Overheard on Facebook

[dragoncar]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I don't have a source at hand, but I've heard that parental involvement is the #1 factor in a student's academic success, far above the quality of the school itself.

That's academic success, what about life success?  Financial?

[MgoSam]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I don't have a source at hand, but I've heard that parental involvement is the #1 factor in a student's academic success, far above the quality of the school itself.

That's academic success, what about life success?  Financial?

THANK YOU! I've had academic success but there is just something missing and I just realized what it is. It was the fact that lacrosse wasn't offering at my public high school!

[marielle]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I don't have a source at hand, but I've heard that parental involvement is the #1 factor in a student's academic success, far above the quality of the school itself.

That's academic success, what about life success?  Financial?

THANK YOU! I've had academic success but there is just something missing and I just realized what it is. It was the fact that lacrosse wasn't offering at my public high school!

I didn't have a religion class every semester at my public high school, so my life sucks now. Thankfully I was able to take classes at the community college though, so that almost makes up for it.

[shelivesthedream]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I don't have a source at hand, but I've heard that parental involvement is the #1 factor in a student's academic success, far above the quality of the school itself.

That's academic success, what about life success?  Financial?

THANK YOU! I've had academic success but there is just something missing and I just realized what it is. It was the fact that lacrosse wasn't offering at my public high school!

Oh honey, cry me a river. We had lacrosse but not hockey. Do you know how much social stress that has put me under? Even the state schools did hockey! How am I supposed to talk to people if I can't make hockey jokes?!

[ohsnap]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I wanted to ask, but, I didn't want to ask, IYKWIM, because the folks who mentioned it were shot down so quickly.

[dragoncar]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I wanted to ask, but, I didn't want to ask, IYKWIM, because the folks who mentioned it were shot down so quickly.

I went to a private school, despite being in a top public school district.  Being a special snowflake dragonkin, I just wasn't happy at the public school.  Didn't get along with the peer group, teacher bored me, etc.  Sure, I could have done fine in public -- gotten good grades, had the same university prospects.  In other words, I would have had academic success regardless.

But I was happier at the private school because it was small (I knew literally every kid there), small classes, highly involved teachers, and an education philosophy that taught me more about life.  In public, I would have just been wasting a significant portion of the day.  In private I was more engaged.

That's certainly not to say that it was necessary, financially smart, or universal to every school and kid.  But I can say for certain that I, personally, am a better person for it.  I'm happy to send my kid to public school if that works for them.  If it's not working, though, I'd consider the expense of private.

edit: more to the point of my original comment, which was shockingly mocked (shocking!), if I lived in a bad school district, I'm still sure my kid could have academic success.  Maybe even more so, if the peer group was disadvantaged.  But some bad schools are bad because they are in an economically challenged warzone.  Living in constant fear of personal safety, despite having good grades, with no access to good enrichment activities within the school system, I'm not sure that's a definition of success I want to adopt. 

[MgoSam]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I wanted to ask, but, I didn't want to ask, IYKWIM, because the folks who mentioned it were shot down so quickly.

My bad, I couldn't resist* responding sarcastically. I'm glad dragoncar was able to give you a well-thought answer.

*Well technically I could resist, but actively chose not to.

[MgoSam]

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Funny, the wife and I both went to public schools. We've got 5 college degrees between the 2 of us and are pretty successful, on track to retire by 40. I wonder what the extra value is of sending them to private school? I think a lot of a child's success depends on their level of "give a shit" (and their parents').

I wanted to ask, but, I didn't want to ask, IYKWIM, because the folks who mentioned it were shot down so quickly.

I went to a private school, despite being in a top public school district.  Being a special snowflake dragonkin, I just wasn't happy at the public school.  Didn't get along with the peer group, teacher bored me, etc.  Sure, I could have done fine in public -- gotten good grades, had the same university prospects.  In other words, I would have had academic success regardless.

But I was happier at the private school because it was small (I knew literally every kid there), small classes, highly involved teachers, and an education philosophy that taught me more about life.  In public, I would have just been wasting a significant portion of the day.  In private I was more engaged.

You make some great points. I should add that the high school I went to was exceptional. I am certain that my parents would have been willing to put me in private school had I been unhappy or unchallenged. I was tracked into more challenging courses such as taking Calculus as a sophomore, which introduced me to a lot of really smart people in my grade that I became great friends with. Of course with every school, private ones included, YMMV.

[Raenia]

I went to a private school, despite being in a top public school district.  Being a special snowflake dragonkin, I just wasn't happy at the public school.  Didn't get along with the peer group, teacher bored me, etc.  Sure, I could have done fine in public -- gotten good grades, had the same university prospects.  In other words, I would have had academic success regardless.

But I was happier at the private school because it was small (I knew literally every kid there), small classes, highly involved teachers, and an education philosophy that taught me more about life.  In public, I would have just been wasting a significant portion of the day.  In private I was more engaged.

You make some great points. I should add that the high school I went to was exceptional. I am certain that my parents would have been willing to put me in private school had I been unhappy or unchallenged. I was tracked into more challenging courses such as taking Calculus as a sophomore, which introduced me to a lot of really smart people in my grade that I became great friends with. Of course with every school, private ones included, YMMV.

Just chiming in to say I had a somewhat different experience of private school than dragoncar (though of course I'm very glad you were happy there.)  For me, knowing all the other kids turned out to be a bad thing, because the private school was way 'cliquier' than the public school I switched to later.  The kids were all from similar, wealthy backgrounds, and you could pick out the kids with tuition breaks from a mile away.  For me, the difference was the teachers were happier* and on average better at their job than in public schools, possibly in part due to private school teachers not being unionized (at least where I was) so it was much easier to get rid of bad teachers, plus the 'better' students and more engaged parents made it a less stressful environment for them.  So as a tuition-break student, I definitely benefited from the more engaged teachers, but suffered socially from the tight-knit student body and perceived difference in social class.

TLDR: Private schools vary just as much as public schools, so do your research and don't assume private is better in every way, for every kid.  Though they often are :)

*Citations: 6 years in private school as a faculty kid, several years before and after in public school, and a parent who was a teacher at both public and private schools.

[RelaxedGal]

Just chiming in to say I had a somewhat different experience of private school than dragoncar (though of course I'm very glad you were happy there.)  For me, knowing all the other kids turned out to be a bad thing, because the private school was way 'cliquier' than the public school I switched to later.  The kids were all from similar, wealthy backgrounds, and you could pick out the kids with tuition breaks from a mile away.  For me, the difference was the teachers were happier* and on average better at their job than in public schools, possibly in part due to private school teachers not being unionized (at least where I was) so it was much easier to get rid of bad teachers, plus the 'better' students and more engaged parents made it a less stressful environment for them.  So as a tuition-break student, I definitely benefited from the more engaged teachers, but suffered socially from the tight-knit student body and perceived difference in social class.

Amen.  I went to a private religious school and definitely cliquey.  Knowing everyone = small pool of dating prospects (I dated a guy at the public school).  Small school = fewer AP classes; I was jealous of the classes  my friends were taking at the public school.  My husband graduated from a great public school in a very wealthy neighborhood with great Advanced Placement classes, went on to graduate from college in 3.5 years and got a job that usually requires a Master's degree.  I am not as religious as my parents, I want my kid to have access to classes that appropriately challenge her, she is going to public schools unless some compelling other reasons come up.

[mm1970]

On the FB local moms sale page:

Date night, Hamilton tickets!  $1600 (what I paid), center orchestra, tonight at 8.

OMG do people actually pay that much?  Google took me to the page for the LA showing, and yes, they actually do go for that.

[cheapass]

On the FB local moms sale page:

Date night, Hamilton tickets!  $1600 (what I paid), center orchestra, tonight at 8.

OMG do people actually pay that much?  Google took me to the page for the LA showing, and yes, they actually do go for that.

...and meanwhile, 2/3 of Americans wouldn't be able to cover a $1000 emergency without going into debt. I wonder if spending has anything to do with it.

[LeRainDrop]

Just one little anecdote to add to private vs. public school.  I went to public through 8th grade, but then attended an exceptional private high school.  I could write pages and pages about how much I benefited from being there, but that's not what I want to go into here.  The cool thing for me, at the moment, is that I have been taking a mini-retirement for a little over a year now -- I'm 36 -- and on a whim, I extended it longer because a friend FROM HIGH SCHOOL posted on Facebook that he was looking for someone to take care of his dog for him while he had to travel for nearly 6 weeks.  So, guess who's living for free in a freaking awesome part of Lisbon, Portugal, taking a holiday with a super sweet pup, all because she met this guy in private high school whom she otherwise never would have met?  Yup, me :-)

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Just one little anecdote to add to private vs. public school.  I went to public through 8th grade, but then attended an exceptional private high school.  I could write pages and pages about how much I benefited from being there, but that's not what I want to go into here.  The cool thing for me, at the moment, is that I have been taking a mini-retirement for a little over a year now -- I'm 36 -- and on a whim, I extended it longer because a friend FROM HIGH SCHOOL posted on Facebook that he was looking for someone to take care of his dog for him while he had to travel for nearly 6 weeks.  So, guess who's living for free in a freaking awesome part of Lisbon, Portugal, taking a holiday with a super sweet pup, all because she met this guy in private high school whom she otherwise never would have met?  Yup, me :-)

How sweet is the pup? Details please; I'm always interested in how other people's canines stack up against my Venomous Spaz Beast, satisfaction-wise.

[LeRainDrop]

Just one little anecdote to add to private vs. public school.  I went to public through 8th grade, but then attended an exceptional private high school.  I could write pages and pages about how much I benefited from being there, but that's not what I want to go into here.  The cool thing for me, at the moment, is that I have been taking a mini-retirement for a little over a year now -- I'm 36 -- and on a whim, I extended it longer because a friend FROM HIGH SCHOOL posted on Facebook that he was looking for someone to take care of his dog for him while he had to travel for nearly 6 weeks.  So, guess who's living for free in a freaking awesome part of Lisbon, Portugal, taking a holiday with a super sweet pup, all because she met this guy in private high school whom she otherwise never would have met?  Yup, me :-)

How sweet is the pup? Details please; I'm always interested in how other people's canines stack up against my Venomous Spaz Beast, satisfaction-wise.

Well, he loves to cuddle, do cute wiggles on his back for belly rubs, and nuzzle into me for hugs. He's very vocal, not like barking, but groaning and humming in different tones so that you can talk back to him the same way. And he is amazing at howling, if you howl first and prompt him to get going on it. He also likes running and then looking back at me for approval, and playing racing games with me. As an added benefit, there is a waiter at a cafe near where I live who kinda gives me the creeps and when that guy comes over to bug me, the dog barks at him, haha! On the outside, I'm like, "no, don't bark at people," but when I get in the flat, I'm like, "Good boy!!!"

[TheGrimSqueaker]

GrimSqueaker - I always assumed that the Venomous Spaz Beast was a human child! Oops!

Oof. I did adopt a daughter as well, but the Venomous Spaz Beast is a pointy eared space alien some know as a "Chihuahua". Overall I'd have to say the dog likes me better.

[cheapass]

Saw this gem on The Facebook today -

Happy Anniversary to the best wife in the world. As I told you earlier today, throughout this first year of marriage I have learned many things. One is how much you like to spend money as I am beyond nervous every time I check the bank statement. However, I've also learned that you can't buy what we have -- Love is something that you can't put a price on. I am the luckiest man in the world to have fallen in love with you.

Wow. Just wow.

[With This Herring]

Saw this gem on The Facebook today -

Happy Anniversary to the best wife in the world. As I told you earlier today, throughout this first year of marriage I have learned many things. One is how much you like to spend money as I am beyond nervous every time I check the bank statement. However, I've also learned that you can't buy what we have -- Love is something that you can't put a price on. I am the luckiest man in the world to have fallen in love with you.

Wow. Just wow.

Eeesh.  Between the scary financial differences and then publicly talking about the new spouse's flaws in the guise of a "happy anniversary" post, this relationship looks like it is in trouble.

[cheapass]

Saw this gem on The Facebook today -

Happy Anniversary to the best wife in the world. As I told you earlier today, throughout this first year of marriage I have learned many things. One is how much you like to spend money as I am beyond nervous every time I check the bank statement. However, I've also learned that you can't buy what we have -- Love is something that you can't put a price on. I am the luckiest man in the world to have fallen in love with you.

Wow. Just wow.

Eeesh.  Between the scary financial differences and then publicly talking about the new spouse's flaws in the guise of a "happy anniversary" post, this relationship looks like it is in trouble.

Well, I do know she wrecked her car a few months ago and ended up getting a brand new Lexus out of the deal.

[merula]

Saw this gem on The Facebook today -

Happy Anniversary to the best wife in the world. As I told you earlier today, throughout this first year of marriage I have learned many things. One is how much you like to spend money as I am beyond nervous every time I check the bank statement. However, I've also learned that you can't buy what we have -- Love is something that you can't put a price on. I am the luckiest man in the world to have fallen in love with you.

Wow. Just wow.

I have a long-held and oft-proven hypothesis that everyone who posts open love-letter type FB statuses to their SO is having relationship problems.

This one has the advantage of not only re-proving that hypothesis, but making the relationship problem crystal clear.

[marty998]

Saw this gem on The Facebook today -

Happy Anniversary to the best wife in the world. As I told you earlier today, throughout this first year of marriage I have learned many things. One is how much you like to spend money as I am beyond nervous every time I check the bank statement. However, I've also learned that you can't buy what we have -- Love is something that you can't put a price on. I am the luckiest man in the world to have fallen in love with you.

Wow. Just wow.

I have a long-held and oft-proven hypothesis that everyone who posts open love-letter type FB statuses to their SO is having relationship problems.

This one has the advantage of not only re-proving that hypothesis, but making the relationship problem crystal clear.

Ya... I would like to think a couple that is happy together doesn't need the world to validate it, but sometimes it's nice to share your joy I guess.

Just reading it carefully... he seems to indicate he only learned about her spending habits after marrying her?

[With This Herring]

Saw this gem on The Facebook today -

Happy Anniversary to the best wife in the world. As I told you earlier today, throughout this first year of marriage I have learned many things. One is how much you like to spend money as I am beyond nervous every time I check the bank statement. However, I've also learned that you can't buy what we have -- Love is something that you can't put a price on. I am the luckiest man in the world to have fallen in love with you.

Wow. Just wow.

I have a long-held and oft-proven hypothesis that everyone who posts open love-letter type FB statuses to their SO is having relationship problems.

This one has the advantage of not only re-proving that hypothesis, but making the relationship problem crystal clear.

Ya... I would like to think a couple that is happy together doesn't need the world to validate it, but sometimes it's nice to share your joy I guess.

Just reading it carefully... he seems to indicate he only learned about her spending habits after marrying her?

How could he possibly have learned something like that ahead of time? </s>

[Uturn]

Just reading it carefully... he seems to indicate he only learned about her spending habits after marrying her?

How could he possibly have learned something like that ahead of time? </s>

I brought up finances with my ex-wife before we got married.  I wanted to make sure we each had a clear picture of what the other person's finances looked like and make sure we were in agreement on how money would be handled.  She had more debt than I would carry and she was a bit more spendy than I am, but I didn't see anything that was a deal breaker.  I started getting worried when, on our wedding night, both of her brothers mentioned that they were significantly helping her out.  Two weeks after we were married, she told me about her bankruptcy, large 401k loan, and the rest of her credit cards.  She moved into my house and we had hers on the market.  I found out from the title company about her second mortgage. 

I didn't post anything on the internet about it, but I can definitely see how one can not have a clear picture of their fiancee's finances before marriage.

[marty998]

Just reading it carefully... he seems to indicate he only learned about her spending habits after marrying her?

How could he possibly have learned something like that ahead of time? </s>

I brought up finances with my ex-wife before we got married.  I wanted to make sure we each had a clear picture of what the other person's finances looked like and make sure we were in agreement on how money would be handled.  She had more debt than I would carry and she was a bit more spendy than I am, but I didn't see anything that was a deal breaker.  I started getting worried when, on our wedding night, both of her brothers mentioned that they were significantly helping her out.  Two weeks after we were married, she told me about her bankruptcy, large 401k loan, and the rest of her credit cards.  She moved into my house and we had hers on the market.  I found out from the title company about her second mortgage. 

I didn't post anything on the internet about it, but I can definitely see how one can not have a clear picture of their fiancee's finances before marriage.

I'm sorry but... what? You didn't probe... ask further questions... get a feeling when she brushed you off on inconsistencies?

How long were you dating before you married the now ex?

[TheGrimSqueaker]

GrimSqueaker - I always assumed that the Venomous Spaz Beast was a human child! Oops!

Oof. I did adopt a daughter as well, but the Venomous Spaz Beast is a pointy eared space alien some know as a "Chihuahua". Overall I'd have to say the dog likes me better.

Aaack! I'm sorry for the faux-pas! I think that I remember reading one of your hilarious posts about VSB being 3, and given that all of the toddlers that I've know have been terrors and that my parents called my sister and I similarly endearing names, it made sense to read about you tiptoeing around in the morning to try not to wake it.

No worries, no harm done. The VSB at the time was 3 pounds. And you're right, I didn't want to wake her.

The VSB is now 4 pounds 11 ounces soaking wet and I don't think she's going to grow anymore. She turned a full year old sometime this month (we don't know exactly when) and is officially no longer a pup. I threw her a party on Labor Day and a couple dozen of her best friends came to chill and eat burgers. A few weeks ago we took a road trip up to Wyoming to see the eclipse. She was sweet, calm, interested in what was going on around her, and in a fantastic mood overall. The obedience classes helped.

[Alfred J Quack]

Nope, I'm not one of THEM, even though a Seattle street person once claimed I was 30 years ago..
I'm just remarking on how difficult it is to PROVE that the generic hamburger ISN'T Soylent Green.

Or horse meat.

In the US, horsemeat consumption by humans is allegedly unusual.   No infrastructure.

In my country there is an infrastructure for horsemeat and a few years back there was a massive scandal because some horsemeat got mixed up with beef.

I can't say I was that bothered. Of course, food contamination shouldn't happen, but horses aren't kept for their meat. Horses that get butchered are all former pets. They have had a much better life than the average cow or pig. In the same way I really can't understand why people have such problems with eating game meat (if you believe in eating meat of course, and I'm not talking about endangered species).

The mix-up was not the biggest problem, it was mainly because the horsemeat was contaminated with Glenbuterol (excuse the spelling) which is a known carcinogenic and not suitable for consumption.

[londonstache]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

[BDWW]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

I've never used Uber in my life, but I still think it's horse $hit banning it.

[penguintroopers]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

I would say because of the cost effectiveness of having one car per household and sometimes buses don't always run where you need to go, or its just more time efficient (10 minute $8 uber ride vs 1 hour $2 bus ride... my time has value too), and then I remember this is friggin' London with one of the best transportation systems in the world (vs. my crappy-but-somehow-barely-functional American version), and then I place my palm to my face and die a little inside.

[jinga nation]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

I would say because of the cost effectiveness of having one car per household and sometimes buses don't always run where you need to go, or its just more time efficient (10 minute $8 uber ride vs 1 hour $2 bus ride... my time has value too), and then I remember this is friggin' London with one of the best transportation systems in the world (vs. my crappy-but-somehow-barely-functional American version), and then I place my palm to my face and die a little inside.

It's human nature to always want better.
Many Americans may wish they had London's transportation system.
Londoner's may wish they had it a la Swiss.
The Swiss may say they wish they had Japanese-style trains for some technical reason.
The Japanese may ask for something like American muscle cars/trucks/hot rods.
Human nature to want something you don't (and can't) have.

[penguintroopers]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

[Kyle Schuant]

I live in a HCOL suburb with a *fantastic* school system (and magnet schools in the area for high school if your child is particularly gifted/smart).  Saw on FB that a friend of a friend is looking for a private school for their child to start Kindergarten next year.  They are willing to pay $20k + per year for an "Ivy-league" quality education for the munchkin. 

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Apparently there was a study in Australia - I've seen it referred to, but not properly cited - that said that small children who had bedtime stories with interaction (ie pointing to words in the book, talking about the book, etc) had an advantage over small children who didn't, even by age 15, and that this advantage is actually greater than that of private vs public school.

We have a few public schools here with a great reputation, indeed one high school, McKinnon, is so well-thought of that over the years they've had to expand from 500 to 2,000 students, and house prices within its zone are $100-$150k more than just outside it, I mean literally across the street.

But then I think of what teachers tell me, "the number one determinant of children's academic success is parental involvement." Now I would think that if parents are willing to pay $20k pa, or go to the trouble of moving houses and spending an extra $100-150k for a house in a particular school's zone, then those are going to be very, very involved parents.

And if you have a whole class of kids like that, they'll tend to encourage each-other. So my thinking is, it's less the teachers and more the parents and fellow students. 

And a friend pointed out, "rather than spending $15k on a school, send them to a public school and spend $5k on tutoring when needed, same outcome."

So... read with your kids, be involved in their education, make sure they're at a place where their classmates have the same kind of parents, and if all else fails, get them some tutoring.

That's what we're doing, anyway.

[dragoncar]

I live in a HCOL suburb with a *fantastic* school system (and magnet schools in the area for high school if your child is particularly gifted/smart).  Saw on FB that a friend of a friend is looking for a private school for their child to start Kindergarten next year.  They are willing to pay $20k + per year for an "Ivy-league" quality education for the munchkin. 

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Apparently there was a study in Australia - I've seen it referred to, but not properly cited - that said that small children who had bedtime stories with interaction (ie pointing to words in the book, talking about the book, etc) had an advantage over small children who didn't, even by age 15, and that this advantage is actually greater than that of private vs public school.

We have a few public schools here with a great reputation, indeed one high school, McKinnon, is so well-thought of that over the years they've had to expand from 500 to 2,000 students, and house prices within its zone are $100-$150k more than just outside it, I mean literally across the street.

But then I think of what teachers tell me, "the number one determinant of children's academic success is parental involvement." Now I would think that if parents are willing to pay $20k pa, or go to the trouble of moving houses and spending an extra $100-150k for a house in a particular school's zone, then those are going to be very, very involved parents.

And if you have a whole class of kids like that, they'll tend to encourage each-other. So my thinking is, it's less the teachers and more the parents and fellow students. 

And a friend pointed out, "rather than spending $15k on a school, send them to a public school and spend $5k on tutoring when needed, same outcome."

So... read with your kids, be involved in their education, make sure they're at a place where their classmates have the same kind of parents, and if all else fails, get them some tutoring.

That's what we're doing, anyway.

Psh, kids don't need books.  What's wrong with the back of the shampoo bottle?

[marielle]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

[WerKater]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

Do you think that London should also ban cabs?

[Goldielocks]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

Do you think that London should also ban cabs cats?

Because it is late and I am too tired to read properly, I fixed this for you.

[RetiredAt63]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

Belleville, Ontario, so 87500 km, not miles.  And the price is Canadian dollars, not US.  Still nuts.

[penguintroopers]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

Belleville, Ontario, so 87500 km, not miles.  And the price is Canadian dollars, not US.  Still nuts.

Ah, my bad. Somehow the FB post puts 140,000 miles though? Eh.

For the Americans like myself:

$48900 (CAD) = $39631 (USD)
87500 km = 54370 miles
140000 km = 87000 miles

[fredbear]

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

Lot of money, but the people who know diesels will pay a premium for non-cowpiss trucks (ie, no DEF [literally, no mixture of water and urea]).  Mileage is much better, engine life is far longer, the power is still there to haul heavy excavation equipment, and some of the new DEF diesels

- have unreliable DEF gages, and

- go into limp mode when the DEF gets low, so you are tooling along at 80, and it drops instantly, without warning, to 4.  Friend and his little boy barely escaped a highspeed rear-ending because of those two features.

[former player]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

Do you think that London should also ban cabs?

If you are talking about black cabs (ie the hail in the street London taxi service whose drivers have all done The Knowledge and who are quite possibly the safest and most reliable form of urban transport on the planet), please God no.  Worth every penny of their exorbitant fees when you need them.

If you are talking about the order-only minicabs, of which Uber is just one firm among many, frankly my dear I don't give a damn.

[With This Herring]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

Belleville, Ontario, so 87500 km, not miles.  And the price is Canadian dollars, not US.  Still nuts.

Ah, my bad. Somehow the FB post puts 140,000 miles though? Eh.

For the Americans like myself:

$48900 (CAD) = $39631 (USD)
87500 km = 54370 miles
140000 km = 87000 miles

In the text body:
"The mileage on the diesel cluster reflects the original mileage (in kilometers) on the diesel drivetrain in the Suburban." 

Today I learned that Canadians, while using kilometers, still refer to how far a vehicle has been driven as its "mileage."  I would guess this is because "kilometerage" sounds stupid.

[kayvent]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

Belleville, Ontario, so 87500 km, not miles.  And the price is Canadian dollars, not US.  Still nuts.

Ah, my bad. Somehow the FB post puts 140,000 miles though? Eh.

For the Americans like myself:

$48900 (CAD) = $39631 (USD)
87500 km = 54370 miles
140000 km = 87000 miles

In the text body:
"The mileage on the diesel cluster reflects the original mileage (in kilometers) on the diesel drivetrain in the Suburban." 

Today I learned that Canadians, while using kilometers, still refer to how far a vehicle has been driven as its "mileage."  I would guess this is because "kilometerage" sounds stupid.

Kilometrage. Kilometerage sounds stupid because only unwashed Americans spell metre "meter".

[dragoncar]

My father just tagged my brother on a post regarding a 2009 Chevy Suburban with 140,000 miles on it... for $49k. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head because what on earth?! To top it all off, my brother texted my mother and I that he was thinking of visiting dad around Christmas time, and that dad would have a more long-term vehicle for him. Thankfully I know the chances of my father or brother purchasing said vehicle are akin to me buying a lotto ticket and winning, because both of them can barely manage to keep rent and grocery money together without it burning a hole in their pocket, much less throwing down nearly $50,000 on a vehicle.

Vehicle in question for the curious: https://classifieds.dieselsellerz.com/diesel/truck/6q83j1

Looks like only 87k miles. Still nuts but diesels last forever which helps somewhat.

Belleville, Ontario, so 87500 km, not miles.  And the price is Canadian dollars, not US.  Still nuts.

Ah, my bad. Somehow the FB post puts 140,000 miles though? Eh.

For the Americans like myself:

$48900 (CAD) = $39631 (USD)
87500 km = 54370 miles
140000 km = 87000 miles

In the text body:
"The mileage on the diesel cluster reflects the original mileage (in kilometers) on the diesel drivetrain in the Suburban." 

Today I learned that Canadians, while using kilometers, still refer to how far a vehicle has been driven as its "mileage."  I would guess this is because "kilometerage" sounds stupid.

Kilometrage. Kilometerage sounds stupid because only unwashed Americans spell metre "meter".

[shelivesthedream]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

Wow, Ive just looked up the story. TfL is making some pretty serious accusations about Uber's company practices. It'll be interesting to see how the appeal pans out. TfL wouldn't have done this without some serious evidence, so good luck to Uber waffling on about "consumer choice" if it turns out they've been breaking laws right left and centre.

I also can't believe how well Uber has done here. London public transport is amazing. We even have the night tube being rolled out now! Uber has never been the cost-effective choice here.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

Compared to owning a second car for my purposes, Uber is much, much less expensive.

[shelivesthedream]

Compared to owning a second car for my purposes, Uber is much, much less expensive.

What about compared to a London Tube journey?

[gaja]

My Facebook is being overrun today after TfL (Transport for London) have revoked the licence of Uber to operate in the city.

I'm thoroughly confused. How are these non-millionaires justifying the usage of a personal chauffeur service, particularly given the exceptionally robust, cost-effective 24-hour public transport system we have?

Wow, Ive just looked up the story. TfL is making some pretty serious accusations about Uber's company practices. It'll be interesting to see how the appeal pans out. TfL wouldn't have done this without some serious evidence, so good luck to Uber waffling on about "consumer choice" if it turns out they've been breaking laws right left and centre.

I wouldn't be surprised. We have had a few lawsuits here, where the police and tax authorities drain former Uber drivers dry, and Uber does basicly nothing to help their "employees". The laws in Norway are quite clear: running a taxi without a licence is illegal, and the number of licences are strictly regulated. In Denmark, it looks even worse: drivers are taken to court for breaking the taxi laws, being forced to pay back all they have earned + a 20 % fine.

If Uber thinks their business model is the best one, they should fight to change the laws, not go in to new markets knowingly breaking the laws, and throwing the drivers under the bus.

[zolotiyeruki]

I wouldn't be surprised. We have had a few lawsuits here, where the police and tax authorities drain former Uber drivers dry, and Uber does basicly nothing to help their "employees". The laws in Norway are quite clear: running a taxi without a licence is illegal, and the number of licences are strictly regulated. In Denmark, it looks even worse: drivers are taken to court for breaking the taxi laws, being forced to pay back all they have earned + a 20 % fine.

If Uber thinks their business model is the best one, they should fight to change the laws, not go in to new markets knowingly breaking the laws, and throwing the drivers under the bus.

Part of the problem, however, is that in a lot of places the Taxi lobby is quite powerful, and so it's difficult to get the laws changed.  It's very similar to the problems Tesla is facing in many states--the car dealership lobby is well-funded and well-connected, so even though they are extremely profitable (and largely a parasite on the whole industry), they are protected to a ridiculous degree from competition.

[gaja]

I live in a HCOL suburb with a *fantastic* school system (and magnet schools in the area for high school if your child is particularly gifted/smart).  Saw on FB that a friend of a friend is looking for a private school for their child to start Kindergarten next year.  They are willing to pay $20k + per year for an "Ivy-league" quality education for the munchkin. 

Those who suggested the excellent public schools were told "that's not an option" with no reason given.

Apparently there was a study in Australia - I've seen it referred to, but not properly cited - that said that small children who had bedtime stories with interaction (ie pointing to words in the book, talking about the book, etc) had an advantage over small children who didn't, even by age 15, and that this advantage is actually greater than that of private vs public school.

We have a few public schools here with a great reputation, indeed one high school, McKinnon, is so well-thought of that over the years they've had to expand from 500 to 2,000 students, and house prices within its zone are $100-$150k more than just outside it, I mean literally across the street.

But then I think of what teachers tell me, "the number one determinant of children's academic success is parental involvement." Now I would think that if parents are willing to pay $20k pa, or go to the trouble of moving houses and spending an extra $100-150k for a house in a particular school's zone, then those are going to be very, very involved parents.

And if you have a whole class of kids like that, they'll tend to encourage each-other. So my thinking is, it's less the teachers and more the parents and fellow students. 

And a friend pointed out, "rather than spending $15k on a school, send them to a public school and spend $5k on tutoring when needed, same outcome."

So... read with your kids, be involved in their education, make sure they're at a place where their classmates have the same kind of parents, and if all else fails, get them some tutoring.

That's what we're doing, anyway.

We have no problems teaching our kids the academic stuff. It is much harder to teach them how to independently interact with other kids and adults, and adapt their behaviour to deal with all types of people from different backgrounds. So that has been important for us when we choose kindergartens, schools and extracurricilar activities for my girls. They have spent a few months in a kindergarten for refugees, gone on and off to a hospital kindergarten, and the oldest has been part time in two different schools for deaf with plenty of disabled kids and kids from native minorities. Now we have moved to one of the poorer neighbourhoods in the country, with a lovely little school where most of the kids are poor and/or immigrants. Because of the bad statistics, the school gets extra resources from both the municipality and the state, and has managed to attract teachers and administrators who really want to make a difference. Most of the time, the teachers manage to give the girls enough challenges, but we do make sure to push them a bit extra when they do their homework, in weekends and during holidays.

[Hula Hoop]

Gaja - I agree and that's why our kids go to a heavily immigrant school with tons of economic, cultural and racial diversity.  IMO it's much better than a school in a whiter more middle class area.  It's also good as our kids are bilingual in the local language plus English and more than half the kids at this school are also bilingual although mostly in other languages like Bengali, Tagalog, various African languages etc.