I talked to a kid over the summer from Tennesse, he said for state they have 2 divisions; division 1 is all the prep school who recruit and division 2 is all the public schools

i have to give prant some props for his first intelligent post ever, it is true not only in kansas but everywhere, that the best education is a very wise investment, and only a bonus if the wrestling is of high quality, or any other sport you are interested in, only a few kids receive athletic scholarships to college, and if i can send my son to a place where he can not only get attention from wrestling and baseball coaches, but also is in a place where hey send many kids to big colleges academically i'd be a fool not to figure out a way to financially work it out

stonewall-

First intelligent post ever? Ouch. What about my witty banter? Does it mean nothing to you? What about the state statistical formulas? Those were mathematically delicious! My heart hurts that my near-perfect spelling and oh-so-witty remarks have fallen on deaf eyes/ears.

Thanks for the compliment, though.

Stonewall,

I am not sure where you live, but Kansas public schools rank near the top in academic excellence across the nation. I doubt that your child's education is going to be enhanced at a private school, who's teachers are drawn from the same pool as the public schools.

I agree stonewall, it's hard to believe Prant is a product of our public education system. Especially when you consider he likely went to orchestra camp (worse than band camp), while he was there.

Why sportsfan02, indeed I did attend orchestra camp (Prant hangs head in shame). I went to Midwestern Music Camp twice, and was selected as concertmaster of the orchestra once (Prant again hangs head in shame).

Of course, now I make 3 G's a semester to play two orchestra rehearsals a week to saw on a viola...take that, all you jerks (Moody/Dingbat) who made fun of me for playing violin in high school.

Jilka, I do believe you mentioned being a violin player too. You ever attend the old MMC? Any other posters here spend two weeks in Larryville for complete band/orchestra immersion? Wyler? I do believe Web Joodford also used to play a little cello in his day...

And I just noticed--stonewall's post about me having only one "intelligent" post has six commas and no periods.

Public education for life.

Prant,

You do know how much crap I will take for this, right? My violin career only took me through the sixth grade at Heusner Elementary in good old Salina. During my tenure in the second chair, I attended the "String Fling" orchestra camp on the campus of one Kansas State University. It was more than I can describe.

While I'm at it, I also played tennis for many years.

Got your back Prant!
Jilka

Time Stands Still, while Kansas has some good public school systems, they also have some fair and poor ones. I'm sure any parent, as I did, would thoroughly check out a private school to make sure their child can get an excellent education before making the sacrifice to send them there and not just fork over that kind of money so their child can be on a good athletic team. There are other reasons besides sports and education for some parents to choose a private school. They are not forced to be "politically correct" and teach your child to accept certain things as just the way it is when you have raised them differently all their lives. I want my children to be in a school that has the same morals and values we try to teach in our home so that those ideas are supported while my children are growing and maturing.

Jilka, you are to be commended for coming forward with your string-filled past. If you want private lessons, I teach group lessons at Westside Daycare in the summer at a rate of $5 for 20 minutes, or private lessons at $8 for half an hour. The group lessons will be with the likes of Taylor, McKenzie and Veronica, and include things such as "Pepperoni Pizza," "Wish I had a Swishy Fishy," "Grashopper Grasshopper," and everyone's favorite, "Up Like a Rocket."

I, too, have attended String Fling. Jilka, is it possible you are my long-lost brother, and you and Fat Pamon Darker were switched at birth?

Dear KCWrestlersMom,

Is political correctness learning to get along with all kinds of people, from all kinds of races, from all kinds of socio-economic groups, from all kinds of religions?

The school that teaches those things will be the school that will teach my kids, public or private.

I know plenty of people who can not get along with people of different races or socio-economic groups that went to public school. Racist/elitist attitudes develop regardless of school setting.

I think you're trying to start a pointless debate.

And I just want to say boo to Olathe for having the open enrollment (or whatever it's called). That probably played a role in me not having a sweet state championship ring right now. Hmph.

I coach,teach, and am a graduate of Bishop Carroll and would like to set the story straight about Bishop Carroll and Kapaun (I can not speak for Aquainas). In our diocese there are no schlorships, recruiting or grants. You can only get in if you are a catholic in good standing with a parish or are willing to pay tuition. At bishop Carroll tuition is not really even an option beacuse we have a waiting list so all catholics are allowed in first. KMC is near capasity but I beleive it does accept a few non-catholics each year.
We do not recruit. The same rules that apply to public schools apply to us. If we could recurit and give schloarships why did not Elliott come here, or Cornejo (who is catholic), or Addcock. Because they could not get in and we could not recriut them.
I am tired of people saying we have an advantage because we recruit. We do not. Half our varsity this year started as fresman and half of our state qualifiers started as freshman.
There is no reason to seperate private and public schools. I think our school is great but it is not necessarily better than any public school unless you want to learn about and be surrounded by our faith (which is why people send their kids here - not to wrestle).

jfink,

Not to open old wounds but that wasn't always the case at one of the schools you mentioned. But, in recent years I see no evidence that any of the parochial schools recruit athletes.

So concerning this topic of parochial schools where does this boys family reside Mo or KS (Mandcina) and where was he at the beginning of the high school season for he just shows up Jan 1st 04 who says the Catholic schools don't recruit take a look around yea right.

Some of you may be in shoes similair to mine, but i was one of those souls who went all the way through private school and now teach in the public schools.

There are two, well three if you want to count religion classes, major differences:

Parental involement at private schools is far more intrusive because of the investment being made financially by the parent. Also, many schools require activity participation as a requirement for attendence. Very seldem are private schools viewed as a "daycare" by parents as a place to drop off their kids.

The other major difference is that private schools don't have to put up with is that bottom 10% of underachievers that public schools deal with day in and day out. Often times, your tuition is forfeited if you drop out or flunk out so there is real pressure to achieve at proficient level by both parent and student.

As far as religion classes go, those are basically a combination of Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Ethics and Family Living classes. Sure, we went to church alot, but that was usually on game days and as a team which was good for team building.

The reality is that yes, many parents send their kids to parochial schools for their faith, but those same parents also realize that the faculty and administration get to deal with a student popoulation that is proportionally more motivated than the public schools.

The top students at at both schools are very comparable. Those students can achieve in just about any learning environment. Where I really think that private schools get there advantage, however, is with that middle group of learners who could go either way. The dress codes and stricter discipline of the private schools create a smaller population of slugs for those middle achievers to migrate towards, thus usually advancing them upwards.

I think this translates into athletics as well, which is why NCLB and school vouchers could really leave the public schools in a bind. Remember, Aquinas was 4A just ten years ago and they obviously have grown, and now the diocese is set to open a new school not far from DeSoto, Eudora, Olathe, Lenexa and to an extent, Lawrence.

All that being said, i don't think that private schools need to recruit. i believe that our government and society are already doing a good enough job of that. We public schools just have to keep setting our high expectations and continue to make the public school systems an attractive opportunity for a free and appropriate education.

Dear Bill:

While I concur with all of your views, you failed to mention the tenure system for teachers in the public school system.

In the Parochial system, if a teacher exhibits many of the non-chalant, do not give a darn attitude prevalent in many, many public schools, they simply will be finding a new school to teach in.

Also, I would not describe the parental involvement of private school children as "intrusive", I prefer to believe we are more concerned and engaged.

Being a product of Parochial Schools, parent involvement CAN be intrusive. Now being an employee of the public school sytem, I guarantee you the parent involvement CAN ALSO be intrusive. My parents were very involved and supportive in my school and my church as I was growing up and I had many opportunities that the kiddos in my school also deserve, but state funding doesn't allow for. Then we get to the No Child Left Behind Act, which is a whole other snake pit. Parents who have children in school and those who either have grown children or no children at all had better start taking education seriously. It will make or break your community, and the lives of those young people who will soon be the tax base that supports all of us "ole folks". We also can't have music, the arts, and sports stripped from the schools to pay for the mandates that the feds have put on the schools. These areas teach discipline, just plain stick-to-it-ivenss, and often offer kids who aren't going to be rocket scientists a place to succeed. You may think that school funding isn't your issue, but you'll soon find it's everyone's issue. Everyone deserves a good education. By the way, I also agree with the "tenure" issue in public schools. I have worked with many teachers and principals who retired long ago and just failed to mention it to everyone else. I also, for some odd reason, have run into a suprising number of teachers and administrators who seem to hate kids in general. Isn't that odd!

Did you guys know that the man who was instrumental in the developement of the successor to the space shuttle was one of Gary Ulmers boys from Olathe North (and was a finalist for scientist of the year nationally, one of the Elvin brothers) or that Kenny Gaines of Kinsley is now the Dean of Law at South Carolina State University or for that matter Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, five or six astronauts, several state senators and one President were all from those failed public schools in the state of Kansas. Kansas actually ranks anywhere from 16th to 26th depending on which poll you read nationally in public education. Sometimes that pius private school stuff gets a little bit insulting to those of us in the unwashed masses.

Westfahl:

Normally I respect your opinions, however your theory is flawed, and frankly is bunk.

How many students graduated from the public school system who could not read, write, or balance a checkbook during the same time frame?

By all accounts, nationwide, there has been much failure in the public school system, with a few shining stars.

I do applaud the teachers who put forth their best efforts, however the system is punitive to those striving to teach our youth to be the best they can be.

Well, I don't know about all of your crappy public schools, but mine produces more national merit scholars year in and year out than any other school in the state, public or private. Also, our average SAT and ACT scores are always near the top ten in the state. In fact, we have also been in the top ten nationally in average ITED scores in recent years.

Frankly said, in certain areas private schools may be a better plan, but in my district they're just a waste of money.