Public vs. Charter vs. Private September 9, 2006
Posted by sdpurtill in High School, Rants.trackback
I went to the Wood vs. Elk Grove game tonight, and it was quite an experience. It was the first time in a long time that I went somewhere and only knew 5 people; I’m used to knowing everyone. As I sat in the bleachers, I forgot about everyone around me. All the drunk girls dancing, the joke of a halftime show, the people around me who dropping the f bomb every three words, the gangsters, the preps, everything.
I took a step back for a few minutes and started to think about high school. I’ve had many discussions with friends about this topic: public vs. charter vs. private. My best friend goes to private, another really good friend goes to public, and James goes to Buckingham with me. Here’s how it is:
Public school - It’s huge. People coming from so many different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, upbringings, etc… There’s always one group of girls that stick together who think they run the school. If you think/act/talk like you’re popular, you’re popular. It’s so big that no one even cares. The school counselor isn’t concerned about getting you into college. Hell, the counselors don’t even care about getting you into the right classes. Kids are in their senior years scrambling to meet college requirements because they didn’t take the right classes in previous years. I give public schools a huge plus for sports and school pride though. It’s nonexistent at Buckingham…
Charter school - It’s small. At least at Buckingham, the teachers genuinely care about their students. The problem with being small is 1) the sports suck and 2) your school is underfunded. Oh yeah, school functions such as “rallies” and “dances” really, really blow. And at Buckingham, no one parties. Quite a big difference from public school, almost the opposite.
Private school - It’s like charter school, but there’s one difference. The kids. Kids at private schools [usually] have parents with money. And usually, parents with money means family lives that are stable. These kids have it easy; they don’t have to worry about going home and your parents yelling at eachother. This makes school a lot easier, all you have to focus on is your classes and getting your homework done. Usually, private schools have decent sports because they play in leagues well below public school levels. And on a personal note, I love uniforms. I wish that charter schools would make wearing uniforms mandatory; everybody dresses the same, and when you go out, you stand out and people recognize what school you’re from. I love that, but that’s just me. I know girls hate uniforms…
If I could do it over, I would go to a huge private school. One like Saint Ignacious in SF. But for the first time in three years, I’m beginning to like Buckingham. I appreciate everything about it; the small atmosphere, the teachers who care, and knowing everybody.
I’m launching the new 1221youth.org website in a week from today, so I’ll be working like crazy until that’s finished.
About the private school section. The kids and theyre families arent always happy and have good lifes. In fact probably a majority of them have pretty jacked up lifes. The kids in the private schools have parents that either have a lot of money, or the parents want them to have a good education and change into a ‘better’ person from their previous state before going to private school. Just FYI
yea rich kids likem this might think they have it bad but really they dont know what bad is. thye just like to feel bad about themselves
Public schools really aren’t as bad as you say they are. You can succeed just as easily at a Public school as you can at a private school as long as your focused and really interested in your education. I know you talked about Buckingham having bad sports and what not. High School is not primarily about sporting events and school pride, it’s about preparing yourself for college period. Private schools are great but, they don’t do a good enough job of exposing students to diverse people and situations. Most of the time kids from private schools come to college with a good education but, no common sense about how to survive independently of their parents…A SKILL THAT IS DEFINITELY NECCESSARY FOR LIFE AS A SUCCESSFUL ADULT!
I would like to see a continuation of the topic