Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Affluent, Born Abroad and Choosing Public Schools

Miriam and Christian Rengier, a German couple moving to New York, visited some private elementary schools in Manhattan last spring in search of a place for their son. They immediately noticed the absence of ethnic diversity, and the chauffeurs ferrying children to the door.

And then, at one school, their guide showed them the cafeteria.

“The kids were able to choose between seven different lunches: sushi and macrobiotics and whatever,” Ms. Rengier recalled. “And I said, ‘What if I don’t want my son to choose from seven different lunches?’ And she looked at me like I was an idiot.”

For the Rengiers, the decision was clear: Their son would go to public school.

“It was not the question if we could afford it or not,” said Ms. Rengier, whose husband was transferred to the city because of his job as a lawyer and tax consultant. “It was a question of whether it was real life or not.”
Read the rest here.

4 comments:

The Archer of the Forest said...

Good for them. I think a lot of those prep schools are weird worlds unto themselves. Fishtown and Belmont indeed.

Jason said...

Private school quality certainly is not guaranteed, but there are at least options as to the schools' educational philosophies. With public schools, the guarantee is that you're going to get the Establishment and everything that goes with it, which means a dearth of classical knowledge. Best of luck to them.

The article definitely traffics in the standard, bogus stereotype: private schools don't allow your children to be exposed to DIVERSITY. Here's hoping John Taylor Gatto's writings get exposed to more and more people who value an actual education.

The Anti-Gnostic said...

They immediately noticed the absence of ethnic diversity, and the chauffeurs ferrying children to the door.

LOL. Typical Bloomberg voters: diversity for thee but not for me.

Manhattan is a playground for liberals; their taxes buy a ruthlessly efficient police force.

Also, as a number of NYT commenters are pointing out, the Rengiers' children will not be attending just any public school.

Visibilium said...

A-G is correct. Check out the loft prices in Tribeca, where the Rengiers live. Diversity begins at $600k. The children will grow up as delusional as the parents without the private school bubble.