a great school catchment and go public.

 

[Nambra]

In short I recall a report in The Economist some years ago saying exactly the same thing.
Home environment is the single greatest factor in school / academic success.

Despite this we sent ours to Private for yrs 7-12 due to the toxic reputation of the local school.

Ours did well enough at VCE but it certainly wasn't a 100% positive experience.

Doing it again I'd buy a house in a great school catchment and go public.

Amen to that Reverend. The quality of the teachers make a big difference too. I went to a good county public school in the 80’s and it was definitely the teachers that inspired us to do well with an expectation that we’d be going on to university. Our kids are now in a private school because the local public schools are rubbish; if we lived in the catchment of a good public school that’s where they’d be. I can’t even say the private school is that good either but the kids are established there now so it would be a difficult decision to move them elsewhere.

 

[caad9]

This is a very interesting topic and something very relevant to my current stage of life.

I went to a private school and thoroughly enjoyed my time there and still remain very close with my school friends 15 years out.
Not a big inner city private school where you are surrounded by wealth, more of a suburban private school which encompassed the full gamut of old money, blue collar and farming family.
Academically, I wasn’t interested at all. I struggled to engage with the teachers and probably was a little bit of a nuisance.

Looking back I am not sure it helped me at all, however my mum was a teacher and I’d say her help through the early years was more pivotal in allowing me to establish myself - I certainly didn’t help myself either.

Would I send my kid(s) to a private school, I am still not sure. If money is no object, then I think it’s a lot more attractive, however I think that would stem from wanting to give the kids the best chance at it, rather than actually believing it helps

 

[Freediver]

I went public and would do the same for my kids if I had any.

When I wasn't long out of high school I was staying with a mate down the coast over summer. He and his sister both went to the local private school (Essendon Grammar). His sister had a couple of her friends down there and I was chatting to them when one asked which school I went to. When I said Keilor Heights the response from one of them was eeewwww spoken with a turned up nose. Her other friend then responded "don't be like that, he can't help it if his parents are poor".

At that point I decided I would never send a kid to a school that turned out asswipes like that.
.

 

[Haakon]

My hippie parents home schooled me for secondary because the local country high school was too redneck in their view. Anyone ever considering homeschooling your kids should be slapped hard.

Massive massive disadvantage. Had to repeat year 12 myself at the local high school because I had a licence by then and could get there - parents no help. Still not enough marks for my preferred uni course so another year of a TAFE course to get credits to get it. That’s two years behind there already.

The lack of socialisation and general people skills probably knocked me back another 5 years at least (probably 10 when I factor in a dose of depression it all caused...) I reckon before I eventually (mostly) joined the dots on how stuff works out in the real world...

Wish I had a time machine to go back and tell myself to take myself to the school! But as a young teenager you buy into your parents trip, especially when living in a relatively isolated place.

They did it for what they thought were good reasons, it was pretty red neck in those days. But they should have trusted personality and applied better parenting skills to ensure I didn’t become a redneck. As I discovered when I took myself there for year 12 round 2, it was fine and made some friends I still have.

If I was to have kids, education at a school with good people would be number 1... Private or public I’d be less worried about, quality is key - however that it gauged!

 

[Oddjob]

I went public and would do the same for my kids if I had any.

When I wasn't long out of high school I was staying with a mate down the coast over summer. He and his sister both went to the local private school (Essendon Grammar). His sister had a couple of her friends down there and I was chatting to them when one asked which school I went to. When I said Keilor Heights the response from one of them was eeewwww spoken with a turned up nose. Her other friend then responded "don't be like that, he can't help it if his parents are poor".

At that point I decided I would never send a kid to a school that turned out asswipes like that.
.

Don't be too quick to tar us all with the same brush. Some of us toffs have manners.

In Sydney there are basically three groupings of private boys schools. CIS, CAS and AAGPS. The GPS schools are literally the oldest and richest in Australia. Out of the PMs: Edmund Barton, Earle Page, John Gorton, William McMahon, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison went to GPS schools.

Even within the GPS three stand out. Shore in North Sydney, Newington in Stanmore and St Ignatius in Riverview representing the anglican, uniting and catholic church.

Shore is a typical toff school. Lots of old money and not much interest in noblesse oblige. Riverview and Newington on the other hand have large bursary and indigenous student programs and make it a point to have a multicultural student body. I'm personally involved with the indigenous bursary at Newington.

I've never even heard of Essendon grammer but I've come across that bullshit attitude before. Out of myself and my friends who went to GPS schools I can confidently say they would have been appalled to hear anyone talk like that and probably would have told them to pull their head in.

If its any consolation its always the dumb pissants who act that way, they exist in all walks of life.

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[hifiandmtb]

Hey - you forgot Joe Hockey. And Tony Abbott shared the school love. They are old boys from mine hides under lounge

 

[Freediver]

Don't worry Oddjob I know not everyone from the private system is like that, the mate I was staying with and his sister are still two of the nicest people you could meet.
Interesting that you mention manners as it's something that came up in a conversation I was having last night. Somebody can have the most hateful beliefs but be polite and appear like a good person. Somebody else could be just a bit misguided and not polite and appear to be an absolute cunt.

 

[Ultra Lord]

Somebody else could be just a bit misguided and not polite and appear to be an absolute cunt.

Coughhaakoncough ahahaha

 

[Haakon]

Coughhaakoncough ahahaha

Oi! I resemble that remark...

 

[Oddjob]

Hey - you forgot Joe Hockey. And Tony Abbott shared the school love. They are old boys from mine hides under lounge

Hockey wasn't a PM. Once you include Knox, Wesley, Melbourne and Geelong Grammar thats pretty much 90% of Australian PMs went to an elite boys school. That's a bit shit. I was hoping for a bit more diversity after Gillard but we've just had three GPS boys in a row, and they've all been terrible.

Every Iggies boy I know thinks Abbot is a total tool. I imagine even some of the jesuits thought he was a bit much. He somehow combines awful political views, terrible manners and an incredibly brown nose. Apparently Sir Roden Cutler awarded Abbott a Rhodes scholarship because he 'liked the cut of his jib'. Ugh.



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[Dales Cannon]

Hockey wasn't a PM. Once you include Knox, Wesley, Melbourne and Geelong Grammar thats pretty much 90% of Australian PMs went to an elite boys school. That's a bit shit. I was hoping for a bit more diversity after Gillard but we've just had three GPS boys in a row, and they've all been terrible.

Every Iggies boy I know thinks Abbot is a total tool. I imagine even some of the jesuits thought he was a bit much. He somehow combines awful political views, terrible manners and an incredibly brown nose. Apparently Sir Roden Cutler awarded Abbott a Rhodes scholarship because he 'liked the cut of his jib'. Ugh.



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Probably a good oral student.

 

[Oddjob]

Probably a good oral student.

Its only Feb but that's the post of the year.

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[Ultra Lord]

Probably a good oral student.

slow claps

 

[Calvin27]

The poll is a bit munted. It assume you have the capacity to send a kid to private school.

 

[Kerplunk]

In short I recall a report in The Economist some years ago saying exactly the same thing.
Home environment is the single greatest factor in school / academic success.

Despite this we sent ours to Private for yrs 7-12 due to the toxic reputation of the local school.

Ours did well enough at VCE but it certainly wasn't a 100% positive experience.

Doing it again I'd buy a house in a great school catchment and go public.

Yep, the general conscience of research into the matter points to home life/parents education as the no 1 infulence. One study found a key indicator was the amount of books that were in the house..

We are lucky to be in the catchment of a great local secondary school, TER/ATAR results better than the $30k a year private school nearby.. If we zoned 200m the other way we would be in the one of the lowest social economic areas in Melb.. So private school would be the only option just like you did..