From kindergarten through 10th grade I attended public school.
In my sophomore year I had about 350 kids in my class. I don’t know what made me decide to switch schools. I guess I was just sick of not being challenged, the drama, and constant swearing. My parents and I visited Trinity Christian School in May at the end of my junior year. I couldn’t believe how small it was. (I ended up graduating with 25 other kids.)
In June I took a math, English, and verbal test to see if I qualified to go to the school. I was nervous but I passed. I was afraid that I would miss my boyfriend at the time who also went to Plum. It turns out he broke up with me in July so I was a free woman when I started at TCS 😉
Private school appropriate clothing.
At first I absolutely hated it. I hated that I didn’t know anyone. Everyone already had their group of friends. The classes were hard. The lunches were gross. The school didn’t have air conditioning or heat. I told my parents I wanted to go back to Plum STAT!
They said no. I stuck through the first few months and made friends but my grades still sucked. It wasn’t a great idea to switch to a college prep school my junior year, i’ll admit that!
What else stunk:
1. Wearing a collared shirt every day. (Also, no ripped jeans, flip flops, layering, or plaid pants.)
2. I missed my friends so much. Trinity didn’t have a homecoming and that was a big thing at Plum.
3. There were about 10 boys in my graduating class. Slim pickin! But I found Jim that year anyways 😉 [btw, we met at church and he graduated before me]. But at the same time this was good because I could focus on school work.
4. No crazy dancing at dances. The mantra when dancing with a boy was “Leave room for Jesus.”
5. The competitiveness. You have no idea. Everyone wanted the best grade, to be valedictorian, and to be better than you. In a way this was also good because it pushed me to achieve more.
6. The insane amounts of hw/projects/tests. The headmaster had to make a rule that we could only have 3 tests a day. The teachers moved so fast through chapters that we had a test a week, at least.
7. Everyone knows your business and everything about you.
What I loved about private school:
1. Attention from teachers and hands on labs. My senior year Spanish class had 4 people in it including me.
2. Goofing off and not being judged by my classmates because we were all crazy.
3. Learning about God everyday and being with people who LOVE God just as much as me.
4. Private school = trust. 1 day each month we were allowed to go out to lunch. LEGIT!
5. The friendships that I made (and still have) are amazing.
All in all I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world and I am so glad I went to Trinity for the last two years of my schooling! I suppose I got the best of both worlds from not being in a ‘bubble’ from k-10 and then experiencing a tough but loving school for my junior and senior year. I believe that it really prepared me for college and my adult life.
Did you go to public or private school? What did you like/dislike?
Living My Full Life 
Homeschooled! 😀
Awesome! I always wished I was homeschooled 🙂
I went to private school from kindergarten through high school. Like you, I loved the intimacy between teachers and students. I felt like the teachers really cared about me, and I received a fantastic education. But when looking back, sometimes I wish I had experienced public school life (my sister went to public school). I wish I had branched out more and was able to meet different kinds of people that weren’t in my class of 115 people. Sometimes going outside your comfort zone is key to growing, right!
I can’t imagine transferring mid-high school – what a tough thing that must have been! But you obviously adapted and showed that you can deal with whatever life throws your way!
I went to a private British school until year 7 (6th grade) when I moved to the states. Then I went to a straight up public school after that. Not just any public school, a very controversial high school that pulled kids from the hood and kids that parents made multimillions. There wasn’t much in between.
Good god that was a American Culture shock.
I went to a small catholic, private school. I missed boys a LOT haha but the education was definitely better!
I went public…. I did have to apply to go there as it wasnt the closest high school, but it was the best academically (and both my paretns went there so I was IN!) and had good sports teams. 🙂
I always went to a public school.
Honestly, a friend went to a private catholic school, and it ended up being filled with drugs and partying. You just never know!
sounds like you got a good one though!
Growing up, I always wanted to go to private school, but it just never worked out. Fortunately, the communities I lived in always had fantastic public schools. Plus, I moved around a few times, so I never got bored with the same kids. (:
I went to a catholic, private school.. and feel you on wearing collared shirts every day! Looks like yo ucould wear printed sweaters though.. ours had to be solid! Mine was less selective then yours though.. and larger. I had 189 kids in my graduating class!
As a little girl, I insisted that I wanted to go to a co-ed school. Thankfully my parents listened to me 🙂 You look pretty in the first pic!
Interesting post! I went to the same public school my entire life! how boring. 🙂
Whitney
Ha! Public school all the way, I kinda wish we had uniforms because it would save me from the fashion competition that was my highschool.
Fashion competition was huge in my public school too.. everyone was into designer purses too.. ugh!
I can totally relate, I went to private school 2nd grade until 12th. It. SUCKED. I absolutley hated it!! The comparativeness you mentioned, the stuck up attitudes, and the lame uniforms=ewwwwwww. I will say I learned a lot more education-wise than my public school friends, but they sure had more hot guys hahaha 😀
It was fun reading your comparison. I’m glad at the end that it worked out. When I first came to the US, I went to a private college (and this was my very first time in private school). It was so small that no one can skip a class, fall asleep, or forget homework (not that I wanted to, but..haha). I actually transferred out to a bigger college because they didn’t my major. Now I’m a parent, and I kind of want to send my kids to that kind of small school rather than monster university. It’s interesting how I feel about school now.
That is so cool that you did that and I’m so glad it turned out to be such a good experience!
I went to a public school but I really did not deal with the drama AT all because I was ALWAYS swimming so when I wasn’t at school I was at swimming and thats where the majority of my friends were too. Altho now I don’t do drama at all so when I meet someone that is all about causin some drama I just quit hanging out with them. Probably not good but I can’t stand it.
I went to a public school – that definitley had its pros and cons!
The entire time I went to public school, I lived on PLUM street. 🙂
Public school! I like it a lot, especially the school dances which stinks that your school didn’t do homecoming. 😦 but at least you had fun at your dances! “Leave room for Jesus.” Hahahaha, love that. I wish our academics were a little more driven, though. Our math and history department are absolutely awful!
I go to a private school right now and have been since I was in the third grade. I don’t wear uniform anymore though. I wish I did. I liked them. Not only do I attend a private school, I attend an all girl school.
I go to a private school..I have 19 people in my class, haha!!
I was at a public school for all my school time, but we weren’t so many. Currently, I study at a rather small college, and I love the supervision and that the professors know their students in person (at least the good ones). Before, I studied at a larger university, and it was standard to wait about an hour for office hour or to get at the copy machine. Now I’m straight in. 😀 I absolutely hate competitiveness, though.
I love seeing your thoughts on this topic. I went to a public school…not the best place for me in high school. Years later I taught at a smaller private school as a fill-in for a teacher who left. Sounds very, very similar to what you tell. I think that some of the students did not want to be there- but most did. The ones who didn’t left because the rules did not fit what they were modeling their lives like.
One thing I appreciated as a teacher was the excellent superintendent. His way of approaching discipline was by using the Bible to pinpoint sin and then have the student work out how it should be dealt with. An essay was written and parents signed it before the student could return to the classroom. Very effective on many levels. Of course, behavior issues on that level rarely came up. Anyhow, bla bla bla… glad you had a good experience!! =D
Only one day a month??
Crazy.
I was a public school girl (a cheerleader…hah!).