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Feb. 20th, 2003 09:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melwilI was pulled into the Private Schools vs. Public School (or State Schools) debate last night on the phone. I made a comment to Matt about how well the wibblers got on, mentioning that there was no rivalry or hang ups about our high schools that I've observed in a lot of the Private School people I know.
Let me make something clear here - obviously not all Private school people are the same. I know a lot of them, are friends with a lot of them and four out of my five boyfriends went to Private school (three to all male schools). Even my father went to a Private school.
I can also recognise the benefits of a Private school education. Smaller classes, better resources, teachers who stay for a longer time and aren't forced to do outback service, a community, even the 'old boys' and 'old girls' network would be benificial if that was your kind of thing.
But here, are some of the disadvantages (in my opinion) of a variety of private schools. I heard these from friends of mine - lots of them - who went to private schools:
Rampant drug and alcohol abuse - both in and out of the school situation; a system of secrets and not contacting the police when crimes are commited; a culture of sexual, physical and emotional abuse; a culture which punishes you for not being in the right sports team; stiffling creativity or pushing it in a set direction; telling poorer students that they cannot take the QCS test because it would bring other students down; suspensions for attending parties with alcohol or drugs (obviously not the same school that allows drug and alcohol abuse); a system of intense rivalry which carries beyond school and affects friendships and relationships made after school; peer pressure to an extent that parents are put in the position of spending more money than they have so that their children will fit in.
I can't look at this list and believe that Private schools are better than the public schools.
If I tell ex-private school boys today that my father went to Churchie (then the Church of England school in Brisbane) more than thirty years ago, they react negativly. Same goes when I talk about people who went to smaller schools that weren't considered so prestigeous.
It was just high school people! Five years. Not the rest of your life!
See, as far as I'm concerned, wealth is not the issue. (And if you think it is, than you have money issues and should donate it all to some good cause and live in a nudist colony with tree dwelling hippies)
I've seen people who went to Private schools on a scholarship, as well as people who had parents wealthy enough to send their children to private schools without assistance. These people still tell me the same stories about schools (not all schools as I clarified earlier)
I've also seen rich people who attend public schools and do not act with the spite or rivalry of private school people.
Every comment about 'Private school people' is not an insult. This is another thing I've noticed. That the more some private schooled people get out into the 'real world' the more defensive they get about their school. Really.
It's like someone making a bad comment about Maleny State High and me putting it straight to Beerwah - or vice versa.
So, for the moment, I endeth my rant. Next time, join me as I outline the faults I found with my encounter in the State School System *g*
Let me make something clear here - obviously not all Private school people are the same. I know a lot of them, are friends with a lot of them and four out of my five boyfriends went to Private school (three to all male schools). Even my father went to a Private school.
I can also recognise the benefits of a Private school education. Smaller classes, better resources, teachers who stay for a longer time and aren't forced to do outback service, a community, even the 'old boys' and 'old girls' network would be benificial if that was your kind of thing.
But here, are some of the disadvantages (in my opinion) of a variety of private schools. I heard these from friends of mine - lots of them - who went to private schools:
Rampant drug and alcohol abuse - both in and out of the school situation; a system of secrets and not contacting the police when crimes are commited; a culture of sexual, physical and emotional abuse; a culture which punishes you for not being in the right sports team; stiffling creativity or pushing it in a set direction; telling poorer students that they cannot take the QCS test because it would bring other students down; suspensions for attending parties with alcohol or drugs (obviously not the same school that allows drug and alcohol abuse); a system of intense rivalry which carries beyond school and affects friendships and relationships made after school; peer pressure to an extent that parents are put in the position of spending more money than they have so that their children will fit in.
I can't look at this list and believe that Private schools are better than the public schools.
If I tell ex-private school boys today that my father went to Churchie (then the Church of England school in Brisbane) more than thirty years ago, they react negativly. Same goes when I talk about people who went to smaller schools that weren't considered so prestigeous.
It was just high school people! Five years. Not the rest of your life!
See, as far as I'm concerned, wealth is not the issue. (And if you think it is, than you have money issues and should donate it all to some good cause and live in a nudist colony with tree dwelling hippies)
I've seen people who went to Private schools on a scholarship, as well as people who had parents wealthy enough to send their children to private schools without assistance. These people still tell me the same stories about schools (not all schools as I clarified earlier)
I've also seen rich people who attend public schools and do not act with the spite or rivalry of private school people.
Every comment about 'Private school people' is not an insult. This is another thing I've noticed. That the more some private schooled people get out into the 'real world' the more defensive they get about their school. Really.
It's like someone making a bad comment about Maleny State High and me putting it straight to Beerwah - or vice versa.
So, for the moment, I endeth my rant. Next time, join me as I outline the faults I found with my encounter in the State School System *g*
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I know all...
on 2003-02-19 11:44 pm (UTC)Me? I loved high school, 5 wonderful years of the best memories, but it's over now. I've done 3 years of Uni since then (making me REALLY appreciate high school), and now I'm at glorious TAFE. Which I love more than anything else, except for it's lack of anything decent (like a COFFEE SHOP!!!) hehehe
no subject
on 2003-02-20 05:28 am (UTC)And exactly, wealth is not the issue. It's the attitude.
I had what you could probably call a bad run-in with private schools. Took part in a public-speaking comp, won the first round, then went to the second round at Kuring-gai Council Chambers, the council of a leafy rich area of the upper North Shore of Sydney. I was the only public school student there. My speech was "Too Busy to live" and I talked about people putting the possession of material objects and prestige above living and family. The students were laughing and nodding and understanding. One private school mother glared at my father (must have been my father, he wasn't dressed to the nines in a business suit).
I was runner-up. I was told by the chairman after that I should have won, but I struck too close to the bone with the judges, all snobby business types.
It's that attitude that I can't stand, the "I'm better than you because I have money".