got kids? sending them to a public or private school?

[JK]

Psuedo, the Lutherans run pretty good, affordable, private schooling. That's the system I went through for both primary and secondary. Strong education without ramming the religous aspect down the kids/parent's throats.

Worth considering. Which one is in the Glenelg/Marion area? Immanuel?

Think you'll find Immanuel isn't as "gentle" with their fee's as they once were ... Awesome school by all account though.

[mypaddock]

First and foremost, the high school curriculum needs a major overhaul.
The amount of pointless crap I had shoved down my throat for five years was ridiculous!

Apart from the social perspective, I don't think I gained anything useful whilst at high school.
I have gained far more useful knowledge over the past couple of years through self education than I ever did in my 5 years at high school!

[FattyLumpkin]

Did the same type of pondering with our kids.

Was a no-brainer in primary school. Local primary school came with a fantastic reputation & proved to be fantastic. That said, a change in the principal & deputies in the last 2 years has seen the place spiral downwards. Still - I don't think I'd part with any coin to go down the private pathway in early primary school. Maybe think about a grade 5 or 7 switch, but definitely not before.

Fatty Jnr No 1 was enrolled at both a private & public school, plus had a sports scholarship dangled in front of him at a second private school. That second private school would have proved a royal pain to get to & fro, so was an easy decision. Fatty Jnr also big into music, and getting his double bass to/from school via public transport is impossible.

Between Option A & B - he wanted the one with the best music program, and that proved to be the public school. Kept the private school option open til end of Year 8, but never considered it. Doing well socially, academically, musically & in the sporting arena - so all happy. Lucky to have fallen in with a good crowd. A primary school friend of his wasn't as lucky - he's now on a dangerous pathway (either to an early demise or jail), so I guess if you ask his parents, the local public was the ruin of him.

[godoubleblues]

I also think in part it depends on the area and the child
my daughter went to public school all her life, interstate for primary and both interstate and SA for high while my son went to public for primary both interstate and SA but did all his high school here
where we were living we made the decision to send our daughter to the public high school and there were a few problems with the students there but she handled herself quite well and was quite mature, whereas when it came time to send our son there we opted for a catholic school close by as we thought there would be too many distractions etc at this particular public high school
then we ended up moving to another area after he finished year 8 and he did the rest of his high school at a public school with a better reputation

as an aside, we are not religious in any way and the kids were never baptised but the catholic school didnt careless when we enrolled our son

but anyway, everyones situation is different, you just need to work that out

[Gingernuts]

Psuedo, the Lutherans run pretty good, affordable, private schooling. That's the system I went through for both primary and secondary. Strong education without ramming the religous aspect down the kids/parent's throats.

Worth considering. Which one is in the Glenelg/Marion area? Immanuel?

Think you'll find Immanuel isn't as "gentle" with their fee's as they once were ... Awesome school by all account though.

Hmmm, yes, unfortunately you may have lucked out, the closest to you Pseudo is Immanuel which is also the most expensive/exclusive! A few primary schools in the southern area though I think, not really my patch though so I'm not really sure what's around down there.

They have a website with a directory:
http://www.lutheran.edu.au/public/schoold.aspx

[mal]

Ask parents who have transferred kids from Public to Private
and about 95% say it was a good move
PRIDE ?
Might not being able to admit it is worse or the same

I went to Private schools when Skyhooks + Sherbet were around
No probs
Still have plenty of mates from there


HOWEVER

We transferred our kid from Public to Private
Great choice
Improved attitude, makes friends easily, grades have improved significantly

We didnt have a prob with the Public School either but just below par in our opinions
We enrolled in a private middle school to guarentee a high school spot
This particular school has a waiting list for high school students

The reason we enrolled the kid Private
Was that the public high schools in our NE area have got low profile reputations

[Il Duce]

Catholic schools for my kids.

[Iron Fist]

I went to one of the cheaper "catholic" colleges as you speak of and i couldnt speak higher of it
without going to a pblic school it is hard to comment. I have had several discussions with friends of mine that attended a public school and there are many positives and negatives to both arguments.
The thing that I think you need to take into consideration is the oppurtunities that your child will get at the school and what the school has to offer. I remember students from other schools(public ones) had to come to our school just to complete some subjects that they wanted to, simply because their school didnt offer or didnt have the facilities to do such subjects.
That is what you pay the extra money for, and from my experience, the teachers for the most part are more then willing to stay back and give up there own time to help you with work aftr class or school, just to help you get the best out of ya self and in turn giving you more options for the future!!
then again, there are plenty of snotty nose jerk kids that went to the elite private schools that are just a waste of oxygen! sponging off of there parents!!

[Wedgie]

Its a good point about different systems suiting different kids. Both my kids are well behaved very smart kids with great reports but my daughter has always been very outgoing and a leader even when she was a baby, a public school is going to suit her to a tea and a private school wouldn't.
My son on the other hand is the most caring kid Ive ever met and is quite shy (unless on the footy field when he's always at the bottom of packs), I reckon a private school would probably suit my son more but then there's the upheaval of having to make new friends which would probably offset that. He's got leadership qualities in him that just need to come out (he's constantly leading groups on raids on World of Warcraft which are mainly adults and he's nine!)
Also if I had a kid who wasn't real with it I'd definately look at a private school too.

[Psyber]

I used to have the idea that a state school was fine for me and should be for anyone, but bits and pieces I've heard from others have changed my view.
My step-daughter went to a state primary school, but then went to Seymour where she was then doing year 12 when I came on the scene.

[Dirko]

My kids go/will go to a Private Catholic Primary, as it's the closest school to our house, a a lot of friends go there & the price is really good.
We are very happy with it.

As for High School 50/50 pending on what they want to do after school. Maybe Henley High or St Micks....

[SABRE]

Private schools are not private. They steal money from the public system. And it must stop.
If people want to send their precious little darlings to a 'private' school then let them pay for it.
The govt. schools need all the funds that full tax paying employees, without teams of creative
accountants can muster.

Ooooh, that feels good. Been wanting to say that for years.

I went to public schools, Fort Battle-Axe (the Mrs.) went to a so-called 'private' school.
35 years later I've got a plethora of great friends and memories, she's got 1 friend (who went
there from a public primary school) and non-stop stories of bitchiness, bullying and hurt.

For those agonising over the educational choice for their 'genetic mixtures', maybe we have the
answer. We sent our 2 miscreants through the public system and carefully monitored their
curriculum results. Instead of paying those outrageous 'private' fees, the much cheaper and
far more affective choice was to pay a private tutor for 'one on one' lessons for subjects in
which our little home wreckers fell behind. Fortunately this only happened once (Japanese).

Go to open nights and check your schools and their reputations carefully first of course.
Good luck and may your junior terrorists be more grateful for your nurturing than ours are.

[heater31]

There is no private secondary school here.
Fortuitously the local high school is virtually a private school in the standards that it sets and I will be happy to send my daughter there when the time comes.

Who is the principal there these days DW. My local Area school principal was shifted there over 10 years ago when I was in about year 5 or 6. I recall him returning from a visit to his new school and talking to my dad about some building project (new toilets or something) and he was horrified at some of the standards there. Needless to say the standard of this school slowly slipped after he left and even worse when I left to enter the private system for High school.


back on topic.

I was public for Primary and Private for High school and I am in the same boat as DW. They offered greater choice and solid career advice and by year 12 the ones that only wanted to be there and get something out of it were left and the d*ckheads had left on their own accord or asked to. Mind you this was in the country and most of us wanted to get the hell out of there for a while.

When the time comes I am still undecided what to do. I have experienced the benefits of a private system but I am dead against the metro private schools holding a gun to the family's head regarding sporting activities. If the kid is good enough for High level sports and possibly elite status let them go and be the best that they can. Don't hoard them up and keep them hidden for self gratification.

[auto]

I reckon give your kids every chance to suceed. I send my kids to private, the alternatives would have been Powerlowie, Salisbury or Parafield Gardens. Pretty much a no-brainer, tho it helps with the private school across the road.

[Mic]

I believe that most schools are fine, public or private, as long as a child has parental support (eg, shows interest in their schooling, listens to them read or helps them with their homework or personal organisation, supports teachers if their child is misbehaving instead of rescuing their child, etc). From what I have observed this will make the biggest difference in their success as a student.

No matter what type of school they attend, a student is bound to have a teacher they don't respond well to and all types of schools have their strengths and weaknesses.

From what I have heard public schools cater better for students with special needs (learning, disabilities or behaviour) but this may not be true. But the larger school fees are likely to mean that private schools have better facilities/resources.

[Hondo]

We think public for primary school as there a couple of good options nearby. We'll then re-assess for high school but I suspect we'll end up going private.

I went public all my schooling and finished year 12 and have been to university twice since so public school didn't hold me back at all. But that was 20 years ago so we'd need to update ourselves on what's happening in public schools today.

My high school was, in hindsight, rough as guts when i first arrived in year 8 but it steadily improved over the next 5 years to a standard I'd be happy to send my sons to. But, as i said, that was 20 years ago ...

[Wedgie]

I reckon give your kids every chance to suceed. I send my kids to private, the alternatives would have been Powerlowie, Salisbury or Parafield Gardens. Pretty much a no-brainer, tho it helps with the private school across the road.

If I was in your position Id do exactly the same thing (or move).

[Wedgie]

Private schools are not private. They steal money from the public system. And it must stop.
If people want to send their precious little darlings to a 'private' school then let them pay for it.
The govt. schools need all the funds that full tax paying employees, without teams of creative
accountants can muster.

Ooooh, that feels good. Been wanting to say that for years.

I went to public schools, Fort Battle-Axe (the Mrs.) went to a so-called 'private' school.
35 years later I've got a plethora of great friends and memories, she's got 1 friend (who went
there from a public primary school) and non-stop stories of bitchiness, bullying and hurt.

For those agonising over the educational choice for their 'genetic mixtures', maybe we have the
answer. We sent our 2 miscreants through the public system and carefully monitored their
curriculum results. Instead of paying those outrageous 'private' fees, the much cheaper and
far more affective choice was to pay a private tutor for 'one on one' lessons for subjects in
which our little home wreckers fell behind. Fortunately this only happened once (Japanese).

Go to open nights and check your schools and their reputations carefully first of course.
Good luck and may your junior terrorists be more grateful for your nurturing than ours are.

I disagree with your point. The funds the government put into private schools is to help take the stress off public schools.
The money they put in doesn't even come close to what they'd have to put in if thoses kids went public.
Stop the money going to private schools and they'll put fees up which will send more kids back into the public system leaving less resources for the kids currently there. If monies to private schools stopped your children would get a worse education.

[Lightning McQueen]

We sent ours to a public school for primary and private for secondary. St. Columba offer excellent alternatives after year 10 if the kids aren't academic geniuses. We're happy, the kids are happy.

[Psyber]

Private schools are not private. They steal money from the public system. And it must stop.
If people want to send their precious little darlings to a 'private' school then let them pay for it.
The govt. schools need all the funds that full tax paying employees, without teams of creative
accountants can muster.

Ooooh, that feels good. Been wanting to say that for years.

I disagree with your point. The funds the government put into private schools is to help take the stress off public schools.
The money they put in doesn't even come close to what they'd have to put in if thoses kids went public.
Stop the money going to private schools and they'll put fees up which will send more kids back into the public system leaving less resources for the kids currently there. If monies to private schools stopped your children would get a worse education.

I was about to say the same thing Wedgie.
The same applies to healthcare, the public system would collapse if nobody went private.
My line is that all people are entitled to their share of the public expenditure on education or health.
If some want to use it, topped up with their own money, to go private in schooling or healthcare then fair enough. They make room in the overstretched public systems for those who can't or won't.
I guess it also works in transport - how would our public transport system cope, and what would it cost, if everybody gave up using their cars to save money.