arabella weir on why we must send our kids to state schools

[nowirehangers]

Arabella on why she would never send her kids to private schools
What do people think?
Fwiw I find the tone unbelievably smug. I also disagree with a lot of what's being said. I don't think all parents send thier kids to private schools so they can avoid the great unwashed, though some do. I would love my dcs to go to a state school for the reasons she mentions.
What puts me off is the fact the teaching is so often mediocre - as the Chief Inspector of Schools admitted this week. Of course there are so incredible teachers in the state system but I fear there are a lot of second-rate one too. I went to a state primary where the teaching was awful then was moved in to a private school and couldn't believe how much more stimulating the atmosphere was and how much more inspirational the teachers were. I dislike the idea of my dcs mixing only with posh kids, so I'm going to put mye experience down as an unlucky one and give the local state school the benefit of the doubt but if I feel they're being taught badly I will remove them and remortgage the house or whatever to make it work. Anyway, that's my opinion, interested in others.

that's what a private education does for you

Coming from a family of teachers (my father was a head, his sister is too and all my aunties and uncles are teachers), I find it absolutely hilarious that people are misguided enough to think that all the best teachers are in the Private Sector.

the attitude i hate most when it comes to talking about private ed is that if you are sending your kid to a private school you somehow care more about their education

what arrogant fatuous bollocks
it makes me very angry

Littlemydancing, I can sort of see where you're coming from but there are only 4-5% of kids actually being educated privately so is there really the critical mass?
Our local school might end up with 3 or 4 extra middle class kids in it's mix but how would that help except to use up the already overstretched resources?

hear, hear catissleepy

in all seriousness, I had some SHOCKING teachers in my private school. truly, truly shocking, and they'd never have got a job anywhere else (i doubt they were actually properly qualified)

Sometimes I can see what you're getting at Xenia, but I am afraid you are being a complete arse on this thread

it depends where you are, LitChick - Bristol has an incredibly high concentration of fee paying schools, which means around 16% of children in Bristol go to private schools. It's around the same in north London, 16%. And obviously that's in pockets of areas, as well - where I live I can count six or seven private schools within walking distance, but only two state primaries.

"the attitude i hate most when it comes to talking about private ed is that if you are sending your kid to a private school you somehow care more about their education

what arrogant fatuous bollocks
it makes me very angry"

but the attitude I hate most is that if you are sending your kid to a state school you somehow care more about their education.

What arrogant fatuous bollocks.

It makes me very angry.

litchick, the idea is that the middle class kids would have support at home with reading etc (less likely to require eg support with English as 2nd language) and their parents the type of people who'd take an active role in PTA/governing bodies and drive up standards.

It does only take a few, I have experience of this on a nursery Management Committee, which is obviously a different environment, but it works in a similar way.

and I very much agree with Littlemy that standards in state schools would improve with more participation across all classes
it seems very obvious to me

ah slayerette am not saying anyone cares more or less about their kids' education
but on this threads posters have expressed the opinion that I describe

I just don't buy the fact that I could make such an appreciable difference.
I am one woman and a busy one at that.
And people on this thread are saying that indie parents DONT care more about education than state parents so surely the current parents are sufficent?

sigh

litchick have you ever done any voluntary work?

Voluntary work? Now why would you do that?

It's a bit naive to think that sending all kids to state schools would make them fab.

There will always be differences between schools, depending on where they are, the economic circumstances of the catchment area, etc etc etc.

And since this whole "choice" thing, the well-off will just use their money to buy a house in a good school's catchment area, to get their child in. In some cases, a second home.

People will always do what they deem to be best for them/their child, no matter how unfair or immoral it seems.

Not everyone shares the same principles.

If Arabella Weir was at school with Emma Thompson, i bet she wnet to Holland park with all the other kids of rich parents, not quite the same as most comps.

a few points.

i think this is an easy article to write if you've had the choice. also if you know deep down that if things werent ok with your childs education you have at least the financial ability to purchase coaching, extra tuition, all that sort of stuff.

i know people who went to private school and are plumbers and people who went to state school and are lawyers. people who went to both and are perfectly happy, balanced people.

its how your parents suppport you through whichever option that tends to determine how well and happy you are at school.

also what is "normal"?

smallwhitecat- I dislike the culture of SATS and some aspects of the NC. So do many of the teachers. I'm so, so glad the all the excellent teachers in state schools haven't abandoned ship because of this.
We expressed our dislike of how the school were handling the SATS process. As a result they made changes. Many of the other parents at our school would not have had the confidence to do this. Doing this helped all the pupils not just our own.

pgwithnuber3 - I don't doubt for a second that there are great teachers in the state sector but my view is that many of their skills are utterly wasted.
What's the point having a bilingual, energetic gradutate with interests in football and knitting if in year six all they do is practice papers for te SATS? It would drive any teacher to drink no?

Bundle yes I do do voluntary work - I am on the management com of a law centre, I advise at CAB, I am the writer in residence at my county libraries and I do needle exchange ( though less frequently than I would like).
I also worked for ten years as a lawyer for children in care?
And one for thing I know for sure is that the action of one person is never enough. To make differences, real differences you need crutiacl mass and cash.

Oh I hadn't appreciated that Arabella Weir didn't go to university. I hadn't appreciated she was a celebtrity either! I just thought she was guilty of vaguely wishful and entirely sloppy thinking, pandering to popular prejudices created by envy.

litchick, then you should know better

you sound like you make an awful lot of difference

and if everyone thought they couldn't have an impact then f-all would get done.