Sunday, March 28, 2010

Public Education

Having grown up going to a private school, when I switched to the public school system, I was surprised how similar both were. The main differences were the uniforms and the class sizes. Other than that, public school was almost identical. I was then confused as to why parents would spend so much money a year when they can get the same education for their child for free. Plus, if a child is sent private school, they parents still have to pay the taxes for the public school system; the extra tax just adds on to the yearly payments the parents have to make.

Public education sometimes gives off the vibe that it is not the best education. This is not always the case. In the area where we all live, Johns Creek, the public education system is top notch. The schools have all the things that parents look for when trying to decide on a private school. The only difference is the price between the types of schools. Some parents will pick the private school because they believe that their child will get the best education possible, as well as being as safe as possible. But honestly, we live in Johns Creek, nothing too terrible will happen.

While researching some differences between private and public schools, I found out some very interesting facts. While public schools have to admit a student, regardless of the student’s sex, race, economic situation, religious affiliation, or physical or mental impairment, private schools have the option to allow whomever they want into the school. I do not believe that private schools should base their opinions on whether to admit the student or not because of those reasons. I believe that it should be based solely on grades and effort, and not on the family’s wealth.

With Johns Creek High School open for a year, the teacher to student ratio is smaller, like it would be in a private school. This is good because it gives the student more individual attention. The problem is though, that if the public school is too big, then the student will be more likely to just sit and listen, rather than ask individual questions. Having a high student to teacher ratio is not ideal, but can get a student prepared for how it will be like in most college classes. Also, the classes will have a greater variety of students so a student would not be stuck in the same classes with the same people.

One thing that public schools has that a lot of people, including myself, like is the ability to have options in what classes to take. I like knowing that I can take any class I want, even if there are prerequisites. Since private schools are generally much smaller, the list of classes offered is much narrower. The classes in a public school can be more out there and different. I like having the ability to study different, more interesting things. Honestly, public schools are so much better than private schools.

1 comment:

  1. While I do agree with the idea that the selectiveness of private schools is a pretty discouraging and probably a very ugly thing, I do not agree with the idea that public schools are just as good as private schools. Though the author might have came from a private school and have personal experience with both types of schooling, it still seems to be a stretch for me to imagine that public schooling could be matched with private schooling given the current circumstances. It seems that the author came to a pretty good school system which might not be so different from a private education, but not all schools are like this. The most extreme are the inner-city schools, which have the highest rate of drop outs, failure, and gang activity (so I was told). We do not need to look at extremes to find warrants on private school superiority. There are crucial differences between private schools and public schools that make private schools better. First is selectivity itself. The fact that private schools could select who attends makes a huge statement about those who attend. Though some public schools do have very good students, it seems that student quality in private schools naturally outshines that in public schools. Second, and most importantly, is the funding. Private schools have much more funding than public schools. This is crucial in funding for school facilities, funding for school activities, funding for school staff member, etc. These funding makes it possible for private schools to have a better student-teacher ratio, better school environment, and more updated stuff for everything. I hope people won’t misinterpret this response as a bash to public education. I, like most others, believe that public education is a great thing, but it seems to me that, given our system that favors privatization, private schools are just in a better position right now in the recession.

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