Thread: Private School Education, Better or Worse Or just the same?

I myself am a junior in a private school. I personally see that I am recieving a pretty good education. Tho AP level classes are only available to seniors, our school is still reputed. I've never heard of anyone ever being overwhelmed or anything in college, actually quite the opposite. But I've heard many people say that they believe private school education is inferior to that of public schools. Once again in my opinion, you better really love teaching to teach at a private school with far fewer benefits and a smaller pay. And I don't know if pekoe are throwing Mandy at these schools for nothing.


But this thread is fir everyones opinion and I'd like ti hear them!

I think it ultimately depends on the state and possibly the city and, if a large enough city, the area of the city you live in. I've been out of school for about as long as you've been in it, so I'm not 100% sure of what schooling is really like right now. I attended public schooling all my life then went to a private college. There were no problems for me. At a guess, though, I'd say education in the United States on the whole is going downhill.

Depends on the school. There is a private college-prep school, K-12, in my last town that is excellent. Better than the local public schools in quality of education and quality of life. But there are some very good public schools around, and I'm sure there are private schools that aren't so great.

I think it very much has to do with the country, as well. Typically teachers at private schools in Commonwealth countries are paid much better than in the public school system.

I have a lot of friends that are teachers, a wife, two nieces and a sister in law that are teachers and invariably the opinion is that private schools can offer a better education. Primarily by paying better, they are able to pick the best teachers and by dint of having a bigger and more discretionary budget, the facilities available and the range of options is greater than at a public school.

Both my nieces and my sister-in-law have taught in both public and private schools. My sister-in-law has come back to public education, both nieces are teaching in public schools ( which are actually private schools - go figure the Brits to make that one unintelligible!) in the UK.

In my opinion, the quality of education depends on the school regardless of whether it is a public or private institution. I sent my son to both at different times and there are pros and cons to both. I liked the Catholic School for its focus on self discipline but my son was having difficulty learning to read and was not getting help. We moved and I enrolled him in a public school. They had him reading at grade level within two weeks.

Our school district is open enrollment. In other words, we can choose which school we want our children to attend on a space available basis as long as it is within our school district. We were fortunate to find ourselves within the boundaries of the best elementary school in the district. It operates on a year round basis (which is wonderful). If you behave well and your grades are good, you are allowed to continue at the school through middle school. This is particularly appealing because in grades 6,7,8 there are only about fifteen students per class. The school also provided after school daycare until 6:00 pm. which is a real blessing for the working parent. There is now a very long waiting list for the school. I honestly don't think that we could have done better for our son by continuing in private school.

A key difference between the two types of school in any country is the student-to-teacher ratio. In private schools you usually get a lot more attention, and thus the chances of succeeding (or finishing) tend to go up dramatically.

In countries where the public system is less strained the gap is less pronounced, but if you look at a country like the United States the difference is quite staggering.