Would you go into debt for your childs secondary education?

[sunnyday21]

Bathsheba - completly agree with what you have said. I to am a believer in that you only get 1 opportunity especially with education. I would spend the money on my children too. Well said.

[Bathsheba]

Thanks Sunnyday and welcome to BellyBelly!

Just to add another dimension to it all: I believe in the public system and if I thought that my children could get the best possible education in the public system I would use it. Unfortunantly it's just not the case at this time. I am a Socialist at heart and there are other aspects of my life that I feel more strongly about: like using public transport. We, as a family, use the public transport system daily. The idea of going into debt to have our own private vehicle doesn't sit well with us at all. I know that we are lucky in that we have busses and trains within a blocks walk. I know that some people have no choice but to go into debt by about $20,000 to have a car. But lucky we don't. I often think that if I drove and we were a 2 car family then we then wouldn't be able to afford private education. I guess you can't have it all. For US as a family we believe that money is better spent on education than transport... but that's just us... I don't expect everyone to agree

[widdly]

wow Bath, I love you and your DH's views on life and where you put the importance on things. I have never actually thought about education quite like that. Everything you said about you and DH as kids being very bright and just having to sit there doing nothing while the rest of the class caught up, thatshow my education was and I gave up in the end and really bombed out in year 12 cause there just wasnt enough time to have one on one with a teacher to work out where I wanted my studies to take me. You have really made me think more about DS schooling, thanks heaps

[Lulu]

Hmmmm, I suppose as long as you don't "buy" into the fact that a public education is less than a private one.

I have been educated at both public and private secondary and whilst I do agree the pastoral care was better private at the end of the day it comes down to the school itself. One public secondary I went to, although at it's strength back when I went there had sadly degenerated but the time I sent my daughter. However I do blame stupid Jeff Kennett with his 'merge all the schools' attitude because it certainly didn't work with this one, they ended up going back to the original plan but it never recovered.

I ended up leaving private for public because the public sports program crapped on the private. But that was just that school in a pool of many.

I had all intentions (and investments!) sorted for DD to have a private education but over the years I gained a much better 'feel' for the private schools around the area and quite frankly I didn't like what I saw.

I'm very glad we have an excellent public school close enough to send DD, the feel, the morale the attitude to the students and teachers alike really rocked my boat.

At the end of the day I want the best education for my (rotten, ungrateful) DD and if I had to pay for it I would - just thanking my lucky stars that good public is available because she also needs thousands of $$ for orthodontic work

[Bathsheba]

Yes! Phew! My DD won't need orthodontic work thankfully! You are lucky to have a good public highschool in your area Lulu... we just don't. It's really wrong that in the public system you often have no choice We moved across Melbourne for our DD to go to the private school she is at only because it would have taken too long to drive everyday if we had stayed where we were... but if we had to use the public system I would move out of this area immediately.

[mrsmac]

I find it very disheartening as a public school teacher that my job is so devalued by some people in this thread. Obviously if you don't pay for your education its no good and obviously I mustn't care about my class cause its the public system.
Also I obviously don't care about my oldest DD either because I have shown her no care at all and spent nothing sending her to the local public high school instead of going into massive debt to send her to some snooty private school where she can feel completely out of place cause we aren't rich but where she could be spoon fed to keep up their HSC results in order to charge huge fees.

All of the "i care enough about my children to spend heaps of money getting them an education" has made my blood boil. I deeply care about my chilren's education but as a firm believer in the public system I feel that it can be achieved within that system too. So many of these pro private posts have been very ANTI public schools.
I am not anti private schools just the people who seem to think that only those who care about their children's education use them.

[Bathsheba]

I'm really disappointed you feel that was what I was saying MrsMac I could say that I feel offended by your labeling me as snooty but I'll let it go. It it was this kind of "cut down the tall poppy" syndrome I also wanted to avoid as part of my children's education. When I was at school it was very uncool to be smart or be good at anything other than sport. I wonder if this has changed? I know that at my DD's school it's actually cool to achieve and not be called the Teacher's Pet.

Never once did I put down ALL public schools. I send my son to one. I could very well end up teaching in one. By praising a particular school doesn't mean I am putting down the others... just like because I praise cloth nappies doesn't mean I am condemning all sposie users. My DD goes to a VERY good school and I am VERY proud of myself for making the sacrifices i've made to send her there. Like I said: I could have spent thousands on cars over the past 12 years and probably been more acceptable in most peoples eyes I guess.

I was merely answering Nic's question as quoted in my first reply. Maybe she only wants to here one half of the story?

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this MrsMac for I feel just as passionate as you. Like I said I'm sorry that I have made your blood boil but it would have been more convincing if you had responded to my posts with courtesy. I never used derogatory words when describing the public system and I am confused as to why you should attack my choices. Sadly you haven't been a very good ambassador for the system you promote.

[Bathsheba]

(double post)

[Ahurani]

I applaud MrsMac for having her opiniona nd coming out and saying what she felt. I went to a public school and I feel I got a great education. There is a couple of Doctors, Engineers etc in my graduating class. I am a firm believer of the public system and even though I dont have kids yet, I will send them to a public school.

My DP went to an expensive ($20 000) a year private school. I dont think he got anything better out of it. My dad went to Hale School in Perth and hes a mechanic. I dont think that private schools are worth the money.

Thats my 2 cents

[fionas]

Ask me in 10 years!

Look, in theory I'm against private education because my biggest core belief is about equality of opportunity. At a very simplistic level, I think it's unfair that people can buy a better education for their kids than those that can't. And I say this as someone who will be able to afford it so it's not sour grapes from that respect.

However, we also live in the real world and obviously I will want the best for DD. I imagine my leftie principles will go out the window if I see her struggling in a public school. But I still find it very hard to come to terms with the fact that my money means that DD may squeeze into uni with the best education that money can buy ahead of some really bright kid who's recently arrived as a refugee living in a housing commission flat doing their homework whilst sharing a bedroom with two other siblings. An extreme example I know.

As I said, ask me in 10 years.

[Phteven]

Ask me in 10 years!

Look, in theory I'm against private education because my biggest core belief is about equality of opportunity. At a very simplistic level, I think it's unfair that people can buy a better education for their kids than those that can't. And I say this as someone who will be able to afford it so it's not sour grapes from that respect.

However, we also live in the real world and obviously I will want the best for DD. I imagine my leftie principles will go out the window if I see her struggling in a public school.

:yeahthat:

I guess I'm very lucky because I'm in a position to stick to my ideological beliefs without sacrificing my childrens' education. For primary I'm not too fussed about where they go and for high school I'll just move close to a high school that suits my children. Unfortunately many other people just don't have that freedom.

I think this article is relevant - it just shows what a student with passion can achieve regardless of their school.
Refugee children HSC high achievers - National - smh.com.au

[christy]

I've been thinking about this and I suddenly realised that DD1 is in a private school I forgot... she's in an independant school that costs less than most public schools in our areas, but its an alternative to home schooling and we participate much more than you would expect in another school.

She's doing a transition year at school, but will be going there until she starts year 7. Its not that I don't like the public schools in our area, its just that her special needs are met perfectly where she is.

[Bathsheba]

Originally Posted by Nicambhar View Post
"Really interesting reading all of the replies.. My crap situation aside, I often wonder why people feel the need to plunge into such a huge commitment."

Ok. Now I think that this was actually a rhetorical question... obviously not one to be answered honestly... apologies everyone.

[Fuzzywuzzy]

I went to a public school because that was the only school that we had in our small town. I wasn't disadvantaged in anyway and was dux of the school in both primary and high school. My parents considered sending me to boarding school in high school but after our discussions I decided to stay with my family. I intend to send my DD to a public school but that will depend on where we are living at the time and what schooling options are available to us. Just sharing my background

Thanks Sunnyday and welcome to BellyBelly!

Just to add another dimension to it all: I believe in the public system and if I thought that my children could get the best possible education in the public system I would use it. Unfortunantly it's just not the case at this time. I am a Socialist at heart and there are other aspects of my life that I feel more strongly about: like using public transport. We, as a family, use the public transport system daily. The idea of going into debt to have our own private vehicle doesn't sit well with us at all. I know that we are lucky in that we have busses and trains within a blocks walk. I know that some people have no choice but to go into debt by about $20,000 to have a car. But lucky we don't. I often think that if I drove and we were a 2 car family then we then wouldn't be able to afford private education. I guess you can't have it all. For US as a family we believe that money is better spent on education than transport... but that's just us... I don't expect everyone to agree

I'm not sure how any of Baths posts could be construed as putting down the public system or saying that private is better considering the above post and that she has stated in another post that her other child attends a public school. It depends on the individual school and also the individual child.