They're called the Mavericks now... end of story. P.S. Go Falcons. P.S.S. St. Pius X scares me. P.S.S.S. Stache douchin' it up, as usual.
That's BS. Vanguard schools, Bellaire and HSPVA, at least, do not provide "far" less college prep. I'm not putting down St. John's or Kinkaid, as they're both good schools, but the main edge you receive from private schools is connections between rich kids and their parents. There are tons of advantages to public schools as well, in particular diversity not only with regard to race (though that's certainly a factor) but also class.
I knocked a year out of college through AP credits at my public school, and it was an average one, too. You don't need a private school to get a good education.
I guess what I mean is that old adage: you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it. You can put your kid in private school, surround him with intellectual scholars, but that doesn't mean he'll be smart. What matters more is if the kid wants to learn, which is just as accessible through public education.
if cost is not a dealbreaker, your odds are simply much greater in private school. If your kid is smart and an academic achiever, you want them to have the best shot at the top universities. It is not debatable that a SJS or Kinkaid offers a better shot at those schools.
its a numbers game. a greater percentage of good students at sjs or kinkaid get into top universities than at bellaire, etc. the diversity aspect - families and individuals value that differently. I'm a bellaire grad. I think the public school experience was just fine and helps me relate to all kinds of people and lead in group settings. i know plenty of private school grads that have similar skills, but developed them later in college or other settings. in this debate, there are no absolutes except when it comes to matriculation statistics.
Yeah, and a greater percentage of students at sjs and kinkaid actually care about getting into top universities. it says more about the student than the school. If OP's children are smart they will have no problem getting into a top school.
No clue where you're getting your information from. It's not 'pretty clear' that they're better than Kinkaid at academics. As far as it goes, it's really a throw up. I was at the bottom percentile of my grade at Kinkaid and got into some really good schools. It really depends in how much work your kid puts through and how much they learn. As far as teaching goes, I've had some EXCELLENT teachers at Kinkaid (Someone earlier mentioned 2 teachers, I'm sure I know one of them). It's really a throw up. The drug use and all that? Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Most schools have rampant drug use, and it's no different. There may be a different set of drugs (and by no means am I saying pot is as bad as Cocaine, because it isn't), and since they do have more money, they WILL use that money for harder drugs, but it's honestly that bad. As a student who knew close to 20 or 30 people that went to St. Johns and a recent graduate (read: last year) of Kinkaid, either one is fine.
I couldn't agree more. I have to wipe down my keyboard every time I check this thread, it's such a throw up.
Sorry, but that's BS. I went to a private high school and my sister went to HSPVA. She was #1 in her class there (no homework, hardly any class, moron teachers, and literally a 100% in every class) and ended up transferring to the private school I went to (which was only an average one) because she felt like she wasnt learning anything. She is not even top 10% there and is having a tough time completing all her work. I have heard Bellaire is better (really the only public school in Houstno I have heard really good things about). But HSPVA is a complete joke of a school, at least now it is. I would not use it as an example of excellence in the future. you can get AP credit at almost any school
First off, your kid has to get into those schools. He/she will have to take an entrance exam and only about 25% of kids who take the exam are accepted into the program. So it's no guarantee your child will get in. I know a bunch of Kinkaid/St. Johns grads. The Kinkaid grads seem to be more academic and the St. Johns kids tend to be more well rounded. Almost every Kinkaid grad I know has gone onto to elite undergraduate schools and have had great careers in business, medicine or law. Kinkaid also has more pull nationally, since alot more politician's children and business leaders send their children to that school. If you live in the Memorial area, just send your child to Memorial H.S. Best of both worlds.
This is definitely good logic. It's not like there are any other factors that may explain this beyond quality of education here. You know, small things like weeding out the stupid or poor students at private schools, versus zoning and magnet system. Considering you're a Bellaire grad and came up with this extremely great comparison, no wonder you don't want you kids to go to a public school.
never did I introduce logic or reasoning into my statement. I simply said numbers. Matriculation rates to top universities. I am certain that weeding out poor or stupid students have a lot to do with those rates. But the rates themselves are not debatable. not once did I say that sjs or kinkaid offer better education than bellaire or other public schools. I think they do because of quality of facilities, quality control over teachers, a more achievement oriented student population, not being driven by standardized test scores. But never did I say that they offer a better education. And "extremely great" is lousy writing.
I am curious...how does an AP credit result in a better education?? I can attest that if I had gone to public school I probably would have gotten into a "better" college. however, due to the fact I wasn't in the top 10% I was unable to get in to the college of my choice. unfortunately for those people...in most cases AP credits from a public school didn't translate in to a basic level of common sense... not to knock the educational system in this country, but it is a pile of steaming ****e...
The point is you're bringing something up that doesn't really prove anything either way. It's a lousy argument. I agree with you that better equipments, lower student-teacher ratios, more accountability, etc. would be good reasons. But that's different from just saying a lot more of them get into top schools. I guess I just personally feel that the difference a school makes to a kid is fairly small. At least at the level you're talking about. We're not discussing private school vs. inner-city underfunded gang-infested public schools. You kid would obviously go to a good public school with AP programs even if you decide to skip private school. Speaking from personal experience, one main reason for a private school is if there are huge motivational issues. Competition and pushing the students to study is something you don't see in public schools much. Which may hinder a lazy kid. If I hadn't basically slept through Bellaire High, I would've easily gotten in to a top college. But I did slack off. I did homework in between classes, wrote reports the night before it's due, half-assed on test, and got many Bs as a result. Bs when just a bit of extra effort would've gotten me As needed for that gaudy GPA that got many classmates into top colleges.
my graduating class at sjs was smarter than my graduating med school class. the smartest people ive ever met were at sjs, even after going to a top university nationally. you should consider whether the pressure is worth it, though--its not good for everyone. both of my sisters went to sjs as well, and i dont think it was a great atmosphere for them. since i have always been kind of lazy, it worked out well in terms of pushing me to work harder.... but if youre trying to improve your percentages....we have degrees from harvard, columbia, and duke. stats dont lie.
