My oldest son will be starting his second year (8th grade) in private school, with a classical education. We tried a year of public middle school and he was bored out of his mind. The quality of the education was not only poor but as they get older the troublemakers in the class become worse and more dangerous. Public schools are not an ideal place to learn, there are too many distractions. It is costing us a fortune for tuition now and that will double when we send the 5th grader there next year. I will most likely have to get a job in order to pay the tuition for both of them but I can’t imagine a better investment.