Public Schools versus Private Schools »
Not so very long ago, we made the decision to enroll our kids in a private school. Though I've never particularly been against private schools, I haven't really been for them either. I always figure that they were a bit unnecessary. But we made the decision, and with just about every day that goes by, I'm glad that we did.
Today, for instance, we received a letter from the school our oldest was supposed to attend (the public school, I mean) saying that we need to send $20 the first week of school to pay for a locker fee (not to cover the lock, but just to have a locker), student handbook, an academic enrichment fe and a team activity fee to "provide recognition, rewards and team-building actvities and items throughout the year". What a crock. At least with private school you know you're paying.
We made our decision for a variety of reasons:
- The public schools where we live aren't very good.
- Our home school has been among the worst.
- Our oldest is going to middle school, which gets even worse.
- The options outside of our home school are limited.
Another advantage is that, barring a surprise along the way, the kids don't have to change schools. That's actually pretty cool. They can make friends and not have to worry that someone will be in a different boundary next year. Of course people can move away, but that will always happen.
So in the end, for us, going to a private school worked out well. Of course, school hasn't started yet, and the fact that our kids have been in public school puts them a bit behind before they have even started. We've been trying to practice over the summer, but we don't know how it will work out.
And it also helps that we paid off our mortgage last year, because we now have this option. If we didn't, it would be a lot tougher. But still, we're glad we did and we can. I can't believe this garbage - team-building fees for sixth-graders? Geez. What will they think of next?
Comments (11)
I sincerely believe it is possible to get a good education if not a great one in a public school. I believe I did in fact. However, for my own son it wasn't working that way so last year he was enrolled in a private school. We live in the Ballantyne area and it means some insane carpooling and strict budgeting but I don't regret the decision one bit.
Posted by Grins | August 17, 2006 5:23 PM
I'm for school vouchers. If people don't have enough money to buy food, we don't send them to governmental food warehouses, we just give them food stamps and let them buy food at the grocery store. Why don't we let consumers get education stamps that can use toward purchasing education at their favorite school?
Posted by Ted | August 17, 2006 7:50 PM
I certainly won't disagree that it has been (mostly in the past) possible to get a solid education from public schools. I'm not so sure that's the case any longer.
That said, I'm sure there are places in the Charlotte area that are okay. Our kids went to Matthews and we were okay with that. I'm sure Ballantyne isn't bad.
But there are places in Charlotte that aren't okay, so we needed to do something. The cost of ferrying our kids across town - in time and money - is one that is at least equal to just sending them to a private school. So we did.
While I'm not really against school vouchers (part of our taxes do arguably go towards public schools, after all), I am against the government poking their nose into everything. How about just gettng the government out of the "provide all services" mentality?
Posted by Chad Everett | August 18, 2006 8:16 AM
I am a single mother of 2 girls. I have also choosen to send my kids to private school and couldn't be happier. I started when I was looking to get my oldest enrolled in kindergarten. She is now starting the 5th grade.
It is tough financially, but I look at it as investing in their future. My kids are miles past the kids in the same grade from the neighborhood. I really noticed this when I enrolled my girls in a summer school program offered by the public school. The kids were out of control, the work was too easy, and the teachers were frustrated. This is all coming from my 9 year old daughter.
I am also a supporter of school vouchers. I am paying for school twice. Yes, I have choosen to do that, but if they could provide a public school that offers the same quailty of education as the private school then I may reconsider going out of my way to send them to private school.
Posted by Tia | August 21, 2006 11:32 PM
Why do the schools have to feed us food that come from a box? Why don't they just buy it from a regular store?
Posted by Kayla Samuel | August 30, 2006 2:01 PM
The reason that public schools can't ever match the success and attraction of private schools is that the wealthiest portion of the population, which encompasses many of the most involved parent population (and the most likely to vote), utilize private schools.
If all of the children presently enrolled in private schools went to public schools, you can bet public schools would be worth their salt.
Further, I don't want to hear whiners saying "I'm not wealthy, I sacrifice to send my kids to private school, sniff."
For the great majority of parents, paying for private school means not paying rent, utilities, food, or other neccessities. If you 'struggle' and are able to send your kids to private school, congratulations, you are in the top 10 percent of American wealth.
Posted by Raul Montano | September 26, 2006 6:24 PM
I think that kids should have freedom, which private schools do not offer much of. Private schools make you wear uniforms stay at the school, where as public schools do not do that. Public schools do not offer that much freedom, but a little more than private. Teenagers need freedom to grow up and learn how to be adults. They can learn in that kind environment.
Posted by Megan Shelton | February 5, 2007 1:38 PM
Hi Megan - You have a few problems with your argument.
The first is that many public schools are actually moving towards uniforms.
The second is that your sentence doesn't really make any sense "private schools make you wear uniforms stay at the school"? I'm not sure what that means.
The third is that private schools, in my limited experience, actually interact with parents much more than public, which in turn offers the students more freedom, not less.
Finally, and perhaps more importantly in relation to your point, while freedom is important, so is structure. Public schools have little. Witness your grammar and sentence structure, just as a simple example.
The academic requirements at private schools are typically much higher because the schools can focus on such things, and they aren't required to deal with the day-to-day minutiae of operating things so that the "public" will approve.
All-in-all, I think it's a good trade off.
You don't mention if you are a student or a parent, though from your comment, I would suspect the former. When you get to be the latter, I would imagine your viewpoint will change somewhat. :)
Posted by Chad Everett | February 5, 2007 1:51 PM
I'm a private school student and I just love it. I think it really depends on the student. I don't know anything about academics at public schools (I only attended one for kindergarten), but a friend of mine who used to go to my school tells me that some of the things that they are learning she learned years ago at my school (I'm Canadian, though, and I'm assuming you're American).
The best part of private school, I think, is the feeling of community. Often, private schools are very small (mine is less than 500, jk-12) and this close-knit environment fosters a real feeling of community. You know everyone's name and everyone in each class is generally pretty tight with each other.
There are also a lot of extra-curriculars available at private school, that I know I've benefitted from a great deal.
And, honestly, uniforms aren't that bad. It's so easy, you never have to worry about what you're wearing. Critics say that it stifles your creativity or your ability to be yourself, but I disagree. It forces you to develop yourself on a less superficial level.
Anyways, I just wanted to tell you what it's like as a student. I love my school, and I'm sure your kids will too.
Posted by Caroline | February 25, 2007 4:32 PM
I started my freshman year in public school, a very bad public school at that, then after my sophmore year and i wasnt gettin the grades that i should have been getting, i switched to a private boarding school not too far away from home. i did so much better at a private school, and the experiences that came with it were awsome! after doing my second 10th grade year at boarding school i couldnt stay away from home for long periods of time and that summer is when i found a perfect, really really small private school here close to where i live (and is where I am writing this from). the restrictions here are non-exsistent, as being a senior i get alot of priviledges, i get to go out for lunch, i get to leave school super early, (sign out), the teacher to student ratio is awsome, and all the teachers are really young. i'm reading this article because i am doing my senior writing paper on the differences between public and private schools, and saying that private schools help prepare you better for college.
Posted by chris | March 28, 2007 10:55 AM
i live in Australia, am currently in my final year of school and attend a public education system. i stumbled across this site as i am researching for a paper i am doing comparing public and private education systems. i would just like to add that there is a clear difference between public and private education systems within Australia yet both systems have positives and negatives. it is really up to the student and the school to determine which is the 'right' way to go. this said, i am very happy at my school and would never attend private school
Posted by marcus | May 15, 2007 8:03 AM