Did you go to Public Schools and What did you think of your education?

I attended HISD throughout.. and neither were "zoned to such great schools"... their so-called form of "education" was anything but educational.. that is other than to demonstrate how contemptibly deplorable one's immediate surroundings, and general outlook can really be when trying their hardest to not a give a damn.. it was pathetic.. and a horrendous experience..

 

jeff bezos of amazon.com also went to river oaks elementary so it must be good.

i went to river oaks and lanier 3 years before Tschmal and if you were in the honors/advanced classes, you were fine. the basic level classes at lanier were a different story though. lanier also had some hot girls too.

for a major city, HISD has some of the best public schools in the nation. there have been case studies on why HISD is more successful than many other large school systems.

 

humble...?

 

I went to a private lower-middle school and a private high school, but I go to a public college. I felt very prepared for college, much moreso than many of my friends that attended public school.

My sister went to private middle school, then went to public high school for a year and said it was laughable, so she transferred to a private high school.

 

KISD all the way Mayde Creek Elem, TH McDonald Jr. High and Mayde Creek High.

I thought the system was great, no complaints at all. Very diverse, teachers really gave a damn, etc.

 

Went to Deer Park schools until sixth grade when I moved to a crap school called Moss Bluff in Louisiana. It was two years before I got into new material. I walked into my biology class freshman year and could have taught it better. This was also where I was shouted down for suggesting Darwin had something to teach my fellow classmates. Further evidence of failure was provided by English three teacher who would go off on long anti-man tangents regarding her ex-husband... and when badgered would give every answer on every test including finals. I didn't even take the final, really, since I missed the test and the answer key was still on the board from the day before. It's a good thing I read on my own because that school provided nothing. Wait, no, my chemistry teacher was good. He was like a pervy Forest Gump, but he knew his stuff.

 

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I have a few friends that went to Mayde Creek and graduated recently. Let's just say that most things I have heard about that school are not exactly positive. Perhaps it has fallen off a bit from when you went there.

 

Went to a terrible public school, was not as well prepared as my peers, but I was certainly prepared to succeed in undergrad.

 

My Mom did some pretty deep digging and was able to hookup with the "A Better Chance" program, and got my two brothers and I to start high school at NE boarding schools: Milton, Groton and Exeter. My youngest brother was the only one to graduate: my older brother slacked off and partied alot (and my father was paying at the time, so he didn't think it was worth it), and I was never interested in going or attending (my mom basically filled out the application and wrote the essay behind my back), didn't fit in socially and flunked out Fall term of Junior year. But I can't pretend it wasn't better than public school, especially if I had gone the first two years. We weren't low income, but I was insecure enough back then that I could have easily been pressured into the wrong crowd to do some really stupid ****, or just gotten the living crap kicked out of me for not fitting in. No pressures like that with 300 other upper-middle-class white kids in the woods in Massachuesetts.

All in all you probably get exactly what you, your peers, your parents and teachers put into it.

 

I've had friends who graduated last year who said it was good. The complaints I'm sure is that some students can be disruptive and cause problems but I've heard teachers and curriculum is good. It's just a matter of who you hang around and what type of classes you're in with that school I assume. It's nowhere near a top notch school but if you're in advanced courses, its fine form what I've heard.

 

Could be that was about 10 years ago. To me you get out what you put in. I did tracks, newspaper, AP classes, went to football games, etc. I tried to get out as much as I could. I wonder if it's gotten worse with drugs, violence, etc.

 

I went to Thornwood, Spring Forest, and Stratford High School in Spring Branch ISD. Great teachers

 

Accidentally posted topic before I was done.

Great teachers and great education. Small percentage of the people can be disturbances or problems but overall very good schools when I went.

 

QFT

My daughters were recently in private...and had good and bad experiences. It varies from year to year. Same in public. I think the only difference...is segregation by class. There are good and bad teachers in both systems. If you get a bad teacher...your kid is screwed. Neither school wants to fire said teacher. Kids are replaceable cogs in both. So...the ultimate selling point ...for $$$ thousands per year...is what social circle do you want to foster. In my case..with kids in the arts...I felt best shooting for HSPVA with highly motivated kids, and tons of extracurricular resources...not available in private.

 

HISD = Houston Independent School District

 

Let me ask you a question about the people you encountered at that HCC campus. If they had been through private school instead, would they be more literate? (Honestly, did you even ask them if they went to public school? I know you thought it was a no-brainer, but that is part of the problem)

If yes, would that be a result of the teaching done at the private school or because of the resources that child would have growing up in a family that could afford private school (not to mention the expectations that family would have for the child, ie- literacy)?

I hope your anti-public education stance has more meat to the argument, because the observation alone cannot be an indicator for of quality in education. Much of this argument deals with the socioeconomic factors of the students attending the schools.

 

I would kill to have had a better educational experience, but on the bright side, HISD gave me completely unforgettable memories. School was essentially a daily social gathering. I was forced into the AP classes because of my grades/test scores and had to go to class with the "nerds". Their behavioral problems were more funny than anything. They ran every single class completely unchecked-turning in essays that read "Mr. ____ is a fat ass" x100 and receiving A's, throwing books at teachers, destroying equipment like telescopes, projection screens, TV's...I could go on and on. Then when you got into the "regular" crowds you had to deal with CONSTANT sexual harassment, violence, and rampant drug use. And that was just middle school.

 

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Can you provide some links to this. Not doubting you, but I thought the general sentiment was that Houston ISD was not so great..

 

I went to Bellaire high school. Due to some weird schedule mess ups, I had a few "regular" classes my first semester there mixed with AP/IB classes. So I got to see the difference between the two.

There really isn't any comparison. Accelerated programs and regular classes literally night and day. Now I'm a fairly book smart person, although hardly a genius. I found the regular class so easy it blew my mind. I'm not joking when I could literally get As simply based on my middle school knowledge. It was, for me, a huge joke. Once I switched to IB classes, I actually had to study and use my brain to get good grades.

In terms of college, I can't imagine normal high school education in HISD possibly provides adequate preparation.

 

damn, we're alumni. BHS, the best! :grin:

yeah, I remember regular classes were easy. High school was fun.