Public Schools

I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)

At 9:22 AM -0400 9/27/96, ronsimpson wrote:
>I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
>National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
>High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)

I took some of my science classes at Jefferson.

Yes, shocking as it may seem, I AM A PRODUCT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Help me before it's too late.

(Seriously, my view is that schools are not very important. All success,
academic or technical, derives from one basic determining factor: those who
read for pleasure, succeed, and those who don't read for pleasure, don't.
The young child who reads will usually keep reading, whether novels,
encyclopedias, lists like this, etc. The child who is not into reading will
likely never get into it later in life. Which is OK, as there is a serious
shortage of tradesmen, at least in my area, and more kids ought to be
taught usable trades. Seriously. Our "ideal" that all children should
attend college is absurd, given the lack of academic preparation, desire,
and reading skills that so many high school students lack. Most community
colleges are essentially becoming Grades 13-14, with most of the Grade
13-14 students reading at the 9th-grade level (which most of us on this
list were reading at when we were in the 7th-grade, or earlier).)

--Tim May



We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

"Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net> writes:
> Yes, shocking as it may seem, I AM A PRODUCT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

That's pretty obvious.

---

Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

Timothy C. May wrote:
> At 9:22 AM -0400 9/27/96, ronsimpson wrote:
> >I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number
> >of National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a
> >Public High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)

> I took some of my science classes at Jefferson.
> Yes, shocking as it may seem, I AM A PRODUCT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
> Help me before it's too late.
> (Seriously, my view is that schools are not very important. All
> success, academic or technical, derives from one basic determining
> factor: those who read for pleasure, succeed, and those who don't read 
> for pleasure, don't. The young child who reads will usually keep
> reading, whether novels, encyclopedias, lists like this, etc. The
> child who is not into reading will likely never get into it later in 
> life. Which is OK, as there is a serious
> shortage of tradesmen, at least in my area, and more kids ought to be
> taught usable trades. Seriously. Our "ideal" that all children should
> attend college is absurd, given the lack of academic preparation,
> desire, and reading skills that so many high school students lack. 
> Most community
> colleges are essentially becoming Grades 13-14, with most of the Grade
> 13-14 students reading at the 9th-grade level (which most of us on
> this list were reading at when we were in the 7th-grade, or earlier).)

On the "ideal that all children should attend college":

I grew up in Ohio and went to school in the 1950's.  College was a 
luxury, or necessary only for professional jobs (doctor, etc).
There was no Ohio income tax, and no state lottery, both of which were 
instituted (in the 1970's) at least partly on the premise of helping 
schools.

I don't have to elaborate on where the money went, right?  But, if you 
are suggesting seriously that one of the greatest money scams of all 
time, which involves not only moving pay-for-school to the masses (i.e., 
requiring college for nearly everyone), but makes indentured servants 
out of most of the people who get a serious degree, well, you're up 
against the big bucks on that one.

Yeah, Fairfax has good schools. But you're misrepresenting the truth: 
what school has the highest *percentage* of 1600 SATers, etc.

I suspect Jefferson High is larger than most private schools.

-Declan


On Fri, 27 Sep 1996, ronsimpson wrote:

> I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
> National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
> High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)
> 


// declan@eff.org // I do not represent the EFF // declan@well.com //

>
> On Fri, 27 Sep 1996, ronsimpson wrote:
>
> > I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
> > National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
> > High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)
> >
>
> Yeah, Fairfax has good schools. But you're misrepresenting the truth:
> what school has the highest *percentage* of 1600 SATers, etc.
>
> I suspect Jefferson High is larger than most private schools.

It's kind of funny to me to see Jefferson being discussed like this,
speaking as a student of it. :)

Actually, it's not all that big a school, thanks to the magic of
controlled admissions, with 1600 students for 4 grades.  This may be a
larger number than many private schools, but it is half the size of
many of the other public schools.  Jefferson probably has one of the
highest percentages in the country, if only because you have to pass a
rigorous standardized test just to get accepted to it.

--
Ben Byer    root@bushing.plastic.crosslink.net    I am not a bushing

The human formerly known as "ronsimpson <ronsimpson@unidial.com>" wrote:
{I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
{National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
{High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)

Er, how about the schools with the highest percentages, not the largest
number?  A public school will most certainly have more students than
home schools or private schools.

Every home schooled child I know has a significantly better grasp on
the world than any public or private schooled child.  Perhaps only
because their parents take a great interest in their education, but
the results stand out regardless.  

Cypherpunk relevance?  Sure - what does the gubmint allow you to do?
What information are you allowed to learn, and from what authorized
sources?  How are those sources authorized?  Who stamps the seal of
information approval upon those documents, and how do we know that
the information isn't simply a 'corrected' view of history (or physics,
or english language...)?  We don't, unless there are multiple channels
of information to compare against, from 'signed' by experts, to 
pseudonymous authors, to completely anonymous authors.  The only way
to be certain that your children learn about the way things _really_ 
are, is to allow for these sources.


-- 
no sig too small

Lsurfer@cris.com (Randy Bradakis) wrote:
>The human formerly known as "ronsimpson <ronsimpson@unidial.com>" wrote:
>{I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
>{National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
>{High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)
>
>Er, how about the schools with the highest percentages, not the largest
>number?  A public school will most certainly have more students than
>home schools or private schools.

Well, even then you are probably going to have a tough time making your
argument.  Public "magnet" schools and other public schools which target
the top flight students in major metropolitan areas will usually have a
very high percentage of such students because they are able to "cherry pick"
the ones they want (and avoid dragging down averages with students whose
parents have "pull" that some private schools must deal with.)  If you take
the percentages for a school district or other large geographic area which
covers several schools you will probably end up with a better comparison.

Then again, even with such a geographic comparison you may not end up with
the results you seem to want.  In certain areas of the US the public schools
are excellent (generally the Midwest judging from published surveys of test
results and other somewhat meaningless tests :) and in some ares the public
schools are horrific.  Making broad claims regarding which types of
education are good and which are bad is often a fools errand....

jim

On Fri, 27 Sep 1996, ronsimpson wrote:

> I hate to burst any bubbles but, the school with the highest number of
> National Merit Finalists and highest number of 1600 SATs is a Public
> High School (Jefferson High in Fairfax, VA)

As a former Fairfax resident I can tell you that the reason the school
preforms so well is because of the immense income from local property
taxes, and because the Fairfax school system has taken great pains to
maintain autonomy and freedom from the public school system at large.
They have managed, quite effectively, to create a private school that
receives public funds and keeps out interlopers.  They have my admiration
for this task.

I can also point out that everyone in the Greater D.C. area is trying to
get their kids into the various Fairfax schools.  Some resort to lying to
the DMV about their address to do so.  It is a measure of the clout of the
Fairfax school system that a few complaints have triggered a crackdown on
district monitoring which (surprise surprise) is concentrated in Fairfax.

--
I hate lightning - finger for public key - Vote Monarchist
unicorn@schloss.li