What you said about Madonna King taking aim at private schools

It’s the question that divides Brisbane’s elite: Does your school really matter? HAVE YOUR SAY

GPS rugby powerhouse Nudgee College First 15. Picture: Darren England

Queensland’s great school divide has never been deeper, it seems – and many of us have had enough.

Courier-Mail columnists Madonna King reignited the debate about private and public schools with her most recent column.

“What school did you go to? It’s a question people ask often, and routinely 20 or 30 or 40 years after we graduate,” she wrote.

“But why? Does the school you attended in 1989 really point to your intelligence or value system or success?

“No. But this question, particularly in Brisbane, continues to live on as part of the discourse at business events and social functions and even in the queue waiting for a parent-teacher interview.”

Sunday Mail columnist Madonna King. Picture David Clark

The system, the columnist argued, is not what it once was.

“Once upon a time, back when dinosaurs roamed freely, schools (particularly private ones) might have delivered friends and networks and career paths - particularly for men,” she wrote.

“But that’s whittled away, both as the public system has grown in stature and alumni, and as private schools struggle just as much as others to deal with the unsettling stories of some of their graduates.”

Readers were quick to pile into the debate.

Many claimed your school makes a huge difference, while others insisted that didn’t matter.

While some said private schools are the way to go.

See what you had to say below and join the conversation >>>

WHAT YOU SAID

There’s no right answer

Cosmel

The concept of a “good” school is entirely subjective. What qualifies as good depends on individual needs and perceptions—what suits one child may not suit another.

Lance Boyle

Very well said. It’s simply a way of making a connection but people like to psycho-anslyse it in a very weird way for odd reasons best known to them.

Chris C

it’s not the teachers fault in public schools. It’s the parents.

Woke Groupthinker

It may not be a ticket to wealth and status but it will increasingly become a ticket to avoid Marxist indoctrination.

User 1234

I teach English and Humanities (History, Geography etc) and am really curious about what indoctrination I am supposedly teaching. You vastly overestimate our ability to influence what students believe.

Nudgee College, Somerville House, Terrace? No one cares where you went to school, Madonna King says.

Your school matters

Brian

It is a Brisbane thing and yes I went to a Catholic school. I can still ask at every event “Where did you go to school!” and if they’re from Brisbane - there is an instant connection, as we are proud of the values, connections and careers from our time there.

Robyn

I ask about schools. I also ask people where they come from, what sport they like to play, where they go on holidays and what their hobbies are. It’s just interesting to get to know people.

Richard

Private schools are more about the parents ego then anything.

Judy

The proof is in the pudding certainly worked for both my kids - good behaviour, responsibility, self reliance and enterprising - worth every big dollar

Nudgee College players and fans celebrate a rugby win.

Private is the way to go

Lisa

We send our kids to private schools these days because the public schools have huge classes with a lot of disruptive children and are grossly under performing.

Paul

As someone who works across Private and Public schools, I can confirm that the difference is very noticeable, in most cases, both in the students and the teachers.

Dan2

These articles again miss the point about private schooling. Parents slave away to be able to afford a private school education for the network, and some semblance of control their kids won’t have a socialist indoctrination not for the status.

Caitlin

I am 39. My husband is 39. We both went to private schools in Brisbane. We met through a mutual friend who went to a private school. My husband’s career path started with a really supportive and engaging science teacher in high school. My parents and grandparents collectively scraped and saved to send me to a private school, and whilst I didn’t enjoy it, I am eternally grateful for their sacrifices. The connections I made through the private school community were incredible.