Support NeoGAF

[Mr-Joker]

As someone who went to private School I wasn't aware that there was a sigma attracted to it.

Does that mean Hogwarts was a "public" school?

Yes it was.

It's nothing personal OP (or the guy above me) but growing poor as mud working class in north west england, it was ingrained into me that only horrible rich posh people send their kids to posh rich schools where they get an unfair leg up from everyone else and fuck those people. We watched that programme sky 1 did on Harrow a few years ago, those stuck up snobs made me fucking sick.

Well your knowedge is wrong, I went to a posh private school because my parents wanted the best for me as they knew that sending a profoundly child who did learn to speak till he was four and struggle with his reading and writing to a public school wouldn't be a good option.

And you know what? They were right the smaller classroom and the one to one support was just what I needed to catch up.

I then left that school when I was 8 and went to another private school which I then left there when I was 11 and went to a private high school when we moved to England.

But let me tell you something, my dad worked hard to pay for me and my older brother education and even when he was struggling to find work he still kept paying for the fee and was even looking into enrolling my little brother into the same school but couldn't as he couldn't pay for the fee which upset both my little brother and my mother.

I am proud of the fact that I went to a private school and glad that my dad chose to send me to one but at the same time I do not look down on people because I was taught not to and nor did I ever felt the need to do so.

Did Ali G go to a public school?

No.

 

[Rentahamster]

N.b. Non UK readers, 'public school' means 'private school', because Britain.

I also had to google what a "toff" is.


I'm sorry your friends are judgmental pricks, OP.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

As someone who went to private School I wasn't aware that there was a sigma attracted to it.



Yes it was.



Well your knowedge is wrong, I went to a posh private school because my parents wanted the best for me as they knew that sending a profoundly child who did learn to speak till he was four and struggle with his reading and writing to a public school wouldn't be a good option.

And you know what? They were right the smaller classroom and the one to one support was just what I needed to catch up.

I then left that school when I was 8 and went to another private school which I then left there when I was 11 and went to a private high school when we moved to England.

But let me tell you something, my dad worked hard to pay for me and my older brother education and even when he was struggling to find work he still kept paying for the fee and was even looking into enrolling my little brother into the same school but couldn't as he couldn't pay for the fee which upset both my little brother and my mother.

I am proud of the fact that I went to a private school and glad that my dad chose to send me to one but at the same time I do not look down on people because I was taught not to and nor did I ever felt the need to do so.



No.

Sure you don't. Sure none of your classmates ever did either.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

I don't think those people are your friends, OP. Not if they're acting like cunts over something you had no control over.

 

[Antialias]

I thought it was

State School - Government run, no fee for attending but you're kind of assigned which one you go to based on where you live.

Public School - Fee for attending, but any one who can afford it is allowed in.

Private School - Fee for attending, but they school chooses who is allowed in.

... I could google this but I can't be bothered.

This is not quite right. Public schools do not accept anyone who can pay. There is a separate system of exams called 'common entrance' that you take at 13, and they then select based on that.

The term 'public school' is generally assumed to refer to the more expensive private schools, especially the ones mentioned in the 1868 act of parliament. It's a fuzzy definition.

 

[Aiustis]

...People with money problems? Searching for the worlds smallest fiddle to play you the saddest song ever.

 

[F34R]

Hi gaf, hope everyone is doing okay and having a good weekend.

I need to vent this after what can only be described as an awful dinner last night between myself, a friend and her associates.

The subject of school came up and we all talked about which one we attended and the mood was relatively jovial until I brought up I had attended public school. The mood shifted almost immediately and I was then subjected to snide remarks throughout the rest of the dinner.

I tried to take them in stride, but they became particularly more pointed towards the end of the dinner, things like "rich boy can pay for dinner", "what's it like being a toff", "was there a lot of gay stuff going on" (this, unsurprisingly, isn't the first time I've heard this one. It's the go-to for people when they hear I went to an all boys public school) as well as other comments that had a very clear and strong undercurrent of anger and hate to them.

I don't understand why they felt the need to become so hostile. Is it really so terrible that my parents were able to afford a public school? Isn't it the dream of every parent to send their child to the best school to receive the best education? So why then do some people become angry and sneer at those who have been fortunate enough have such opportunities?

I thought it might be jealously, but these were not people who I would say were struggling, they were in good careers, which is why their behaviour really took me by surprise.

Honestly, I don't appreciate it when people start doing this in a snide way. If it was simply joking about, that's different; however, in your case, I would have got up and walked out.

 

[BossDarkseid]

Sure you don't. Sure none of your classmates ever did either.

Does your aforementioned ingrained dislike of anyone who went to a private school mean you're so cynical you don't believe them?

:/

This is not quite right. Public schools do not accept anyone who can pay. There is a separate system of exams called 'common entrance' that you take at 13, and they then select based on that.

The term 'public school' is generally assumed to refer to the more expensive private schools, especially the ones mentioned in the 1868 act of parliament. It's a fuzzy definition.

Huh. This is intriguing. All these various terms have gotten me so confused, but I'm learning something new

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

Does your aforementioned ingrained dislike of anyone who went to a private school mean you're so cynical you don't believe them?

:/




Huh. This is intriguing. All these various terms have gotten me so confused, but I'm learning something new

I don't never believe them. I don't believe people who brush over claims about their own riddiculous privilege over the rest of us no.

 

[BossDarkseid]

I don't never believe them. I don't believe people who brush claims about their own riddiculous privilege over the rest of us no.

Fair enough. Didn't strike me as them brushing claims, but maybe that's just how i interpreted it. I think everyone can agree the system is ridiculously broken at least:

 

[TheWorthyEdge]

And suddenly everything makes a lot more sense.

Absolutely.

 

[Astral Dog]

Wait, you mean PRIVATE school right?
i can't make sense of this 😟

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

In Canada I'd be surprised if more than 3-5% of students attended private school. There really is no stigma here from what I can tell.

Hmm, really? I always felt it was kind of snobby.

 

[Astral Dog]

'I was born into extreme privilege and some guys teased me for it, whatever should I do'

Oh come on,this isn't about that.
Its about our confusion over the naming class in learning institutions on different countries

 

[Mase Gumble]

Seems like banter wasn't on the curriculum at your posho school old chap.

Spoiler

j/k

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

That's fucked op. They flipped on you like you just admitted to murder or some shit

 

[LegalEagleMike]

cash chucker

 

[Stinkles]

I've known posher. I went on a date with a girl who sounded like she had elocution lessons wouldn't surprise me if she read Debrett's and had finishing school as well

I used to love posh birds

We'd expend significant effort trying to make out with chicks from Mary Erskine's school for posh young fillies.

 

[witchedwiz]

N.b. Non UK readers, 'public school' means 'private school', because Britain.

Uk come on...
That being said..
I don't either encourage nor condemn private schools..
But i'm against any public funding towards private schools...

I would prefer if they (governments in general) would improve the quality of public schools, but One can only hope...

Back to you op, it's quite common, yes...
i went to a public (free) school, my parents arte well off, and i often got some leering targeted at me..
Luckily it ended up with the university, as i pushed more than the others, and @job (i would laugh at anyone saying that i take it easy at work........)..

The implicit jabs that you get arte usually due to jealousy rather than the interestin having a (supposedly, ad it depends on the school) better education..
Then again, remember that if you were to take 100 students from any school, the number of kids that are bothered by the quality of the schools for actual reason vs the Number of students that act like kids//like to talk, but ultimately is just uninterested gives you a very different picture....

Just live your life..
If you cannot take a joke, shame on you, if they like to just subtly insulting you make new friends... Easy enough, right?

 

[Kurt Angle]

N.b. Non UK readers, 'public school' means 'private school', because Britain.

OP was a mindfuck until i read this....

 

[Sora the Cat]

N.b. Non UK readers, 'public school' means 'private school', because Britain.

Well now OP makes sense. Does anyone know why they are called different in UK tho?

 

[Skellig Gra]

Well now OP makes sense. Does anyone know why they are called different in UK tho?

Because it's an old ass country

 

[grumble]

It's nothing personal OP (or the guy above me) but growing poor as mud working class in north west england, it was ingrained into me that only horrible rich posh people send their kids to posh rich schools where they get an unfair leg up from everyone else and fuck those people. We watched that programme sky 1 did on Harrow a few years ago, those stuck up snobs made me fucking sick.

This sounds a bit more like envy than reasoned dislike though

 

[Sora the Cat]

Because it's an old ass country

Yeah but, it had to make sense at some point in history to called them like that.

 

[John Kowalski]

Well now OP makes sense. Does anyone know why they are called different in UK tho?

Public actually meant private until the puritans ran away and decided to do things upside down.

It's also why there's such good dentistry in the US.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

This sounds a bit more like envy than reasoned dislike though

Not at all. I think its a gross system we should have removed years ago, there was plans to remove it during the war in fact.

Person X can work twice as hard as person Y in the same field, but person Y can succeed just on the strength of the school they went to, the people they met, the mannerisms said school taught them, etc. It's completely unfair.

I know a few people who went to private school, and they're nice pleasent people, but they can't deny the leg up they had on the rest of us.

 

[Sora the Cat]

Well Wikipedia says this, in case anyone is interested:

"A public school in England and Wales is an older, student selective and expensive fee-paying independent secondary school which caters primarily for children aged between 11 or 13 and 18. The term "public" should not be misunderstood to mean that these are public sector schools: they are in fact private sector. Traditionally, public schools were all-male boarding schools, although most now allow day pupils, and many have become either partially or fully co-educational.

Public schools emerged from charity schools established to educate poor scholars, the term "public" being used to indicate that access to them was not restricted on the basis of religion, occupation, or home location, and that they were subject to public management or control..."

 

[Zips]

Education systems should serve as great equalizers. If private schools for those who can afford them do not suit that end, they should be modified and/or removed and the resources directed to other means of achieving that goal. Currently I do not see private schools as helping equalize.

 

[travisbickle]

Education systems should serve as great equalizers. If private schools for those who can afford them do not suit that end, they should be modified and/or removed and the resources directed to other means of achieving that goal. Currently I do not see private schools as helping equalize.

I think you're confused into believing the U.K. tries to be an equal society? Everybody knows their place.

 

[The Hamburglar]

That gay stuff deifnitly goes on at those type of schools, well according to my uncle anyway. He works at a large private all boys high school in the U.K. He said countless times he caught boys in the cubicles doing stuff and running out pulling up their pants.

I personally wouldn't send my kid to one even if I had the money. Our clueless politicians have no idea what it's like to live in real Britain. even the likes of Jeremy and the hard left are nothing, but priviilaged elites who think they know best for people they know nothing about.

 

[Peccavi]

Education systems should serve as great equalizers. If private schools for those who can afford them do not suit that end, they should be modified and/or removed and the resources directed to other means of achieving that goal. Currently I do not see private schools as helping equalize.

But isn't it the dream of every parent to send their kids to such a school and make sure they have a leg up on all the poors?

 

[MudoSkills]

It's a chip a hell of a lot of people in this country have on their shoulder - you're a grown man, this can't be the first time you've come across it, surely?

I've known plenty of people who went to public school, most on part scholarship, but I've always found out that information after I knew them for a while. If I was meeting someone for the first time and it came up that they were a public school kid I'd probably give them some shit about it - without knowing the specifics of the situation it's easy enough to jump to the usual conclusions.

As someone who just turned 30, it does surprise me how much people still ask/talk about education in conversation. I left university 9 years ago, who fucking cares where I went?

 

[Astral Dog]

That gay stuff deifnitly goes on at those type of schools, well according to my uncle anyway. He works at a large private all boys high school in the U.K. He said countless times he caught boys in the cubicles doing stuff and running out pulling up their pants.

Well it makes alot of sense, but shouldn't be an excuse to be mean

 

[Gallbaro]

You were born into privilege.

The proletariat is allowed to insult you and you are not allowed to complain. Because they have had it worse than you.

 

[Bleepey]

I used to love posh birds

We'd expend significant effort trying to make out with chicks from Mary Erskine's school for posh young fillies.

That girl looked like a young Liz Hurley and with just as many plums in her mouth. Which surprised me since she was from Wood Green. She was one of those girls I'll remember on my deathbed. She was stunning

 

[stryke]

So what's a non-"public" school called in UK then?

 

[HerrPalomar]

Hi gaf, hope everyone is doing okay and having a good weekend.

I need to vent this after what can only be described as an awful dinner last night between myself, a friend and her associates.

The subject of school came up and we all talked about which one we attended and the mood was relatively jovial until I brought up I had attended public school. The mood shifted almost immediately and I was then subjected to snide remarks throughout the rest of the dinner.

I tried to take them in stride, but they became particularly more pointed towards the end of the dinner, things like "rich boy can pay for dinner", "what's it like being a toff", "was there a lot of gay stuff going on" (this, unsurprisingly, isn't the first time I've heard this one. It's the go-to for people when they hear I went to an all boys public school) as well as other comments that had a very clear and strong undercurrent of anger and hate to them.

I don't understand why they felt the need to become so hostile. Is it really so terrible that my parents were able to afford a public school? Isn't it the dream of every parent to send their child to the best school to receive the best education? So why then do some people become angry and sneer at those who have been fortunate enough have such opportunities?

I thought it might be jealously, but these were not people who I would say were struggling, they were in good careers, which is why their behaviour really took me by surprise.

You do not know what it is to grow up dirt poor and working as hard as you can (maybe even harder than you) but being denied the same opportunities because your mommy and daddy could afford to pay you a golden ticket to success.

It kind of sickens me that you can not even fathom how someone could be against the idea of public schools.

You do not get to complain. Be grateful that you will never have to work as hard as your life as some other poor guy and learn to take a fucking joke.

 

[Oemenia]

Long as you are not a Tory.

Otherwise...

 

[Greedings]

Person X can work twice as hard as person Y in the same field, but person Y can succeed just on the strength of the school they went to, the people they met, the mannerisms said school taught them, etc. It's completely unfair.

Welcome to real life. The education is just one aspect of it, it's practically irrelevant. If they weren't at an expensive school, they could be sent for lessons for musical instruments, extra-curricular sports, tutoring to help areas they're failing at, getting a car at 17, traveling across the country to attend a university interview, not having a job in their free time because they don't need it...the list goes on.

You're basically complaining that some people are more wealthy than others. It's unfair, but so a ton of things.

 

[Zips]

I think you're confused into believing the U.K. tries to be an equal society? Everybody knows their place.

From the sound of the OP's conversation with his friends, it doesn't sound like they fully do.

Clearly the dirty poors should be whipped for deriding his educational past.

I would be interested in hearing a recollection of the event from his friends' viewpoint. It sounds like it might be just a simple case of friends picking up on something they can joke about, and running it into the ground to the point the OP no longer found it funny while they still did.

If the OP doesn't realize why people (who attended public school) would pick up on his having gone to a private school, I question what all that money was for.

 

[HandsomeCharles]

You do not know what it is to grow up dirt poor and working as hard as you can (maybe even harder than you) but being denied the same opportunities because your mommy and daddy could afford to pay you a golden ticket to success.

It kind of sickens me that you can not even fathom how someone could be against the idea of public schools.

You do not get to complain. Be grateful that you will never have to work as hard as your life as some other poor guy and learn to take a fucking joke.

You seem to be under the impression that a child always has a choice in the matter, or even understands these concepts. I went to a private (public) high school after attending a state school for my primary (Ages 5-11 ish). In fact, it was my primary school teacher that first suggested to my parents that I should go to a private school.

Now, granted, I was asked whether I wanted to go, and I said yes. The reason for this was because all of my primary-school bullies had already moved up to the local state high school. I wanted a clean state rather than the guarantee of being tormented for the next 5-6 years. The educational aspect was fairly alien to me. I didn't understand the concept of quality of teaching at the age of 11. I also did not understand the financial implications. I was simply presented with an opportunity that seemed attractive, and like the majority of 11 year olds would, I chose to take it.

Both my Mother and my Father came from poor families and individually worked incredibly hard to get financial security and to provide for me. As I have gotten older my admiration, respect and thanks for this have grown significantly, and I hope one day to be able to provide for my own children the way they did for me.

So forgive me if I get a little frustrated at this, but I relate to the OP and understand exactly where he is coming from. Contrary to popular belief, when we were at private schools we didn't have classes on "How to shaft the poor" or "How to look down your nose at someone". If anything (In my case at least) the opposite was true. My time at that school taught me about respect for other people regardless of their backgrounds or experiences and helped significantly to shape me into the person I have become today (Which obviously you will all have your opinions of, but I think I'm alright).

Yes, there are some people who do squander what we were given and are generally bad people which give rise to the stereotype (Not that I associate with them). That said, to tar us all with the same brush is just ignorant.

 

[daviyoung]

So what's a non-"public" school called in UK then?

Comprehensive