Quote:
Originally Posted by Cletus Miller
It happens in not poor, suburban-like districts, too (as Adder noted). I was subjected to a presentation for the "smart kids" where one of the counselors was discussing for us our options if we neither scored a 19 on the ACT nor graduated in the top half of the class (of ~400). Might have been the biggest waste of time I had in HS.
And, on the "some good schools" in urban districts front, they almost all do have some. Chicago has a bunch K-8, but at HS, it's all selective enrollment, with a couple partial exceptions, in the category of "not godawful". Anyone who can remotely afford it, and doesn't get kids into selective enrollment, goes private or moves to the 'burbs for HS. The selective enrollment HS's, tho, are good enough that people lie about living *in* the city to try to get their kids in, so it's really a gigantic contrast between the fortunate and everyone else.
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What I considered more controversial about my thesis was that no public school can be great, not that every public school can aspire to being good. It is interesting that there seems to be more dispute over whether ANY school in a difficult area can even aspire to being good.
But I don't think there's a truly great public school anywhere in the country.
