[Rick Lee]

I was in public school through 8th grade and then went to a prep school. We weren't rich. My dad was an alumnus (he grew up poor and won a free ride by scoring highest on a test for the school) and my mom worked there in admin. On my days off I often went to the public high school in my town with my GF to see my old friends from public school. Sitting through those mindless, boring classes made me so appreciate my private schooling even when I was 15 and thought I knew it all already. There were very few bad kids, since the school would kick them out with no refund for something as minor as fighting and definitely for cheating or failing. There were lots of poor kids at that school because rich alumni set up scholarships for those who could handle the work. There were also lots of kids of rich and famous people. Most were totally normal. I think I got a pretty good balance of it all by having been to public school first, staying in touch with my friends from those days and spending a semester in Germany my junior year. I can't ever imagine sending my kids to public school now.