Private Vs Public...

[Jordy]

so obviously it isn't an issue for us right now but in 2 years we will be needing to decide on a school to send Caidance to and we are tossing up between Private and Public school. i went to public and loved it but Andrew went to private and says it is better and is bringing home pamphlets on the best schools in our area etc. there are waiting lists on all of them and the ones he likes average about $5,000 per term just to attend without books or anything which will be a big price for us for a grade one child..

what do you think? do you prefer public or private? i want pros and cons from each. we know it is early but we want to be prepared and united early on in the peace.. especially with the potential waiting lists...

 

[IADad]

Well, first of all, I'd suggest you go ahead and get on waiting lists as long as that cost isn't astonomical, you can always give up a spot, you may not be able to get one if you don't sign on.

This is a subject that hits very close to home. We live on the border of two very different public school distrricts. One, a smaller metropolitan (by Iowa Standards) city school district and one a small rural school district (which, BTW, I happened to have attended k-12).

The city school district has one of the best reputation ins the state (in a state with very good schools by national comparison). The rural district does not have much of a reputation for excellence, but it is a friendly district that offers small class sizes. So, here, you really can't go wrong attending public school.

Now, DW went to both public and private school during her school career. And she much prreferred the experience she had in private school. (Oh, and BTW, private school is very much not the norm here, like 8% private).

We liked one school in particular, because we like havinf aith-based education, we like our kids having the ability to celebrate Christmas and Easter in school, (which is absoutley forbidden in the public schools) and we like the school "family" feel, the parents know the kids, the kids know other parents, the teachers are not paid as well as the public schools so most have other motivations for being there (i.e. the really care about kids) and the school, in the upper grades at least has an ecellence reputation, placing 100% of their students into college each of the last two years. I like the small school environment, I think it encourages kids to spread their wings and try different things, and the school tuition is a moderate cost (about US $3,000/yr). So those factors all work for us. Now, would I be upset if my kids had to go to eaither of the other schools, no. They are really good school districts and they produce lots of great graduates each year, and they have resources to provide things the smaller schools can't, so there are trade-offs. The level of caring is the difference to me. I think that's especially important.

 

[Jeremy+3]

To confuse you, here private is state school, e.g. funded by tax 'free', public is fee paying school.

Our school system is a bit different, I'll explain it.

Primary 4-10
Infant 4-7
Junior 8-10
Secondary (comprehensive) 11-15/16 all are mixed sex but one, which is for girls
Grammar (single sex, entrance exam) 11-15/16
Sixth form 16-18 (optional)
College 16-18 (optional)

All those schools I just mentioned are private ('free') schools.

Where we live you have the option of 19 primary, infant and junior schools, there are 8 secondary schools and 4 grammar schools. Grammar schools require you to pass an entrance exam, the 11+. Here students choose their secondary schools as well, they are given a sheet and write down their top three options.

Jackson first went to a public primary school, we weren't happy with it so we moved him to a state primary school (here private primaries follow montessori but we don't call it that as to us it is 'normal'). He chose to attend a grammar school, thankfully he passed his entrance exam. Then he attended the sixth form at his school and then uni.

Amelia went to a state primary school, then also went onto a grammar school, which she is leaving in a few weeks, that has gone quick...

Jake and Jade both attend the same state primary school, they're too young to choose their secondary school at the moment, so we have no idea where they will go. When it comes to Livvy she will be attending the same primary school as well.

We have a primary prep (fee paying) school here, which Jackson went to, we think it is rubbish. The nearest secondary prep school is about half an hour away, it is £11,400 a term, of which there are three, so it is pretty cheap for a public school in the UK.

 

[Jordy]

wow Jeremy.. that is confusing

 

[AmyBelle]

Bek is in public, mostly because im a stay at home mum and DH is a cop, so you can imagine what our income looks like, but also because there arent any private schools in our area, haha.

Honestly, in Australia I dont think theres a big difference between the two, short of prices attatched or if its religious. Dont know much about the primary education, but I know when youve got the top ranking results for VCE (I dont know what the WA equivalent is) youve always got the gifted schools on top (go figure) then the public and private ones are usually very much mixed up.

 

[Choppy]

With private schools, I think it's important that you make an informed choice. You need to understand what it is specifically that you're money is going towards that your child would not be getting through the public system.

Some private schools, for example, will promote a very religion-based education. My wife went to a private high school for a few years that refused to teach anything related to evolution and never had any school dances.

 

[mom2many]

I would first start looking into your public options, see if they fit what you want for your girls. Then take a look at the private and evaluate if they are any better then the public schools. Neither set will give you exactly what you want so figure out what you feel is important and what isn't and work off of that.

I attended private christian school from the time I was a baby until the 3rd grade when I finally convinced my mom to let me attend our local public school. That is were all of my friends went and I was sick of not going to the same school as them, I loved public over private, can't really remember why now but I never regretted not going to private school.

Mine attend the public school here, I love the school and most of the teachers, sure there are occasional issue's but i think that can happen no matter what type of school a child attends.

 

[alastair]

The economy of the city or county you live in obviously plays a huge role. We live in the capitol of our state *madison wi*, pretty much a collge town, and it was laregely unphazed by the whole recession, so public schools in this city are very very well funded and well staffed. I know this is particularly just a lucky situation, but take a look into the stats of your locality, it should tell you what to expect in some regards to whether the public schools are preferrable to a private.

Now if I could only convince my ex to put our kid in an all-girls school for high school I'd be a happy and worry free dad indeed.

 

[spiritforme]

In public school, your child can more interactive with others. But if you think private school can give more attention to your child, go on

 

[Jordy]

if we go for private we wouldn't put them into a religion based school i think we would go for Grammer which is the school Andrew went to. because religion based school's don't tend to be very gay friendly so it will probably be hard enough for them to say they have two daddies without including that into the mix LOL

 

[AmyBelle]

Some private schools, for example, will promote a very religion-based education. My wife went to a private high school for a few years that refused to teach anything related to evolution and never had any school dances.

Thats intesersting. Im pretty sure that Australian schools arent that extreme though. DH went to a Catholic school and he had school dances and they learned about contraception and evolution.

 

[Jordy]

yeah Andrew went to Private school's and was allowed to go to their school dance with his boyfriend as a couple which was like 20 years ago so that was very progressive

 

[Antoinette]

i like the idea of private school if you can afford it because it is more one on one for the students and teachers but there is nothing wrong with public school and you probably get more social interactions so both have there positives and negatives

 

[Jordy]

yeah, that's why it's so hard for us to decide.. i guess we will know when the time is right though..

 

[Mom2MLB]

Private vs. Public was such a huge source of stress for us. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that we had a child with special needs and no private school within 40 miles of our residence could even come close to meeting her needs academically and otherwise. Our public schools, on the other hand, are outstanding, one in particular. We sold our home - for a pretty decent loss, I might add - and bought in an area that was perm. zoned for the school, to secure her enrollment there, and throughout the cluster. Our older DS, who is neurotypical, is also thriving.

Best decision we ever made.

 

[Zigana]

In my opinion, there is no difference. They learn the same things and it all depends on the child's learning speed. It isn't the schools that change children; It's the teachers. So I would investigate the teachers your child will be working with rather than the school.

 

[WestCoaster]

because religion based school's don't tend to be very gay friendly so it will probably be hard enough for them to say they have two daddies without including that into the mix LOL

This was going to be one of my points.

A close friend of mine went to a Christian private school and when people asked about evolution they were told it was a fallacy to deter people from their faith. Also, other faiths were not taught because they are sacrilegious. From my own perspective, my daughter is Inuit, her history is not taught there; I am a biologist and anthropologist, so my belief in science (evolution) and the power of diversity is not accurately taught there. This, of course though, was never a question in my mind because I am athiest.

Kiera is attending a Montessori Preschool which here, is a "private" grammar preschool. By private they mean, you get what you pay for so divvy up the loot, lol. I'm not sure if that holds true for highschool. I personally attended a public high school and although I had many wonderful experiences there, we had very low exposure through fieldtrips or speakers. If higher tuition means higher exposure to culture and professional avenues, then I would have to seriously consider the private grammar school. I consider my professional life an adventure and my public school did not teach it as such.

Agreeing with Zigana here, it is absolutely all about the teachers that are able to spark interest.

 

[Michele&Angie]

I've always wondered private vs public.
We were in public now we're in private and they both seem to suck in different ways.
I guess it comes down to what teacher you have. ??

 

[Katyy123]

In my experience, it depends on the individual staff and teachers. My daughter was in public school and had a few excellent teachers, and I've had friends' children who attended private schools but were unsatisfied because the teachers weren't good. It may be useful to check out the teachers for each grade level.

 

[St. Nobody]

I had a wonderful public school experience, my husband had a horrible private school experience. I've heard a lot of stories from both sides of the issue, partly because this is a favorite debate of mine.

I think that it depends on quite a few things- your income, your area, the quality of your public schools, the quality of the private school you're considering, and your child's needs.

I think that for the vast majority of private schools as compared to the vast majority of public schools, on most peoples' income, public schools will give you more bang for your buck.

Most of the private schools in my region (I'm a Georgia expatriate living in Texas, but thinking of Georgia) are religious based and many are nonaccredited. Most of them have very, very small student bodies, which are great for one on one time but not so great for opportunities to make friends and connections.

The school which my husband attended was a nonaccredited private Christian school and his education was horribly inadequate. His biology 'teacher' spent more than an hour arguing with me over whether or not insects were animals (the man had an associates' in architecture) and his diploma was more or less worthless.

A friend attended a small private Christian school, graduated at 15, and went to Georgia Tech on scholarship. She had an enormous advantage over me when it came to opportunity, but a disadvantage socially.

At public school, which was frankly an underfunded, very small yet very crowded district, I was able to obtain an excellent education. I found that, as others have said, the staff made a world of difference in the quality of education available.

Thanks to the generous teachers, who gave their time, money and expertise, our very poor district had football and other sports teams that competed and were comparable to the teams in wealthier districts. In addition, they had a wonderful livestock showing and agricultural education department and a terrific band.

The drop out and preganancy rates were high, but a good teacher just opens the door. The student has to walk through alone. The quality of the education I was able to recieve for free at a public institution was very high.

The people who failed, scored poorly on tests, and dropped out had the same opportunity to learn and excel that I did. I understand socioeconomic pressure, but I didn't grow up in Shangri-la.

I think that people who are going to take initiative, learn and succeed are going to be able to get as good an education at a public school as at a private school, but a student who may not be motivated to excel may do better in a private school where they can recieve one on one attention.

However, one wonders how that will transfer into college and careers, because while one on one help and attention can help a struggling, undermotiviated student excel, no one will be there for that after high school.

Another point (I know I'm rambling) is to think of the money. Even if you live comfortably and the extra expense won't strain you, would it do more good if you put it in an ESA or otherwise invested it to give to your child for college?