Expensive Private Schools
- Thread starter MTR
- Start date
My eldest will be starting secondary in couple of years and we're considering a catholic school (not because of religious reasons), which is not as expensive private schools. What we've heard is, there's bit more discipline in private/catholic schools than your average public schools. We went to few open days and liked what we saw. Also, our home environment is such that the kids know that there are rules. They sometimes break them but have to face the consequences.
At least if they stay on course and not associate with bad company till they are 18, I'm happy.
At least if they stay on course and not associate with bad company till they are 18, I'm happy.
Sure, it may be possible but why would you? Especially if you have the choice (ie. you don't have dependents, you're an Australian citizen etc). My parents came here as refugees with virtually no education. Yes, they bought a house too. But they had to work ridiculous hours in a physically demanding job to do it. We purchased what was going to be our PPOR about eight months into my first proper job (current one) and our IP less than an year later. I did that while sitting on a comfy chair in an air conditioned office getting paid to plan media strategies and post on Facebook. I'm really glad I wasted three years of my life getting that useless arts degree so I can work in a job I enjoy and not resent going there every day. There's delayed gratification and then there's delayed gratification.
cimbom, based on MTR's original post, we're not talking about his/her kids having gone through Uni (yet). From my understanding, they are still in school. That, is pre-Uni. So there is still time for them to not get sucked into the whole 'higher education is the best option' situation.
If I was in MTR's situation, I would strongly encourage the children to reject the idea that Uni degrees are the way to go, that they will only get anywhere in life with a Uni degree.
As someone who works in finance, I can tell you that higher education work is increasingly being sent overseas. The work that I do is getting sent overseas.
In ten years time, the work you do is going to be majority done overseas. In ten years time, only highly specialised work is going to be done here. I know this, because the work that I do, most of it, right now, is being sent overseas. As a contractor, I have had people who wanted me to do work for them tell me they can get people overseas to do the work for less money. In ten years, your degree is going to mean nothing.
In my area of work, I target the top tier firms, because it can't be done overseas by people for whom English is a second language. That is where the future is for middle class professions. You might scoff at the assertion, but go back 30 years and tell working class people who had manufacturing jobs that they were going to lose their jobs to people overseas and they would have laughed at you.
Manufacturing is all done overseas now. An increasing number of middle class jobs are now getting sent overseas. Ignore this fact at your peril.
If I was in MTR's situation, I would strongly encourage the children to reject the idea that Uni degrees are the way to go, that they will only get anywhere in life with a Uni degree.
As someone who works in finance, I can tell you that higher education work is increasingly being sent overseas. The work that I do is getting sent overseas.
In ten years time, the work you do is going to be majority done overseas. In ten years time, only highly specialised work is going to be done here. I know this, because the work that I do, most of it, right now, is being sent overseas. As a contractor, I have had people who wanted me to do work for them tell me they can get people overseas to do the work for less money. In ten years, your degree is going to mean nothing.
In my area of work, I target the top tier firms, because it can't be done overseas by people for whom English is a second language. That is where the future is for middle class professions. You might scoff at the assertion, but go back 30 years and tell working class people who had manufacturing jobs that they were going to lose their jobs to people overseas and they would have laughed at you.
Manufacturing is all done overseas now. An increasing number of middle class jobs are now getting sent overseas. Ignore this fact at your peril.
I had to call the Telco company the other day...I got a bloke on the other end who had an Aussie accent thicker than Paul Hogan's...it sounded weird, but very pleasant and easy to understand for a change..
aaah, yes.
But hey; the population keeps on growing - which everyone here reckons is a wiz-bang idea - and they can swan around with all the middle class unemployed folks already here and growing at a steady rate (denied by the Gubbmint in recent unemployment figures - amazing how they keep on talking of X amount of jobs being created each week..).
What was that? - 10,000 jobs predicted gone at Qantas - not the 5,000 they were talking about last week.
Paul Keating was a high school drop out. Fancy that, Treasurer then Prime Minister without a degreee!!!! SHOCK HORROR!
I'm not a fan of the guy but I have to say of all the Prime Ministers I have seen speak he does sound like the most intelligent of them all.
Why does everything have to be an either/or situation with people only seeing it from their own experience.
I went to uni because I wanted to. I work in an industry where you need a degree in the subject to get anywhere now. It's a prerequisite for any job apart from at the very entry level.
But, other people experience success in other ways.
Leave it up to the individual to decide which way they want to go. Not preach and lecture and go on about how better your choice is to try and justify it to yourself.
I went to uni because I wanted to. I work in an industry where you need a degree in the subject to get anywhere now. It's a prerequisite for any job apart from at the very entry level.
But, other people experience success in other ways.
Leave it up to the individual to decide which way they want to go. Not preach and lecture and go on about how better your choice is to try and justify it to yourself.
I'm not just talking about a degree but any kind of skill or qualification. Retail is about as unskilled as you can get and I would give my children the strongest possible recommendation to avoid that industry for any kind of long-term work. I can't believe that anyone would do otherwise.
My work is very specialised. I've never heard of any company outsourcing my particular role/function overseas at all. I would imagine it would be quite difficult and not very effective. In ten years, I won't just have a degree but also 16-17 years of experience in my area to draw on as well. I'm sure that will count for quite a lot.
If you think professional jobs are in trouble then what about jobs that require less qualifications? Researchers in Japan are currently working on robots that will be capable of doing maintenance and repair work on nuclear plants. This is quite a skilled job at present. Once this is successful, I imagine most trade jobs as well as unskilled jobs like retail, will be automated out of existence. The future is in jobs that require creativity, critical thought, problem solving, ability to analyze and think strategically etc.
the retail robot is already here...go to Bunnings and look at the amount of cashiers there aren't.
But the self-checkout isles have appeared, and are increasing...Target, KMart, Coles...the lists growing.
I used one at Bunnings last w/end - I was at the checkout and through it in a couple of minutes. Too easy....pretty scary, really.
The Banks already have the tellers suggesting to the customers to do their Banking via the ATM rather than over the counter, and the current generation of 20 somethings and many of the 30 somethings are already doing all or most of their banking on their IPhone. We regularly get folks standing at the counter at the workshop, transferring money into the correct account on theirs one while I print out the invoice.
Once all the current crop of oldies die off, there will be almost no bank tellers in existence...dinosaurs.
As for trades being superseded; it may take a while longer, yet.
You will still need to have a set of human eyes look at a problem and diagnose the issue, then reach for the spanner/saw/grinder, etc.
I can't see a robot looking under a car bonnet at an exhaust manifold leak and diagnosing that - let alone fixing it....maybe if all the cars come out with computers way more sophisticated than the ones they use now, and the robot can tap into it and diagnose the fault that way.
How would it go changing the oil filter on a Ford Territory before smoko, and then an in-tank fuel filter on a Mazda 6 after smoko, and then 3 platinum spark plugs under the intake manifold on a Chrysler Voyager after lunch?
I guess we can all look forward to our 60,000km Book Services costing $2k to cover the cost of the set-up of robots etc, and wander down to the CES office and pick up our welfare forms while the robots do their stuff.
Valid point - I know many successful people who never went to uni, and couldn't stand looking at a text book or work indoors every minute of their working week (I'm one of them.
)And vice versa.
I know a golf course superintendent who now employs over 50 men in his consulting company...never finished high school, and gets around the various golf courses he overseas for the most part - in a chopper.
We need doctors, surgeons, lawyers (well; maybe not lawyers
), etc too...loads of jobs that require loads of further study and bookwormitis, indoors, pushing pens and keyboards and premature poor eyesight..Each to their own.
I think the decision whether to send your child to a public versus a private school depends on many factors.
Obviously having the financial means to send your child to a private school is an important consideration to begin with. Other factors include whether there are good public schools in the area in which you live, the quality of the teachers in the schools in your area (both public and private) and the type of school that will suit your child's abilities. There are such a variety of schools available and I think its important to choose a school that will provide your child with the best learning outcomes according to their abilities, interests etc.
There can be no doubt that an expensive private school will offer your child access to many resources and extra curricular activities including sporting and music opportunities which are simply not available at a public school.
The school I teach at is a private school. Class sizes are smaller, students are carefully monitored and assisted when they need help. Resources and opportunities abound for those students who choose to become involved in the various extra curricular programs offered.
I know many people have succeeded very well without a University Degree, however, I think it is becoming increasingly important in today's work force to have degrees and qualifications. They give you a foot in the door in many places and allow you to begin your career progression.
I personally was schooled within the public sector and have done ok! However its natural for each generation to want the best possible outcomes for the next and I know that many parents now days consider a private education for their children as helping them to achieve this.
Obviously having the financial means to send your child to a private school is an important consideration to begin with. Other factors include whether there are good public schools in the area in which you live, the quality of the teachers in the schools in your area (both public and private) and the type of school that will suit your child's abilities. There are such a variety of schools available and I think its important to choose a school that will provide your child with the best learning outcomes according to their abilities, interests etc.
There can be no doubt that an expensive private school will offer your child access to many resources and extra curricular activities including sporting and music opportunities which are simply not available at a public school.
The school I teach at is a private school. Class sizes are smaller, students are carefully monitored and assisted when they need help. Resources and opportunities abound for those students who choose to become involved in the various extra curricular programs offered.
I know many people have succeeded very well without a University Degree, however, I think it is becoming increasingly important in today's work force to have degrees and qualifications. They give you a foot in the door in many places and allow you to begin your career progression.
I personally was schooled within the public sector and have done ok! However its natural for each generation to want the best possible outcomes for the next and I know that many parents now days consider a private education for their children as helping them to achieve this.
I went to an exclusive high school, then went to uni. Not going to uni was not an option. I struggled at uni and had hard time finding first job. But i did well after a year working. I would like my children to go to private school and then continue uni. Personally, uni is a great place for personal development and getting education at the same time.
It's not easy to find a good public school in sydney. Many public school has lots of students so there is not enough attention to each student, especially the one with issues.
We sent one of our children to public school, and it was not a good experience. We are still trying to fix the damage now. I also found that eventhough the families come from the same area, the focus on children education was different.
The local public high school in our area has condom machine in the boys toilet.
A relative put her daughter's name in a very expensive high school when she was a baby. The girl attended the school for a year then transferred to a local high school as the parents found the fees was too much. Now at 19, she is expecting her first child next month. The parents are not poor, they live in over 2 mill house, fully paid. They have few IPs. They do like their lifestyle, holidays..nice clothes etc.
For our situation, living in sydney where there are massive population, private school is our only option. The price to pay is small compare to fixing the problems that would occurred in the future.
It's not easy to find a good public school in sydney. Many public school has lots of students so there is not enough attention to each student, especially the one with issues.
We sent one of our children to public school, and it was not a good experience. We are still trying to fix the damage now. I also found that eventhough the families come from the same area, the focus on children education was different.
The local public high school in our area has condom machine in the boys toilet.
A relative put her daughter's name in a very expensive high school when she was a baby. The girl attended the school for a year then transferred to a local high school as the parents found the fees was too much. Now at 19, she is expecting her first child next month. The parents are not poor, they live in over 2 mill house, fully paid. They have few IPs. They do like their lifestyle, holidays..nice clothes etc.
For our situation, living in sydney where there are massive population, private school is our only option. The price to pay is small compare to fixing the problems that would occurred in the future.
I am quite shocked at what goes on in some average public schools. I can see why students aren't disciplined as it puts authorities safety at risk. Going back 14 years ago I thought most of my baby/mothers group were a bit strange getting their kids baptized, etc to set them up for schools later although they didn't attend church themselves. Now I get it!
Sounds like a priority problem...
My siblings and I all went to public high school - we all went to uni (none of us actually graduated).
My husband went to public school and has several degrees (and had scholarships to study in the US).
We all have successful careers, but none of them are in the field we studied.
We all got some skills and knowledge at uni which has been useful, but we would still be in the same place we are now without uni.
My son went to public high school, he is currently in his second year at uni. If he continues at uni, great. If he doesn't it doesn't matter. I just hope he is happy in whatever he chooses to do in his life.
For me, relationships/family are far more important than money and 'success' (however that is perceived).
My husband went to public school and has several degrees (and had scholarships to study in the US).
We all have successful careers, but none of them are in the field we studied.
We all got some skills and knowledge at uni which has been useful, but we would still be in the same place we are now without uni.
My son went to public high school, he is currently in his second year at uni. If he continues at uni, great. If he doesn't it doesn't matter. I just hope he is happy in whatever he chooses to do in his life.
For me, relationships/family are far more important than money and 'success' (however that is perceived).
