To think private schooling should be abolished

[year5teacher]

Just to preface, I’m not criticising individual parents. You have to do what you consider best for your child - for example if the choice was a private school with excellent dyslexia support and a state school that was notoriously bad, for example, you must make the correct judgement for your child.

Just to get that out the way so the thread isn’t flooded with “well I sent DC to private school because...”. I’m not talking about individuals, I’m talking about the system as a whole.

AIBU to believe it’s morally wrong for us as a society to allow children of higher earners to access a generally better level of education, which in turn can affect their trajectories for the rest of their lives?

@year5teacher

Just to preface, I’m not criticising individual parents. You have to do what you consider best for your child - for example if the choice was a private school with excellent dyslexia support and a state school that was notoriously bad, for example, you must make the correct judgement for your child.

Just to get that out the way so the thread isn’t flooded with “well I sent DC to private school because...”. I’m not talking about individuals, I’m talking about the system as a whole.

AIBU to believe it’s morally wrong for us as a society to allow children of higher earners to access a generally better level of education, which in turn can affect their trajectories for the rest of their lives?

One of the reasons people send their kids to private schools is because of far left teachers like yourself indoctrinating their children.

@oakleaffy

Prince Harry didn't do very well at Eton.

In fact, he made a fair old mess of it.

You can take the horse to water, but you can't make him think.

Prince Andrew managed to get into Cambridge on a C and two Ds - he must be a magician.

@Gobbycop

Newsflash.

Life isn't fair.

If work does not pay in this system, if the only way you can attain a decent standard of living is by being born into it, then why should those of us who weren’t support it?

My sympathies for your troubles op, I’ve had similar experiences from employment in and out of schools. There will be changes eventually, one way or another.

You might be interested in this OP:

www.oecd.org/social/soc/Social-mobility-2018-Overview-MainFindings.pdf

One of the reasons people send their kids to private schools is because of far left teachers like yourself indoctrinating their children.
Or maybe they want to avoid the kids hearing any views other than their parents' far-right ones?

@shinyredbus

So we shouldn’t have: private health, private dentists, private laser eye surgery etc? Private pensions?

If you shut all the private schools - how in gods holy name are we going to make the best decisions for our children? You’ve shit the schools down! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Are you anti -choice?

Yes. I am anti-choice. My personal belief is no one should ever be allowed to make a choice, ever. You want ham sandwiches? Tough. You’re having cheese. No choices here!

Seriously though, you’ve so massively misunderstood the point that I’m not sure there’s a lot of good in me explaining it

@Planetaryexplorer

I think yabu because ultimately it will just create inequality somewhere else. The answer is to raise the standard of state schools so that no-one feels the need to go private.

Of course it’s wrong. How can the 7% of privately educated fill 50% of the top jobs. Even non academic spheres like drama and sport have a higher propensity of the privately educated.

I think private education is paying to keep some children out as much as affording opportunities to those with the money to pay for them.

@moofolk

I love how defensive people get on this topic.

If you pay for your kids to go to private school you know you are buying something better than most people can afford or you wouldn't do it.

One thing I love about conservatives is their absolute cognitive dissonance. 'People shouldn't get something for nothing.' When talking about benefits.

But our own kids can get an easier life bought for them, and inheritance. It's fine to get something for nothing if you're related, amirite?

Private schooling is immoral. It perpetuates inequality and everybody knows it or they wouldn't do it: or be so defensive about their choices.

Two entirely different things, non contribution based benefits aren’t earned. Parents earning money and choosing to spend it on their children is very different. No different than having a non working spouse to support or spending it all on wine. What people choose to spend their earned salary on is down to them.

There will always be inequality, abolishing private schools wouldn’t change that. We are all responsible for our own choices.

“ One thing I love about conservatives is their absolute cognitive dissonance. 'People shouldn't get something for nothing.' When talking about benefits.

But our own kids can get an easier life bought for them, and inheritance. It's fine to get something for nothing if you're related, amirite? ”

The difference is in who’s paying for it.

One of the reasons people send their kids to private schools is because of far left teachers like yourself indoctrinating their children.

Thanks for giving me a laugh the kids I teach never have a clue about my politics because it would be completely inappropriate for me to discuss it with them.

Money buys you choices - it always will.

If the government forces my children's private school to close, we will just move into the catchment of a really good state school (and displace another family), because we can.

Looks like three pretty well dressed boys ripping the piss out of another boy who is steadfastly igniting them!

@moofolk

I love how defensive people get on this topic.

If you pay for your kids to go to private school you know you are buying something better than most people can afford or you wouldn't do it.

One thing I love about conservatives is their absolute cognitive dissonance. 'People shouldn't get something for nothing.' When talking about benefits.

But our own kids can get an easier life bought for them, and inheritance. It's fine to get something for nothing if you're related, amirite?

Private schooling is immoral. It perpetuates inequality and everybody knows it or they wouldn't do it: or be so defensive about their choices.

Regarding my point above - I almost certainly wouldn't send my child to private school, because unless I was mega mega rich, I'd rather enjoy sharing experiences and education with my child than "outsourcing" that to a private school.

But how would you propose I go about educating my child in an "equal" fashion outside of private schooling?

The thousands of books, the trips to castles and museums, the trips to different environments, my parents tendency to have us watch classical operas and play audio books of classical literature in the car on holidays, the provision of scientific toys and resources... All things that I'd like to do with my own children.

How do you propose we equalise that?

moofolk - noone is terribly interested in children with SEN but the charity that runs the SEN school my child attends isnt really about privildge. The state provision has a gap. Our alternative wasnt a comp. It was no school. There isnt a state offering. We had well over a year of nothing but me at home with the LA sending a tutor for an hour a week. The state recognises that there isnt state education available for all children and pays for around 7% of children with ehcps to go to private schools. Obviously the solution is the state improves its SEN offering but there are some advantages to SEN schools being independent of the state around extra funding streams and responding to research /need.

If the government put more money and resources into state education then there would be no need for private schools; in that case, yes, private schools could be abolished but at the moment the government don't give a rat's arse.

By the way, it isn't only the well off who pay for their children's education. Many families from lower income brackets do.

Oh come on now. It's laughable to say that a teacher who asks a question on an anonymous forum is indoctrinating children. That's an absurd leap.

We all want to do the best we can for our children if people can afford to send their children to private schools so be it. However I do think that it should be either all private or all state and not used to get them into grammar schools, thus putting state education from a grammar school education.

Surely if state schools were sufficiently good you wouldn’t need to abolish private schools as no one would pay to send their dc to a school that is no better than the one they can access for free?

Where do you stop? Would it also be illegal to send your dc to a private school abroad, or to home ed them? Is freedom not a value any more?

The only way I could get the wrap around care needed for ds, in order for me to teach at a comp, was to put him into prep school.

You are also very naive if you imagine that children of better off parents have it all easy. I've seen some appalling parenting at the International School ds attended abroad; from very, very, well heeled parents. They'd rather throw money at their kids than expend any sort of time and effort on them.

Sorry no it’s not Morally wrong to take the best education you can afford for your child.

@Singalonggong

Oh come on now. It's laughable to say that a teacher who asks a question on an anonymous forum is indoctrinating children. That's an absurd leap.

First day back: “right kids, hope you had a good break, here’s a copy of the communist manifesto”

@year5teacher

More money in state schools won't fix the kids who have already given up and the parents with 2 GCSEs between them

Yeah and presumably those parents didn’t go to private school or they probably wouldn’t have got 2 GCSEs between them.
Can you not see that the cycle of poor education, poor aspirations and poor outcomes isn’t generally a concern of rich people and their children? And do you not wonder why that is?

I know why that is.

I simply don't care enough for my child or my grand children to be the ones who suffer when trying to even out the inequality

It would take decades of more funding into state schools to even out the playing field, and even then it won't really even it out in the end. And no one would want their kids to be the ones who suffer for it

Everyone pays towards education for all regardless of income; some however want to pay additionally to make sure their kids do well or have a better chance to succeed and there is nothing wrong with that. People pay for private health care, more expensive and better quality foods - all these things will equal a child with a brighter future.

Banning private schools is not the way forward. As PP said, tax money needs to be spent improving the state system. The wealthy will home educate with tutors, move into areas with better schools and push the poorer families out and push prices up so the divide continues.

@HOkieCOkie

Sorry no it’s not Morally wrong to take the best education you can afford for your child.

No, but the issue is that the best education is something that can be bought in the first place.

Well, you could redistribute the wealth of private schools into the state school sector. Which is what labour were planning on doing.

So you're saying that private school parents should move their children into state school and then pay twice right? Once in their tax (which they already pay despite not using the state schools) and also donate the money they were paying to private schools to said state school?

Labour will never get in. With that logic they're fucked on so many levels.