To think private schools are more about parental ego than children’s education?

[ForPlainAmberFox]

Yes, they may get results. But isn’t a huge part of private schooling about parents wanting the status symbol of saying their child goes there? AIBU to think it’s more about ego than learning?

It depends whether you think it is about results or experience. And this is something both private school and state school parents disagree on. Some are instrumentalist and focus purely on outcomes, while others are concerned with their children having a rewarding school experience with results only one aspect of this.

I only have 2 dc but have never read anything like that before.

Main reasons are: A levels are selective I’d imagine so the disruptive element is gone because the other children want to be there.
There probably isn’t a lot of difference between A levels at most PS or state so why pay?
You may get to bypass all the left wing university identity quotas.
6th form isn’t the final destination. Being a well rounded, confident, resilient, interesting, happy person is. There are many paths to achieve that.

Er.. no. It was nothing about me, purely what I felt was best for my child.

£20,000 a year would be a very expensive ego trip.

I started school in September 1963.
It was a fee-paying school, in those days a direct grant grammar school. I left school in 1976.
My parents chose the best school for their children. My sister and I went to one school, our brother eventually ended up at what you would call a minor public school, where 1 cousin had also been a pupil.
I honestly thought that state schools were for children whose parents did not want to pay for education or could not afford it.
The vast majority of my family has been educated at fee-paying schools.
My school is the 3rd oldest girls' school in England at least, maybe the UK.
It was founded as a charitable institution in 1658 to educate girls.
Why is that wrong?

This is bollocks. A friend sent her DD to private school after she was bullied at a local state school and they had to remove her. They looked at the other options and felt the local private was the best fit for her and so went with that as they were desperate to get her back into education. Absolutely not the sort of family who would do something for ego or status.

I think couldn’t afford or don’t want to does cover everyone. I want to and we are planning for secondary but not primary. I think we could afford primary too, but it would be a stretch. My partner disagrees (or rather doesn’t think it’s worth it)

I think the Op is projecting, as they do things so they can boast about them.

I send my DC to private school to ensure they don't lose out at school as a result of those with behavioral issues, and the smaller class sizes and greater educational opportunities and much more space mean they are likely to get a more wholesome experience (I'm not too bothered about academic excellence). Do I boast about it to my friends...no. Do I think thank fuck I do this whenever i read a thread about how shit state schools are...yes. Do threads like this highlight the envy that some have who can't afford to send their kids to private school...yes!

Private Healthcare is fucking fantastic. I always go private for MRIs, physios, chiropractors etc. And shout from the rooftops about it because it's way better than any NHS treatment I've received.

Well yes i agree they are- and I’m not suggesting people don’t do it! I’m just making the point that people do things for their ego all the time- whether is having lots of children, buying a fancy car, going on nice holidays they can tell people about etc. if they want to send their children to private school to show off then so what? I don’t honestly see the problem with that. I don’t think that is the reason for most people at all myself- I think most parents try and pick the best school for their child whether it be state or private but if they just want to show off and can afford it then ultimately what’s wrong with that? I am not sure exactly would care ultimately but maybe in certain circles it’s a thing?

What crap you are spouting. Do you speak to any of these private school parents whose motivation you profess to understand? I do, in a professional capacity. And I promise you it is not for their egos that they make the huge sacrifices to send their children private

😆😆😂😂 fcking hell you live in a shit world if you think that because kids are in the supermarket in a school uniform it’s because they / their parents are thinking ‘"oh look at me and how much money I have". 😆😆 As opposed to fck we need some food, come and help me out / I can’t leave you at home. And why aren’t you changed yet?? Etc.

Eh? What tuition? Surely not!

The complete opposite. I keep very quiet about the school my dc goes to. I'm not alone in that. OP has aptly demonstrated why.

@Drfosters I would agree that people do other things for ego (although I don't think number of dc matters). I just agreed with the OP that some people do it for ego although as I said I think it's a minority. Does lt matter to me that they do? No.

I mean you could say "so what" to most threads on MNs. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I agree with the above.....my children don't attend private school as I can't afford it. If I did, I would send ds2.

I guess. The private DC ate just rejoining all the children they left. But I suppose you think the 5 years got them an edge…

Huge TV

LOVE in large letters in the living room.

Couldn't you argue though that more or less all spending in some way is about egos? Like why don't you buy only the cheapest brand from the cheapest supermarket of everything?? Why go on holiday? Why own a car? Surely all children can share bedrooms so no-one really needs more than a parents' room and maybe one room per 3 kids? Is everyone with a bigger house than that showing their ego? Some people argue they send their child to private school because SEN isn't properly met in mainstream, but I'm sure there are other kids' who have worse needs, less easily met in mainstream, who simply can't go to private school because their parents can't afford it. There probably is some truth in your statement in some cases, but unless we become a totalitarian state where every job and benefit claimant gets the same set pay, or something, it's pretty much everyone may show off by doing something someone else can't!

Maybe, maybe not. What do you get from a holiday in St Lucia vs Benidorm when you just end up home anyway?

i believe it's for a more enjoyable school experience. after all education is life long.

a gentle atmosphere is much better for long term mental health than the strange super strict approach that appears very popular these days.

I imagine I would have got a bigger ego boost from driving either of the Porsches I could have bought instead of sending my DD to a State Secondary so bad teachers who work there advised me against it.

LIVE LAUGH LOVE, surely

Networking & making contacts (for children and parents) seems to be a large part of the appeal