Public or Private school?

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Replies

  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    Depends entirely on the schools in your neighborhood....we have some suburban public schools that are ranked nationally as great schools. If my children were in district there it would be a no brainer to go public (I am a private school teacher btw). The area of chicago I live does not have suitable public options so private it will be...you have to compare the actual schools
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    Public, the schools are held to extremely high standards, the teachers are amazing and there for the kids.
    I don't want to send my child to a place that is just there to make a profit. Who would want that?
    Kids first, profits second.

    What state? maybe your states just suck. NY system is amazing.

    The standards for public schools in NC are humiliatingly and embarrassingly LOW. People pass through the grades here without learning how to READ simply because of "No Child Left Behind" whether the kids are dumb as sacks of rocks or not.

    I wish we could raise our standards to what you say schools in NY are like.
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    Public.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    My daughter is in GATE in San Francisco public school (she was GATE identified early - at the end of 2nd grade). I have to say that the education she's getting now is far superior to what I got in public school 30 years ago. There are two public high schools here that are held in such high regard that you're virtually assured admission into any college she applies for if she goes to them.

    So, as it stands, she is in 7th grade and is already jockying for grades so she can get into the best high school. This will probably be harder on her than getting into college - because the high school she gets into will determine where she can go to college.

    It wouldn't be this competitive if it weren't a quality public school education.

    Don't write of public school. The more people that pull their kids out to go to private, the less challenging public will become. A "free and compulsory education" is part of what makes this country great.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
    Private school for us. We are only have one kid for that reason...to make sure that she (5year old) is able to get the best education we can give her. The public schools here in Oregon are bad fastly going to terrible. Also because we live in a town where we don't have anyone really available to help us, no family etc, we had no choice but to put her into a school that had before and aftercare. My daughter has been in this little private Christian school for three years now. Legally she wouldn't be able to start kindergarten in a public school until next year (her birthday is on Sept 7th!) but she passed the aptitude and maturity testing the school gave her, so she is in a year ahead of the curve.
    If we waited to put her in kindergarten next year in a public school, it would be a half day with barely learning anything as it seems kindergarten in public schools around here is used to prep kids for a whole day of school and not much else. She was reading last year in prek at this school, so it would be essentially a backslide.

    If you can afford it, I'd put your kid in private school in middle if you can. Middle school is where all the cliques and such really start and if you can find a smaller school then you will avoid some of that social stuff. Maybe not all but definitely some.
  • thor1god1of1awesome
    thor1god1of1awesome Posts: 481 Member
    Either as long they get out of the house
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    Also...we pulled our kids from private elementary to go chicago public school because our neighborhood school is a far. Better school academically.....each school stands on its own...
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    Public, the schools are held to extremely high standards, the teachers are amazing and there for the kids.
    I don't want to send my child to a place that is just there to make a profit. Who would want that?
    Kids first, profits second.

    What state? maybe your states just suck. NY system is amazing.

    The standards for public schools in NC are humiliatingly and embarrassingly LOW. People pass through the grades here without learning how to READ simply because of "No Child Left Behind" whether the kids are dumb as sacks of rocks or not.

    I wish we could raise our standards to what you say schools in NY are like.


    I know nothing about standards in NY or NC, but I do know my entire family has went to public school and we all know how to read.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
    Public, the schools are held to extremely high standards, the teachers are amazing and there for the kids.
    I don't want to send my child to a place that is just there to make a profit. Who would want that?
    Kids first, profits second.

    What state? maybe your states just suck. NY system is amazing.

    Many private schools are nonprofit.
  • moxleymama6
    moxleymama6 Posts: 532 Member
    We homeschool as well but do a classroom hybrid 2 days a week. I teach Literature and my kids get tutored in highschool level math & science (something in which I do not excel). We love it but every family is different!
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    I am a product of public schools. In several different states as my father was military. It was a joke. Really, our public school system ought to be ashamed. If I had children, I would send them to private school. It wasn't until I got to college at Georgia Tech that I was challenged in any way.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Probably Private. The public schools in the area I grew up in really aren't bad in terms of grades and teaching etc but having gone to them myself I know we still had our fair share of disruptive kids, ones that didn't care at all about doing well and I wouldn't want my children growing up with that kind of influence.

    Now I know all schools have problem kids but it always seems to be (bit of a generalisation here!) the ones with the issues, 90% of them are from broken/messed up homes, people who's family don't really care much for education, and the way I see it, if a family is paying out thousands a term for their children to go private, most of them will likely be hardworking people themselves and very fussed about the education they're paying for!

    The one thing that would worry me with private schools, is mixing with children who think money is the be all and end all of life, and are spoilt. No matter how much money I had I don't want to be (nor want my kids to be) snobby about it, and think they are above others because of it. Or think that they deserve all the material things in the world just because we can afford it.
  • CindiBryce
    CindiBryce Posts: 438
    Actually how good a school is depends on the individual school, not its classification as public or private. Again, your child can always take advantage of the AP and Honors programs at public school, and it is far easier to be at the top of your class at a public school. I know some issues of public school includes class size, but that isn't an issue in advanced classes because less people take them. In my old high school, which contained 3000+ students, AP and Honors classes contained 14-24 students per class.
  • mommared53
    mommared53 Posts: 9,543 Member
    My kids are both adults but if I could have afforded it when they were in school they would have been in a private school. I would love to see my grandkids go to a private school. Hopefully within the next year or two , my daughter and son-in-law will be able to put them in a private school.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
    Actually how good a school is depends on the individual school, not its classification as public or private. Again, your child can always take advantage of the AP and Honors programs at public school, and it is far easier to be at the top of your class at a public school. I know some issues of public school includes class size, but that isn't an issue in advanced classes because less people take them. In my old high school, which contained 3000+ students, AP and Honors classes contained 14-24 students per class.

    My worry is that by the time my kid gets to highschool the funding won't be there for these type of classes. It would be hard to believe that they would be cut, but everything else is being cut now in Oregon so it isa possibility.
  • Gigi_licious
    Gigi_licious Posts: 1,185 Member
    If money were not an issue, private school for sure.
  • CindiBryce
    CindiBryce Posts: 438
    Actually how good a school is depends on the individual school, not its classification as public or private. Again, your child can always take advantage of the AP and Honors programs at public school, and it is far easier to be at the top of your class at a public school. I know some issues of public school includes class size, but that isn't an issue in advanced classes because less people take them. In my old high school, which contained 3000+ students, AP and Honors classes contained 14-24 students per class.

    My worry is that by the time my kid gets to highschool the funding won't be there for these type of classes. It would be hard to believe that they would be cut, but everything else is being cut now in Oregon so it isa possibility.
    Well, that's true. I remember that my school was very close to cutting those classes.
  • annmrie
    annmrie Posts: 38
    Private school! My parents sent me to private school from k-7th grade, and I am so thankful! Even though I went to public highschool, I think I may have recieved a higher quality education and made better friends in a private highschool.
  • JustEllieK
    JustEllieK Posts: 423 Member
    I went to Private school all threw Junior High and High School.

    I would choose Private school ALL the way!
  • Just_Dot
    Just_Dot Posts: 2,283 Member
    I teach in a public school, and my son just started kindergarten in the same district. I do hold my kids to a very high standard and my classroom is very rigorous...but I know that's not the case everywhere.

    Many of the private schools (and charter schools) in my area are a total joke..started by disgruntled parents because their kids weren't treated like royalty, or the kids got kicked out of public school for drug issues.

    I'm a strident believer in the public school system, and the more people that leave, the worse it will become. In my state, private and charter school teachers don't have to be certified, so I would never assume that because the school is private the education is automatically better. Sometime it is and sometimes...it's not.

    I'm fortunate to live in an area that, despite budget issues and a school board that really doesn't like teachers, we consistently have some of the highest test scores and graduation rates in the state. I could see, however, sending my kids to a private school if the public schools were really, really horrible--which is how the whole charter school system started.

    I guess everyone knows what is best for their family, and I really hope this doesn't become a public-school bash-fest.

    Just my thoughts on the matter. :smile:

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