rainier wrote:What does bother me about private schools is the notion that they play by the same rules as public schools. Yes, they have to abide by MSHSL rules just as public schools do, but private schools have advantages that are inherent in their very structure.
There are inherent advantages to a community school as well, as I'm sure just about everyone knows all about. I don't have first hand knowledge of it, so I won't pretend to, but I have seen it second hand in MN and around the country. Having a close knit community where people grow up together, play sports together, have systems in place in sports, and in sports are playing for more than just themselves has huge advantages to it.
rainier wrote:1. Private schools have a unique ability to make themselves more attractive because they can raise money far beyond what taxes will pay for at public schools. This allows them to build facilities that many public schools can only dream of. In my hometown of Hibbing, I believe the last major referendum for any kind of significant upgrade to sports facilities was at least 20 years ago. To build new facilities at a public school, you need to essentially win an election (referendum). This is not the case at private schools.
Where does this money come from? You make it seem like these private schools grow money trees in their fields and can just grow fields of money for use at their disposal.
This money comes directly (mainly) from alumni and families of alumni. People who graduated from the school and were so happy with their experience as a student are now giving back to the school.
This is not impossible in public schools and does happen. The difference in facilities at many [public] schools around the country are directly from donations. There is
nothing stopping the community, alumni, businesses, etc from your community, or any community for that matter, from doing exactly the same thing.
rainier wrote:2. Private schools can offer a commodity that has a real world cash value to potential recruits. I know not all, but many players do get scholarships from private schools. Private schools have resources not available to public schools, and they can use these to offer free tuition. A public school cannot offer to waive a kid's participation fees, pay for his hockey equipment, or give anything beyond what his family's taxes have already paid for.
Making a point here will really get no where, as people on the other side think they know so much, but athletic scholarships are not given at private schools (or at least it is not common practice).
Students at private schools get need based scholarships. And again, this money doesn't grow on trees, it comes from donars.
If you really don't think things are provided to students at public schools at a similar need based basis, then your head is really in the sand. I doubt hockey pads are bought for them, but other services are provided for children who need things.
What commodity is that? Why isn't it provided it at public schools?
rainier wrote:Why did it take so long for the MSHSL to allow private schools in? Because private schools play by different rules.
It's fine private schools have the ability to do these things, they are private enterprises, after all, and can spend their money how they like. But to suggest that a public school is on equal footing when it comes to the ability to attract players is just plain ludicrous.
You still have yet to explain what "equal footing" means.
Even if you got rid of the private schools, there are plenty of public schools not on "equal footing" with each other. Life isn't about being equal, nor are athletics ever in life.
rainier wrote:This is what stings private school fans the most: the fact that they and everyone else knows they have advantages, and when they win a title, some of the luster is lost because of it (especially in Class A). So they compensate for this by trying to convince others that public schools are in the same situation they are, so therefore everything is equal and they should get just as much respect as a Roseau or Hermantown when they win it. And it kills them that they don't get it.
No one has said "everything is equal." You keep repeating that "everyone is saying" this and that but no one is actually saying that. There are plenty of differences between the two.
Glad you brought up Roseau...what class are they in?
rainier wrote:It doesn't matter how or why the private schools have these advantages, what matters is that they have them.
Please explain
what these advantages are you keep referring to. You have repeated over and over that they have advantages, but always in a vague sense (aside from the money thing, although you seem misinformed about it).
If you are referring to metro vs outstate, but that is not private vs public, as you seem to continue to want to make it.
rainier wrote:It doesn't matter how or why the private schools have these advantages, what matters is that they have them.
I made the comment as a joke in another thread, but it is ultimately true, private schools give what the consumer needs/wants. Why can't/don't the public schools do the same?
Try asking people why they leave public school communities and actually listen to them. Instead of telling people who chose private schools over public schools that t they are wrong, actually listen to them. I'm curious what response you'll get.
Ultimately, what continues to blow my mind is that private schools are blamed for kids leaving public schools and not the public schools for being somewhere people want to leave.
This is not analogous to [almost] anywhere else in life. Whether it comes to jobs, communities, cars, toys, equipment, or virtually any commodity, very few blame anyone for leaving what they believe to be a inferior product and going to a superior product. In all of the above situations, the "inferior product" is "blamed" for not keeping up with the other.
Whether you want to admit it or not, public schools
should have a huge advantage. If people are leaving them, why are they not changing to prevent it? And please don't give me an outstate vs metro response.
elliott70 wrote:
The private school system works fine,
when you don't have to take care of ALL the kids out there.
But if you can afford it, use it.
The problem a lot of us have is there are enough holier than thou private schoolers to make us despise all of you.
So add a class to the freshman curriculum, humility.
And winning or losing a hockey game means nothing. We understand what we have here in the outstate. We cheer loud when we have that exceptional group of athletes. And we cheer loud when we get our ass handed to us.
There is no reason I can think of that ALL of those kids you refer to have to be in the same classroom.
There are those from the public school communities with an opposite, similar attitude. Many from both communities are ignorant of the other and think they are better.
Why does the private/public discussion always turn into a metro/outstate discussion?
But I digress. I look forward to the positive, constructive responses...