Being right in the heart of the education industry, albeit with what I truly believe is a much more noble cause, naturally all the latest news about the industry would reach me as one of the first figures. Yes, teachers (and even those of us who refer to ourselves as educators rather than traditional teachers) got to see the latest list of the most expensive and most exclusive schools in the country before it actually hit the general public and could be read in the papers, online, etc.

We were asked to weigh-in, even though ultimately it didn’t really matter, because the list-article was destined to hit the publication circuits in any case.

So in my personal capacity and representative of the opinion many other educators hold as well, I wish the article didn’t imply a link between exclusivity and cost as a representation of the quality of education the children who are lucky enough to be sent to those schools benefitted from. I would use myself as an example of someone who tries to do a great job of educating each child that passes through my hands, even though I’m not earning a private schoolteacher salary, but mine is a little bit of a different case because we’re part of an alternative learning mechanism movement.

There are many colleagues of mine I can point to as shining examples of how the cost of school fees doesn’t necessarily make for a measure of quality by way of the education offered, which brings into focus the secret of how the elite members of our society educate their children.

Cost of education

As with many things in life, cost usually indicates some kind of quality which you’re effectively paying extra for, and as much as most of the elite send their kids to the most expensive private schools, it’s more about the exclusivity than the cost. Higher school fees often means fewer pupils in a class, which means the lower learner-to-teacher ratio affords each learner that much more of a focussed approach to their unique and specific learning needs.

So the elite send their kids to the most expensive schools for the exclusivity more than anything else.

Real-world application of knowledge acquired

While it’s very intrinsically woven into the curriculum to the point that it appears to be concealed, an emphasis on knowledge that has real-world application is consistent throughout those institutions through which the elite have their children educated. It’s as much about learning the basic knowledge and skills for survival in all aspects of life as it is about acquiring knowledge and information about exactly where to go and who to partner up with and do business with. It’s not uncommon for something like a highly qualified and vastly experienced train accident attorney to be roped in for a job that perhaps falls outside of their regular operation, to perhaps help develop some of the content which forms part of the curriculum the learners will be made to study.

The elite make sure their kids at the very least form networks with the right people as part of how they educate them.