My Private School surprise.

[L-A]

I went to a private school, and I did see artificial grades, about a test per month. I also came out of it with much more knowledge and abilities than my public school counterparts.

In Québec, the milestones are up to the private school, but there are state-wide exams that any student, public or private, will have to take to graduate.

 

[ehque]

I'm going to tell you all some dirty little secrets about private schools. They inflate their grades. It's been going on forever. Do you think mommy and daddy are going to send their baby to an expensive private school and that school is going to fail them out?? No way. It's a business, just like every other business on this planet, there is a lot of shady and unethical behaviors going down in the name of profits.

Over here since everyone takes the same exams the private schools actually try and fail you if they think you won't make the grade. How the students do at the state exams affects how many people want to go to that school the following year, so it makes sense to winnow the chaff. In fact, i think even public schools do this to some extent.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Not to change the subject, but why is it that other nations that are not as advanced as the U.S can do so much better in Math. I have come to the conclusion that the time our kids spend on sports, xbox,etc...kids elsewhere spend it in the classroom. Now that may be a bit of a stretch, but I think you know what I am trying to say. How else can you explain it.

I also hear we are rank 18th among the 36 industrialized nations.

http://askville.amazon.com/United-S...ed-nations/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=21721726

and Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


The U.S used to be number 1! how did this happen!

LCD.

We've kept lowering standards to allow the "proper" number of students to pass every year instead of who deserve to. Schools care too much about student feelings and not enough about actually educating them.

 

[Chebass88]

LCD.

We've kept lowering standards to allow the "proper" number of students to pass every year instead of who deserve to. Schools care too much about student feelings and not enough about actually educating them.

Absolutely.

Unfortunately, math is learned by DOING PROBLEMS - end of story. Same as learning a musical skill, a gymnastic movement, or a language. At the same time, folks who write curricula are influenced by their own personal agendas, including bad experiences with DOING PROBLEMS, so they change the style of teaching, and even work social agendas into math "texts". Shifting the emphasis to "word problems" is great - it helps the student to deduce real problems into simple exercises, provided the student has a strong background in executing those exercises in the first place. Who wants to tell a student, "Yes, this is hard work, but doing this sheet of problems will pay off tremendously down the road when you want to pick a career and don't have to struggle with trivial math"?

I know this isn't necessarily along the lines of the thread, but it is all related.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Absolutely.

Unfortunately, math is learned by DOING PROBLEMS - end of story. Same as learning a musical skill, a gymnastic movement, or a language. At the same time, folks who write curricula are influenced by their own personal agendas, including bad experiences with DOING PROBLEMS, so they change the style of teaching, and even work social agendas into math "texts". Shifting the emphasis to "word problems" is great - it helps the student to deduce real problems into simple exercises, provided the student has a strong background in executing those exercises in the first place. Who wants to tell a student, "Yes, this is hard work, but doing this sheet of problems will pay off tremendously down the road when you want to pick a career and don't have to struggle with trivial math"?

I know this isn't necessarily along the lines of the thread, but it is all related.

Bingo.

I was in what could be considered a private shool, or maybe something else in HS cause I was in the IB program, and it was NOTHING out of the ordinary to come home with 35-50 trig questions as a sophomore and 40 physics problems. Toward the end of junior year and senior year the shift was toward fewer, more intricate problems, but there's no way you can do stuff like that without just having things pounded into us early in our academic career.

"Donkey work" as my math teacher called it is fundamental to success with more complicated stuff later on down the line.

 

[Pilgrim]

So I had my Daughter in private school for several years. Had to take her out do to finances. So this year my Daughter, now in the public school system is struggling with math. Well I find out that she is actually behind in it! After further investigation, we find out that the way she learned math in private school is different than in public schools, and private schools DO NOT have to meet the same standards as the public school system! I find that quite disturbing considering that amount you pay for private schooling.

Many people seem to make the assumption that private schools are better than public schools.

This assumption is often wrong, and always expensive. There are many excellent public schools in this country.

 

[MonetBass]

Here's a different take: My son is in 1st grade at a private Catholic school. Who is the school accountable to? ME AND MY WIFE. We are very involved in his nightly homework (yep, homework in 1st grade) so that we know (1) what he's learning, and (2) that he's making proper progress. We are required to sign off on various assignments.

Public or private school will both have a good mix of quality and apathetic teachers. If you get involved with your kid's schoolwork, they'll do better and get more out of their education no matter where they go.

EDIT: As long as our son is learning math essentially the same way I did, I think he'll do fine. I was taking calculus by my senior year in high school.

 

[hover]

Many people seem to make the assumption that private schools are better than public schools.

This assumption is often wrong, and always expensive. There are many excellent public schools in this country.

I appreciate that things are cool with Fire Starter & I, and I apologize again if I ruffled any feathers, was not my intention I was just curious (and a bit jerky I will admit)...that said, this was the long and short of my sentiment. It can definitely be a scary prospect.
To be honest, it was a bit of a sore subject for I, because it hit a little close to home a few years back that led to a little family strife....so I wrongly took that into this thread.

All in all, I am just glad the issue has been identified and on its way to being remedied. That's what is most important. Good on ya for caring.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Here's a different take: My son is in 1st grade at a private Catholic school. Who is the school accountable to? ME AND MY WIFE. We are very involved in his nightly homework (yep, homework in 1st grade) so that we know (1) what he's learning, and (2) that he's making proper progress. We are required to sign off on various assignments.

Public or private school will both have a good mix of quality and apathetic teachers. If you get involved with your kid's schoolwork, they'll do better and get more out of their education no matter where they go.

EDIT: As long as our son is learning math essentially the same way I did, I think he'll do fine. I was taking calculus by my senior year in high school.

If parents everywhere were as involved as you and your wife, schools and students in the States in general would be in a much better place. Kudos.

 

[basstotheface]

Bingo.

I was in what could be considered a private shool, or maybe something else in HS cause I was in the IB program, and it was NOTHING out of the ordinary to come home with 35-50 trig questions as a sophomore and 40 physics problems. Toward the end of junior year and senior year the shift was toward fewer, more intricate problems, but there's no way you can do stuff like that without just having things pounded into us early in our academic career.

"Donkey work" as my math teacher called it is fundamental to success with more complicated stuff later on down the line.

St. Pete High?

 

[sloasdaylight]

St. Pete High?

Hillsborough High.

 

[hover]

If parents everywhere were as involved as you and your wife, schools and students in the States in general would be in a much better place. Kudos.

Thing is it's a requirement for the kids in my son's class, as part of their homework completeness grade (2nd grade, serious bidness!), and some parents STILL can't be bothered.

I just signed my son's sheets.

 

[Pilgrim]

My main gripe with schools in general isn't the schools - it's what standardized testing imposes on them. It is clear that schools have no option but to spend a good part of the school year teaching students to succeed in those tests. When that's how you're judged, you have no option but to aim your curriculum that direction.

However - when I took a look at what they were "teaching to", I found that the content was relevant and useful to students...so I decided it was OK with me. My oldest daughter just graduated college Cum Laude, in the top 12% of a class of 2500+ students, with a GPA of about 3.7. My younger daughter is holding a GPA of about 3.6 while taking courses like organic chemistry. Those curricular adjustments didn't do them a disservice.

Just realize that standardized tests measure only one thing - how well students do in answering the questions on standardized tests. They don't necessarily measure learning or comprehension, they just measure how good students are at answering those test questions.

 

[aborgman]

We are very involved in his nightly homework (yep, homework in 1st grade)

This has become pretty stand IME. I currently have a kindergartner and 3rd grader in public school.

The kindergartner has homework one night a week. The 3rd grader has had homework 4 nights a week, every week, since he started 1st grade.

 

[chondro776]

you enrolled her, paid tons of money, and didn't even take due diligence to ask about their curriculum? hmm.

+1,000,000

Are you serious? You take your child out of public school and put her in private school of YOUR choice (not a problem in and of itself), and then complain as though it is someone else's fault when the standards are not what you want?

Seriously?

For that matter, what business is it of the government to lay out these standards. It SHOULD be up to each individual (or agent there of- parents) to decide what is and is not a good education. The government prints references to myths on its currency for goodness sake, and you expect them to have reasonable standards for education?

I do feel for you and your daughter, and don't mean to come across as unnecessarily harsh, but this is no body's fault but your own.

 

[fdeck]

This has become pretty stand IME. I currently have a kindergartner and 3rd grader in public school.

The kindergartner has homework one night a week. The 3rd grader has had homework 4 nights a week, every week, since he started 1st grade.

My kids bring home mountains of homework. Most of it is way beneath their level. It takes them a few minutes to finish. Last year my daughter made six dioramas, and filled in some 10 - 20 worksheets on two-column addition more than a year after she mastered that skill.

I never got a lick of homework until I was in 8th grade. Sometimes I suspect that the homework is to give the impression that school is more intense than it was when we were kids.

I'd rather let them spend the same time practicing for their music lessons, reading on their own which they love to do (they learned to read at home of course), or going outside and playing.

 

[fdeck]

My main gripe with schools in general isn't the schools - it's what standardized testing imposes on them. It is clear that schools have no option but to spend a good part of the school year teaching students to succeed in those tests. When that's how you're judged, you have no option but to aim your curriculum that direction.

However - when I took a look at what they were "teaching to", I found that the content was relevant and useful to students...so I decided it was OK with me. My oldest daughter just graduated college Cum Laude, in the top 12% of a class of 2500+ students, with a GPA of about 3.7. My younger daughter is holding a GPA of about 3.6 while taking courses like organic chemistry. Those curricular adjustments didn't do them a disservice.

Just realize that standardized tests measure only one thing - how well students do in answering the questions on standardized tests. They don't necessarily measure learning or comprehension, they just measure how good students are at answering those test questions.

I think the standardized tests are responsible for a dumbing down of the curriculum. It's better to subject my kids to endless drill work on the topics of the test, just to gain a couple more percentage points, than to let them learn more difficult subjects. Also, the standards are manipulated to make it look like the schools are improving.

 

[uethanian]

Many people seem to make the assumption that private schools are better than public schools.

This assumption is often wrong, and always expensive. There are many excellent public schools in this country.

my mom has taught 7th/8th grade math at two private catholic schools. the math classes they had were significantly behind what i did in public middle school...like by at least one year, sometimes two or three.

in these two schools i've also seen that there aren't the same incentives to get good grades. if a student fails math, they'll just drop him to lower and lower levels until he passes. if you do poorly in public middle school...well the consequences aren't good.

 

[seismic]

Anyone considering any school should ask what accreditations and certifications they hold. In the U.S., private organizations such as the Southern Association and Colleges and Schools; the Northwest Accreditation Commission; the North Central Association Commission; and others.

Many private schools are accredited and require teachers to meet the minimum State requirements for regular teacher certification. Some do not and States do not always mandate it.

The idea about hiring a tutor is a good one. Best of luck to her.

 

[Fire-Starter]

+1,000,000

Are you serious? You take your child out of public school and put her in private school of YOUR choice (not a problem in and of itself), and then complain as though it is someone else's fault when the standards are not what you want?

Seriously?

For that matter, what business is it of the government to lay out these standards. It SHOULD be up to each individual (or agent there of- parents) to decide what is and is not a good education. The government prints references to myths on its currency for goodness sake, and you expect them to have reasonable standards for education?

I do feel for you and your daughter, and don't mean to come across as unnecessarily harsh, but this is no body's fault but your own.

Where did you see any where in my post I took my child out of public school and put her in private! She has/was in Private school since day one! Please show me as I must be stuck on stupid this morning for missing that part in my post

I am not going to pick your post apart, nor justify why I feel the way I do. You are right, it's our fault this took place. We should not hold anyone accountable for anything if they don't deliver in any area. I get you

For the record, You are not coming across (to quote you) "unnecessarily harsh" You are coming across like you really did not fully read the post, and then chose to assert your assessment of the situation on some assumptions that you felt I must have made.

Finally your quote "The government prints references to myths on its currency for goodness sake, and you expect them to have reasonable standards for education?
"

I said I was not going to pick your post apart, but to answer that...in a word....Yes! or at least I did until I read your post and came to the conclusion that would be totally stupid to do so. So I repent.

Thank you for opening my eyes.

Good day.