I know plenty of Honolulu professional-class people who work hard to send their kids to Punahou, Iolani, Mid-Pac, etc. I also know of private school kids whose parents are themselves teachers... in the public schools. They've apparently bought into the idea that private schools are inherently better than public schools in Hawaii.
But I also know a few parents who've gone the other way, and despite being able to afford private school tuitions, have nevertheless decided to send their kids to public schools. These folks are apparently in the minority, and people often look at them like they're nuts.
There's a new book out about this:
Going Against the Grain: When Professionals in Hawai'i Choose Public Schools Instead of Private Schools, by UH professor Ann Shea Bayer.
I leafed through it the other day, and was impressed. Bayer examines not so much the pros and cons of public vs private schools, but rather the perceptions of private and public schools and the sociology and motivations behind the perpetuation of this public/private polarization.
She points out, for example, that HONOLULU Magazine, the magazine of Honolulu's moneyed class, treats public schools very differently than how it treats private schools. I'd never thought about it before but she's right; A. Kam Napier doesn't publish a "GRADING THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS" issue.
But I also know a few parents who've gone the other way, and despite being able to afford private school tuitions, have nevertheless decided to send their kids to public schools. These folks are apparently in the minority, and people often look at them like they're nuts.
There's a new book out about this:
Going Against the Grain: When Professionals in Hawai'i Choose Public Schools Instead of Private Schools, by UH professor Ann Shea Bayer.
I leafed through it the other day, and was impressed. Bayer examines not so much the pros and cons of public vs private schools, but rather the perceptions of private and public schools and the sociology and motivations behind the perpetuation of this public/private polarization.
She points out, for example, that HONOLULU Magazine, the magazine of Honolulu's moneyed class, treats public schools very differently than how it treats private schools. I'd never thought about it before but she's right; A. Kam Napier doesn't publish a "GRADING THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS" issue.
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