You know what I think is somewhat odd? When Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were married, they pretty much lived in London full-time. I always thought that Gwyneth was okay with that because American peasants are so much worse than cultured British peasants, and I also believed that Chris Martin probably insisted that they make their home in London. But about a year before they consciously uncoupled, Gwyneth pretty much moved back to LA with the kids and Chris had no option but to follow her there. Now they have separate homes in LA but they happily coparent. Apple and Moses attend school in LA too, but of course they go to elite private schools. And now thatâs a problem, because as it turns out, children of the 1% are just as likely to be racist dirtbags as everyone else. And now Chris wants his kids to go to public school.
Chris Martin wants daughter Apple, 12, to change schools immediately following a recent incident at LAâs Harvard-Westlake School, In Touch is exclusively reporting. As In Touch previously reported, several students at the elite institution were caught using racial and homophobic slurs, including the N-word, on social media.
âHe doesnât want his daughter exposed to this vitriolic hatred.â Instead, Chris, who also shares son Moses, 10, with ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, wants his daughter to go to a public school.
âApple is a very talented musician, and the schools in Santa Monica have an excellent music program,â says the source. Gwyneth refuses. âShe thinks Apple should stay at Harvard-Westlake because of its impeccable reputation of sending students to top colleges.â
The parents were notified in a letter exclusively obtained by In Touch from the schoolâs president, who promised disciplinary action would be taken.
âGwyneth was initially outraged and disgusted by the behavior of the students but trusts that the school is properly handling the situation,â the source tells In Touch.
A few things are amusing to me. One, the idea that Chris would think that public school kids would somehow be less racist is⌠inaccurate. Kids pick up racist behavior from their parents and their peers, and that sh-t happens at every level, where youâre a rich elitist or a peasant. That being said, Apple and Moses would be in more racially and culturally diverse environments if they went to public school and that would help them learn that they shouldnât otherize, demean, slur or stigmatize people from other backgrounds or races. Iâm also amused by the idea that Gwyneth is singularly focused on Apple and Moses getting into good colleges. I think Goop went to college for a year before she started working as an actress and I seriously doubt that Moses and Appleâs futures will be make-or-break depending on their education level. I mean, wonât they both end up as celebrity DJs/nepotism models/lifestyle brands/actors anyway?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram, Fame/Flynet and In Touch Weekly.
Chris does seem to be into social justice, so it makes sense that he wants his kids to go to public school. At least he’s not as hypocritical as Matt Damon.
I don’t understand how any liberal could send their kid to private School, especially rich ones like Goop and Chris who can live anywhere and have options. Hypocrites.
That’s a pretty sweeping generalization. Not all private schools are created equal and are not the same (stereotype). The public school system in this country is atrocious.. as is the dependency of that atrocious-ness on economic means of each district.
You do not need to be loaded to send your kids to private school, there’s financial aid. The private school I went to had around 30% of students on financial aid. The difference in education quality is worth it to some parents. There’s more to it than just being “elitist”
generally speaking the public schools in the areas that these people live in are hardly struggling. affluent neighborhoods tend to have the best public schools because they can afford to. its not like the public schools in these neighborhoods are shitty to begin with. goop is an elitist through and through and I think she is appalled that it would even be considered that her children went to public school with the peasants.
Public schools are not, in general, atrocious.
They vary wildly, which is an issue of its own.
The Santa Monica Public Schools are very good, but I am sure there is plenty of racist behavior there, as anywhere.
@sarah private schools are not all the sane either. I went to private school as a kid. But I can’t afford to send my children, although I’d much prefer it. ALL of the ones even remotely within driving distance are way too expensive, and have waiting lists so they offer very few people financial aid- which itself is very hard to get and has to be reapplied for every year, for every kid.
I appreciate your point. I just don’t want it to seem like it’s literally an easy or equal choice to public school in this country. It is not. Also to other points on the thread- private school class sizes are the same as public- they have waiting lists and say they want to accommodate as many students as possible, but really- it’s a business and they can. They also pay far less and have fewer paras, and I was told this isn’t an issue due to teacher loyalty- as in, good teachers will stay because they can enroll their own kids for free. No opinion, just that’s what principals have told me when I’ve asked.
Also, charters are available, also with lotteries and waiting lists. The ones near me have very high enrollment of special needs. I’m not entirely sure why- parents feel better about sending them there? The public schools near me have by far more money than private or charter and have entire special needs classrooms, and paras per child, so they are actually better equipped for that.
I have kids in school and have done a lot of touring and research so this is my lived experience in my area.
But yeah….I really really wish I could give my children what I got- a far superior education (I had to switch to public in 9tg grade and all of us were far far ahead of the average, public was so much less challenging) and a better handle and input on curriculum. I’m very sad I can’t afford it. I worry about it and from what they come home saying they discussed in class- very unhappy. And yes I do attend meetings, conferences, volunteer, email/call. In the end it’s a giant machine and you cannot change it as a simple parent, one of thousands.
My kids went to a diverse public high school in Silicon Valley. Lots of their friends ended up at very elite private high schools because their parents were concerned about educational opportunities and to be honest the diversity made them nervous. Ironically, when it came time to get into colleges all the private school parents complained to me that universities actually preferred kids from public school who had not had their hands held and micro managed. And i save 40k a year (cost of private school in California). Hah!
Not sure that private schools can do much for your kid if he or she doesn’t have much aptitude. Look at Gwennie. She went to the best private schools and the best she could do was to become a UC Santa Barbara dropout and then rely on her parents’ connections for her career. On a personal level, I knew a girl who went to one of the best boarding schools in the country, and she was no match for the top 25% at my public highschool.
My private school was like 70% kids from low income families who got a full scholarship plus extra help paying for transport, supplies etc. Even things like two week overseas trips were paid for in full, down to spending money.
Some of the best private schools have been given insane amounts of money by benefactors, and thus aren’t reliant on fee paying students. My school was by far the most diverse in the area because of that.
Also Daisy, if a child has special needs or learning disabilities, a lot of private schools may be a better choice. Especially considering that private schools can provide smaller classes, thus more individualized attention and more targeted learning materials. It would open up a lot more options for that child who is living with a learning or intellectual disability.
Interestingly enough, where I live public schools are a much better choice for someone who has physical/intellectual disabilities due to required accommodations. In my former life as a behavioral interventionist for people with disabilities I couldn’t believe the crap and substandard care private schools got away with. Then again as lem pointed out it really depends on where you live. In my area the public schools are actually much better than the local private ones in terms of resources, diversity and rates of college acceptance. 2 school districts away you’d be nuts to send your kid to public if you could avoid it.
Private schools are largely exempt from many policies that cater specifically to children with special needs, including both ends of the exceptionality spectrum. You are totally assuming that private schools will meet those needs better but are wholly incorrect. In fact, public schools MUST, for example, provide Braille books to blind children that live in the district but elect to attend private schools. Private schools do NOT have to provide those.
@ AnneC
Yes, I was a public school kid and went Ivy League. Most of my friends there were also public school students. Public school quality varies wildly, but college admissions really want public school students because having all prep/feeder school students wouldn’t make a well-rounded class.
I went to public school in the US and it was an absolutely shit experience. I am bi-racial and got called all sorts of names (even though this was in a fairly affluent part of Atlanta). To boot, the quality of education was shit (was of northern aggression, anyone?), and I was totally unprepared when I arrived at College.
Most of us don’t have a choice BUT to go to/send out kids to public school – but if I could afford it I would 100% send my kids to pvt school. Especially given the American public school system is going to hell in a hand basket. Can’t be mad at goop for wanting the best for her kid – sorry.
(I accept my personal experience was spectacularly bad and that it is not the same for everyone. Also I have no delusions that I would t have faced name calling at a pvt school – but I do think perhaps there may have been accountability, if only to keep the fees/checks coming)
Reading this I feel so lucky to live in a country where private education is both very rare and looked down upon. It’s basically considered to be the last resort for people who were to stupid to make it in a real school, but they can’t go to a vacational school because mummy and daddy are rich so their little boy has to be college educated. They go on to a private college, buy their degree and go work in daddy’s company.
It’s the same in my country. Private schools and universities are only for those who can’t make it in public.
Maybe consider that it can be an education issue for parents; wanting their kids to learn as fully as possible. Not a class-issue.
I want to say something nice: at least both parents seem to value education.
Agreed. If these kids want to go into entertainment I’m sure where they go wont matter but if they want a more traditional career (doctor, social worker, engineer) in the future, being the children of chris martin and goop will only get you so far. Education is crucial and it great they are taking it so seriously.
Off topic, but she finally caved and has obviously gotten fillers, particularly in her cheek area.
That said, I have my daughter in a high-performing charter school because the local public school is a joke. I do not subscribe to the notion that more or wealthier parents sending their kids to underperforming public schools will raise the performance of those schools. Or, if it does improve, that it will happen in a span of time that will benefit my 6th grade child. I’m not willing to give away her education to a social experiment, as selfish as that may sound to some. school choice will be make or break for underperforming schools.
There is nothing selfish about wanting your child to have a good education. Sending your child to a crappy school does nothing to raise standards… It just means more kids with crappy educations.
There is a reason wealthy liberals send their kids to nice private schools.
It’s always GP saying how great they co-parent, Chris would take a bullet for her, etc. Does Chris ever say anything like this?
Harvard Westlake is a good school, but if Goopy wants to stay private she could just as easily send her kids to Notre Dame or Campbell Hall. If I had children and the money, I would send my kids to Crossroads in Santa Monica. That said there are crazy good Magnets in LA. If its one thing that Elites have in the West Side is options.
That depends on the Notre Dame. Notre Dame HS is good. Notre Dame Academy is so-so, but Marymount has got them both beat.
The Oakwood School is a good one that’s not too celeb-obsessed (Like Harvard-Westlake and Buckley).
The Oakwood School is amazing.
Is their daughter even old enough to be attending high school yet?
What do the kids want? Or do they get no say in this? They might want to go where their friends are going to school.
I wonder if he wants the change because the kids might be more exposed to other walks of life and people who might actually try to deal with racism and bullying. It’s biased, but I imagine the private school will keep reproducing more (white?) privileged kids, creating young adults in the images of their parents. He probably isn’t naive in thinking that racism and bullying doesn’t happen in public schools but rather more hopeful they can expand the kids’ exposure. By why just Apple?
I think it’s just the example given. They mention Apple is good at music, and Santa Monica’s public schools have a reputable music program, so it’s an example that going to public school isn’t the end of the world, they can offer good educations, too, and it’s not always true that “private = better” especially in affluent areas, like Santa Monica, with well-funded public schools.
I am sorry but since when is In Touch reliable? They might have gotten hold of that letter and just invented a story around it.
Bingo. They aren’t reliable in any way. They got ahold of the letter and created a story. Like this rag mag would know what Gwynneth and Chris discuss regarding their children’s education. Chris is a softy and would want what his children want, to be with their friends. They were already uprooted from England and their friends at school. He wouldn’t want to do it again if they are happy.
I wouldn’t necessarily assume that whatever public school they go to will be more diverse than Harvard-Westlake.
I went to a private school similar to Harvard-westlake (in terms of cost and college outcomes) and did not enjoy it. At all. So I thought I would look into the better public schools systems in my area for my future children only to discover that they were almost uniformly all white despite the makeup of the area in general. At least elite private schools can offer scholarships to somewhat diversify their student body and/or support programs like Prep for Prep and SEEDS.
Goops family dynamic seems like it would fit right in with those whacko on the inside and perfect on the outside moms on the show Big Little Lies.
When I read the headline I initially thought they meant a Chris Martin public school not a Goop public school. Two countries divided by a common language.
It doesn’t matter where they go to school, one day they will take advantage of nepotism and suck up the spot of some poor but talented adult in entertainment like all the rest of “star” offspring. So send them to public school (like those in their zip codes are sub-par? Nope), and give the money to under-privileged kids who actually do want to make a difference in the world of medicine, research, academics, social work, etc., but will otherwise struggle with a sub-par education.
Anyone sending their children to a state school when they can afford a better education for them must not like their children very much.
I think it’s pretty rude of you to just presume they’ll end up as DJs/nepotism models etc. They might, sure, but they might become educated professionals. You’d be mad as hell if a man made a dismissive comment like that about a young girl. Give these rich, privileged children the benefit of the doubt! They might use their privilege for good…
The Los Angeles Unified School district is well known for being atrocious and massively under funded. Unless you live in one of the better school districts in the LA area (San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Palos Verdes, etc) then most parents who can afford to seem to send their children to private school. Especially at high school level.
I do not begrudge, judge, or sneer at her for wanting to ensure her children have a good education.
A+ shade in using a pic of him wearing a sweater with a freaking war bonnet on it to illustrate an article about him not wanting his kids around racists.
I had a Business Ethics professor in college who told us about people transferring back to public school in some cities before college applications, because great grades at a mediocre school stand out more than great grades at a fantastic school.