Well, it's been two weeks of "back to school" for S.P. and I must say the whole thing has been successful beyond my wildest dreams. The Prince loves his new school and has made some nice friends. The court treasury being what it is I found a Catholic school for him since parochial schools offer the best chance for a non-millionaire to get their young one into a less overwhelmingly huge and crowded environment.
So, is there a difference between private and public schools? To be honest I think there is less than is usually imagined. Yes private schools have more control over the academic program they emphasize and they can offer some specialized classes that state controlled schools don't have the ability to offer, but the main difference seems to be the financial standing, and security level of the parents and how this freedom from fear of want affects the attitudes of the kids.
One of the reasons I selected the school I did was because the S.P.'s school offers foreign language classes beginning in 7th grade. That's a very good thing considering how often you hear people whinging away about the ease with which one can learn a language when one is young and how it becomes progressively more difficult as the years pass. So, if this is so widely believed, why don't we offer foreign language classes universally, in elementary school?
They do that in Europe. In the public schools too! Ever wonder why just about every Dane/German/Frenchman can handle his or herself in English when push comes to shove...languages are standard, even in primary school. In some countries swimming is a requirement as well.
But to get back to the point: Got time? Got money? Not scared to death that at any moment you may be homeless or hungry, or may get sick and not be able to do anything about it without losing a crap job that barely paid you enough to live on anyway?
Well, if you can say yes to the above I'd be willing to bet that unless you are a total evil, selfish, psychotic piece of garbage your children will do pretty well even in public school.
This is directly traceble to how often
YOU can smile and how often
YOU can get to this meeting and that meeting of the school, and how often
YOU can find someone you trust to pick the kids up early or stay with them on one of the many and seemingly arbitrary days the school is closed.
The public/private divide becomes dire when the public kids have no one at home with the time, the energy or the knowledge to supplement what the schools can offer.
Not being religious---in the monarchy church and state were firmly divided---we don't care much for "indoctrination"
Since none of the people who teach the Prince are actually dead (I hope!) their guess about the spiritual world is worth as much as mine or my cat's. Still the church history and judeo-christian theology aspect of the school are interesting from the standpoint of the significance of the Catholic church in western culture. That religious stuff shaped our history.
