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You came off that “terrible schools” comment pretty quick. If you’re already going to home school it makes sense to keep taxes lower. But like I said, I’ll trus

You came off that “terrible schools” comment pretty quick. If you’re already going to home school it makes sense to keep taxes lower. But like I said, I’ll trust the experts who went to school and have ongoing training to educate my kids. That way I can focus on being a parent. The way you jump between Cook County and Chicago is also a strange way to measure things. You can live in Cook County and not be in Chicago proper. Cook County has places like Evanston, Hinsdale, Kenilworth, Glenview, and Oak Park with some of the best schools in the country.

toomuchtodo 6y ago
I might have parsed it in my head differently, allow me to expound. I said, "CPS is terrible". You said that grade schools are hit or miss, but 5 of the top high schools in Illinois are in CPS, and that there are always magnet schools that require a lottery. In my mind, if you can't offer consistent quality across your territory (Chicago proper) and grade levels (K-12), you are a subpar institution, ie "terrible". There are pockets of success (the high schools you mention, and the luck of my kids getting into a magnet school) but one should not rely on luck for something as critical as their child's education. I bring up the dollars involved (cook county, property taxes, Chicago debt) because that is the fuel for the education engine, and that fuel is running out (pension obligations are protected by the Illinois constitution, education is not). Therefore, it is very likely the education experience in Chicago continues to decline. If it's already bad today (which it is objectively is, based on our subthread discussion and how weighted luck is as a component of your child's experience and success), why would one double down on it (accept fate and put your kids into CPS) while also being financially exposed and locked into the structural decline? Blindly trusting experts is a recipe for disaster. Experts don't always have your individual interests at heart. As an individual, it is your job to optimize for you and your family. I hope this clarifies my admittedly poorly constructed thesis further up the thread. I'm off to make more coffee.
- take_a_breath 6y ago
  ==it is very likely the education experience in Chicago continues to decline.== This is the imbedded assumption you are working with. All indications are that the system has significantly improved over the past 10 years [1]. The state also passed a significant education bill that directs more money to the district (not less, as you imply) [2]. It’s well-known that schools are neighborhood-by-neighborhood asset in Chicago. Thats part of the calculus of moving. Nobody is “blindly trusting” anyone, not sure why you assumed that. [1] https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-04-13/the-secret-to-chicagos-school-improvement https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-04-13/t... [2] https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-illinois-house-school-funding-met-0829-20170828-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-illinois-house-sc...
agensaequivocum 6y ago
> I’ll trust the experts who went to school and have ongoing training to educate my kids. That way I can focus on being a parent. Your duty as a parent is to educate your children. Why the hell would I trust the government to not indoctrinate my children? It is truly sad that many parents wash their hands of raising their children by passing them off to the government to be educated.
- take_a_breath 6y ago
  Almost as sad as passive aggressive internet comments. The implication that you are only a true parent if you home school or send to private school is laughable. Do you grow all of the food your child eats? It’s truly sad how many parents wash their hands of raising their children by feeding them something someone else grew or made. Do you diagnose your children’s illnesses? It’s truly sad how many parents wash their hands of raising their children by passing them off to some stranger to be healed. Do you teach your children to call the police or fire? It’s truly sad how many parents wash their hands of raising their children by passing them off to police and fire in emergencies.
  - agensaequivocum 6y ago
    > The implication that you are only a true parent if you home school or send to private school is laughable. I did not say this nor did I imply it. Of course there are situations in which the parents are unable to homeschool. This does not make them any worse a parent. Even if you do homeschool, it's not uncommon to take some external classes as you get into the higher grades. I'm also not saying the that the parents need to write the math books they use, nor do they need to grow all food. But they certainly should feed their children with the food bought at the store. School is used to much as a day care and catch all. If it was more of a couple hours hours a week learning only math at school and at home parents actually took the time to teach virtue and discipline it would better.

toomuchtodo 6y ago

I might have parsed it in my head differently, allow me to expound. I said, "CPS is terrible". You said that grade schools are hit or miss, but 5 of the top high schools in Illinois are in CPS, and that there are always magnet schools that require a lottery. In my mind, if you can't offer consistent quality across your territory (Chicago proper) and grade levels (K-12), you are a subpar institution, ie "terrible". There are pockets of success (the high schools you mention, and the luck of my kids getting into a magnet school) but one should not rely on luck for something as critical as their child's education. I bring up the dollars involved (cook county, property taxes, Chicago debt) because that is the fuel for the education engine, and that fuel is running out (pension obligations are protected by the Illinois constitution, education is not). Therefore, it is very likely the education experience in Chicago continues to decline. If it's already bad today (which it is objectively is, based on our subthread discussion and how weighted luck is as a component of your child's experience and success), why would one double down on it (accept fate and put your kids into CPS) while also being financially exposed and locked into the structural decline? Blindly trusting experts is a recipe for disaster. Experts don't always have your individual interests at heart. As an individual, it is your job to optimize for you and your family. I hope this clarifies my admittedly poorly constructed thesis further up the thread. I'm off to make more coffee.

take_a_breath 6y ago
==it is very likely the education experience in Chicago continues to decline.== This is the imbedded assumption you are working with. All indications are that the system has significantly improved over the past 10 years [1]. The state also passed a significant education bill that directs more money to the district (not less, as you imply) [2]. It’s well-known that schools are neighborhood-by-neighborhood asset in Chicago. Thats part of the calculus of moving. Nobody is “blindly trusting” anyone, not sure why you assumed that. [1] https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-04-13/the-secret-to-chicagos-school-improvement https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-04-13/t... [2] https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-illinois-house-school-funding-met-0829-20170828-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-illinois-house-sc...

agensaequivocum 6y ago

> I’ll trust the experts who went to school and have ongoing training to educate my kids. That way I can focus on being a parent. Your duty as a parent is to educate your children. Why the hell would I trust the government to not indoctrinate my children? It is truly sad that many parents wash their hands of raising their children by passing them off to the government to be educated.

take_a_breath 6y ago
Almost as sad as passive aggressive internet comments. The implication that you are only a true parent if you home school or send to private school is laughable. Do you grow all of the food your child eats? It’s truly sad how many parents wash their hands of raising their children by feeding them something someone else grew or made. Do you diagnose your children’s illnesses? It’s truly sad how many parents wash their hands of raising their children by passing them off to some stranger to be healed. Do you teach your children to call the police or fire? It’s truly sad how many parents wash their hands of raising their children by passing them off to police and fire in emergencies.
- agensaequivocum 6y ago
  > The implication that you are only a true parent if you home school or send to private school is laughable. I did not say this nor did I imply it. Of course there are situations in which the parents are unable to homeschool. This does not make them any worse a parent. Even if you do homeschool, it's not uncommon to take some external classes as you get into the higher grades. I'm also not saying the that the parents need to write the math books they use, nor do they need to grow all food. But they certainly should feed their children with the food bought at the store. School is used to much as a day care and catch all. If it was more of a couple hours hours a week learning only math at school and at home parents actually took the time to teach virtue and discipline it would better.