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The status/importance that modern parents put on primary schooling has a lot to answer for.
Our of interest do you have any reading on why the quality/attainment of primary schools aren't important?
Always interested in this stuff.
hugo7-
The status/importance that modern parents put on primary schooling has a lot to answer for.
Our of interest do you have any reading on why the quality/attainment of primary schools aren't important?
Nothing official (and not on the effect of outcomes for the children themselves as I'm not interested in worrying about that), just local anecdotes of individual schools.
Some of the best primary schools around me now were dogshit ~10 years ago. Some of the best primary schools around us 10 years ago are now on the verge of being dogshit.
As @greentricky said:
There is also the option to let your kids go to local shit school, join the PTA, fund raise, lobby, be that noisy parent and be a force for good in helping improve your community
Indeed. One of the dogshit ones 10 years ago got rid of their awful head, got someone new in who had amazing energy and vision and started to turn the school around. This, in turn, brought enthusiasm from the parents and everything improved massively. Now it's one of the schools that everyone wants to try and get their kid into.
Greenbank
Of course there are a huge number of parents that are just downright fucking lazy and unnecessarily drive their kids to school.
But there are also loads of things that are beyond the control of parents.
You and you child may be happy at the local school that you can walk to, but then your elderly parent needs to come and live with you, or you have another child, now you need a larger house. You can't afford to buy that locally so you have to move 3 or 4 miles away. Do you:
a) Get by and live in a squashed home with a less than ideal number of bedrooms?
b) Move, pull your child from the local school you were happy with, effectively ending all of their existing school friendships, and run the lottery of the local school that may be dogshit?
c) Move and keep your child at the old school and somehow make it work (possibly by car)?
You can see why many people opt for (c).
The status/importance that modern parents put on primary schooling has a lot to answer for.
It's also very easy for people with large amounts of disposable income, and/or no kids, to go full judgelord on those that don't have as much choice.