As a current or future parent, do you believe children are better educated at a public or a private school?

Question

In answering this question, it needs to be answered in one of two ways;

1. As a current parent, do you believe children are better educated at a public school or at a private school. You can also cite examples of your personal experience if you like.

2. As a future parent, would you prefer to have your children be educated at a public school or at a private school.

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As a future parent, I would most likely choose Public School because children have more interaction with the community. As for private schools, I am for sure many future parents would like to send their children to private school but many cannot afford it. I would also consider sending my children to a Charter School since they are a public school as well.

This news article from Great Schools that could assist you in answering the question.

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/show...

Answer 1

There are pros and cons on both sides. I attended private school for grade school and public school  for high school. Private school was nice for the early years, because you had more one on one time, I was reading by first grade and doing 90% of my school work on my own. Public school you have a lot more opportunity and I think an easier way to get into college. Grade school there were only 4 children in my grade, so therefore not a lot of social interaction. Public school you can have a lot of social interaction. When it comes to academics, it all depends on the public or private school you send your child to. The private school I went to you worked at your own pace from 2nd grade on, well I am not a person to push myself, so I only did the required work each day and never went past. I did not push myself to do my best, just to get through. In public school you have to keep up or you fall backwards, so there was someone pushing me through. I had friends in private school who graduated from their and have gone on to be RN's and teachers, construction workers who own their own business. So if you can work on your own well then this private school would be great for you. It truly all depends on the schools that you choose.

Answer 2

I have to be honest, here. I believe children can get a good education in either one, but ultimately I think they can get the best education at home. In addition to public or private.

My oldest has been home schooled, public and private and my youngest has been public and private. They are both now in a small public school. I KNOW that my daughter got the BEST education home schooled. She did 2 grade levels in one year. However, she chose to go back to public. I want my children to choose their education based on what they love they most. Within reason. They have to give me legitimate reasons for what they want out of education.

In actuality, they learn the same level stuff as private school. But we CONTINUE their education at home, as a family with thought provoking games, museum trips and other educational trips, open discussions of current events, political and news stories (yes- even at ages 5 and 10).

We have a constant learning environment going on around us.

My kids actually enjoy the discover channel (kids). he he

Answer 3

Personally as a current parent of 2 daughters and future parent of another daughter on the way I would say public school for both answers above... I was put in public school and I was at the top of my class...I will choose public school due to the interaction with the community and also I see nothing wrong with Public schools. People tend to think they are horrible and Private schooled children turn out much better which is not true at all...there are just as many if not more private schooled children that do horrible things also because they are thought so highly of that they know they can get away with a lot more than Public schooled children(because it is expected of them to s***w up) which leads me to my next point of I think Public Schooled Children succeed better because they are thought to be s***w ups from the get go most of the time which pushes the children to thrive and better themselves then what people are making them out to be...

I don't know if that was the answer you were looking for but that is my take on it...I would go Public over Private any time!

Answer 4

The answer to this question can vary greatly.  As a mother of an 18 month old girl, I am planning to send her to private school.  Why?  At the current moment, I do not live in a very wealthy area and as we all know, our public schools are a reflection of our neighborhoods.  If I was to live in a upper-middle class area with a  high percentage of home ownership oppose to rentals  and if I was not close to the inner city, then yes, I would consider sending her to a public school.  Another reason that I favor private schools are because the parents "usually" instill a higher standard of morals and respect into their children.  Not to say that parents of public schools do not, but when you are paying upwards of $1500. a month to educate your child, you are less likely to tolerate bad grades, disrespect to teachers etc.... and I would like my daughter to be among peers who's parents have higher standards for them.  Lastly, we all know that public education in most states are suffering from lack of funding, certified teachers and modern curriculums.  From my research experience, the average teacher ratio for private school was 15:1 and all of their teachers are certified.  

Conclusion:

This is solely my opinion.  It can easily be refuted if you were to consider say... a public school in Fairfax Co., VA vs. a private school in Compton, CA.  At the end of the day, I just don't want my child walking through metal detectors and being surrounded by a mass of children who's values are more centered on latest fads than their education.

Answer 5

Private school. Public school standards are way to low. Just kindergarten entry standards placed my 3 year old (at the time) at a 2nd grade comprehension level according to the entry requirements at the school she is zoned for. Where does that leave me...either 1) quit teaching her, 2) homeschool, or 3) find somewhere that can/will accomidate her, rather than teach what she already knows year after year.

Something i just recently became aware of, is that in my local area private school is affordable for us. I thought it was something that was outrageously out of our financial doing. It isn't, so we are now seriously considering going straight into private school for our daughter at least. Our others if they are also as far ahead as she is. Otherwise I'm afraid she will be horribly discouraged and not enjoy going to school.

I found a school, at a reasonable price that is one of the top ranked private schools around this area. They have a 95% 4 yr. college degree graduation rate. Which last time I checked is a lot higher than your average public school. I think they'd be offered more learning opprotunities, and be held to higher expectations in a specialty school type setting. Public schools seem to just be getting worse and worse in my opinion. If we don't go private, we will be likely forced to home school at least our daughter. She isn't "allowed" to start school until 2 months before turning 7 because of when her birthday is (will be the same for our other 2, Nov./Dec. birthdays). By then who knows what level she'd be at. They surely can't accomidate her in a standard K-5 school. She's only 3 years 8 months old now! So I'm kind of feeling like she wouldn't even have a place in a public school. We talk about it a lot, and really don't know what to think or do. I know we don't want to just quit teaching her, as for the rest...we just hope it'll work itself out.

Answer 6

This varies depending on the schools. Some areas have great public schools and some have terrible public schools. Some private schools are wonderful and some are not. To all the people posting that private school children are sheltered from the world , I have to laugh. I went to Private schools for 12 years and I have friends of all races , nationalities  and religions. I have traveled to many parts of the US , Ireland (6

times), Scotland (3 times) England (once) Iceland (twice) , Canada and plan on visiting many more in my lifetime. I took Spanish for 6 years and had an A each year. I took classes on World History and learned about religions all over the world. There were trips offered to France, Italy , The Galapagos Islands, Spain, Amsterdam, and many other countries through the school. I had a boyfriend all through HS , was not sexually active , drank a few times and was an all around good kid. I was offered drugs and I declined. I encountered the real world , I just had enough confidence from my school to not be tempted to do anything I shouldn't. I was taught to have self esteem in myself at my school.

I went to religious classes at my church for my confirmation and it was mixed Private and Public and the reading level the public school (HS level) kids were reading at was horrifying. The words they couldn't read and the slow pace in which they read was so sad. Now this all depends on the school system in the town/city you live in. Also when I went to college , I had read every book my 1st and 2cnd year English teacher assigned ... in high school. I was so far ahead in everything. My aunt lives in a town with a great school system and her daughter learned to read after a month in a public kindergarten class and she never attended preschool.

Where will I send my children, it depends. On finances and where we are living.

Answer 7

I am not a father yet, but from preschool through 12th grade I went to a private Catholic school (well, 3 schools, but all were private Catholic schools). Elementary school was free but I got a scholarship for middle and high school (my parents couldn't afford it--middle school was $10,000 a year and high school was $20,000 a year). I got an amazing education there and I graduated with a 3.95 GPA (recalculated upon entry to college, it was a 4.0--perfect). I am beginning at Michigan Technological University soon.

My mom teaches 7th grade and has done so since 1973, and while some public schools can offer great educations others suck. Same with private schools.

Answer 8

ya ya i know it wasnt an option but its the best one as far as im concerned

. As a current parent, do you believe children are better educated through home schooling i belive this because children who are home schooled usally score a lot higher on tests they do better in spelling bees science fairs ect also another perk is the fact that you dont have to worry about all the violence associated with schools today and the kids dont have to be deprived of interation with other kids because you can scheduale field trips they can intergrate with schools for cetain activites like gym ect but im sorry for rambling on with an answer that wasnt even an options but i just wanted to give my opinon on the subject sorry

Answer 9

I'm in college and not a parent yet, but i hope to choose home schooling-catered to their needs, less time and more done, don't get all the extras school give such have s*x ed by classmates at a young age, learn about drugs from classmates, and learn curse words from classmates, more responsibility, flexible scheduling (good for family vacations)  My kids will still do sports and other activities to meet kids, trade of subjects with other parents-they will then have a class mate or two, and for high school  I would probably try a small private  school- depending on if it was better than the public school.  I went to public school, Im in college, but I think kids learn alot more than math and science in schools today, much too soon--do u really want your 6 yr old learning about s*x on the bus or playground???   The kids I work with (ages 3-18) the elementary school students are hearing and learning alot more than I ever did in elementary school-thats was only a ten yr difference-imagine ten yrs from now when my kids are older--they be getting first hand experience, not just a verbal lesson-thats not what I want for my child. My parents are definitely going to be against my choice of education for my children, but they will be mine so i guess I wouldn't worry.  I am going to school for math and education-so i will have experience to teach, and will have another mom who can teach half if i do half or something, or if i have money-get a tutor.  If I can not home school, I will not go by whether the school is public or private, but based on the quality (of education and students/staff)  and ability to cater to each students needs, and also based on how I think my child will best respond in the environment.

Answer 10

Public schools are better than private schools because Public schools branch out to the community while private schools are their own worlds all together.  I went to a public school, I've met people from China, Chile, and Germany and many more places, I have friends who speak languages from Spanish to Urdu, I have learned both book smarts and street smarts.  But when I attended private school, it wasn't as diverse or as exhilarating or as colorful. Everyone wore the same thing, had a lot of money, (Which Ironically I don't explaining why I ended up out of there lol) and were stereotype rich kids.  (Not to say they all are).

  Public schools are better than Private schools.  a Public school let's us experience the many different places out there from different people, it teaches us how to socialize with them, how to be their friend, it helps us all connect to each other.  A public school offers a more realistic sense of the "real world" than a private school ever would.  That is more valuable than you think, for example, what's the use of going to a private school if you don't have to skills to connect and socialize with many different people?

Answer 11

My daughter went to k-4 in the public schools here. I was disgusted. She started talking like she was ignorant. I mean really, how do you "pee up"? And a school that its not ok to say your prayers in school and read your bible, but they can teach the 4 year olds how to booty dance? Thank God we took her out of that school after only one year, that way they couldn't s***w up her brain any more. She will be starting private school this year only because its affordable and they have smaller teacher/student ratios. I feel more comfortable with her being in a christian school anyway.

Not that all public schools are bad. Some of them just need some direction. My husband speaks highly of the public school system they had in Kansas. But I'm sure they had well educated people running it. Plus parents are a big problems in some of the schools down here. If a child does badly on a test, they don't make them study. They don't care what happens to their kids at school, its just a free babysitter. So you can not say that one is better then the other. Its dependant on where you live and what your morals are. I will not allow any of my children to set foot in the hazerdous public schools where I live.

Answer 12

Seeing as I have been to both public and private school, I can tell you which one offers better education.  

Social interaction and school encouragement of it: Private

Interaction with the community: Public

Education: Private, hands down

Preparation for the real world: Public, hands down

They both have their perks.  But private schools tend to be better as far as education and encouragement of activity, but lack the real world environment.  You need a certain amount of money to get into private school (which is why I stopped going after only a year) and it tends to be an elite club.  Public school lacks the education because, let's face it, the teachers aren't paid enough!!  And usually have a lot of kids to handle.  

As a parent, I will probably send my son to public school but have him educated on the side (certain subjects aren't taught enough in public school for my taste).

Answer 13

As a future parent, I think children are better educated at private schools such as Montessori and Waldorf, where the curriculum is more child-centred and less structured.  However, I would likely choose public school because I believe that children in private schools are sheltered.  I want my daughter to grow up with children from all backgrounds, not just rich white people.

Answer 14

i will  choose private schools for my kids just because i don't like the idea of schools offering my daughters birth control when they are 12 years old.  school is not the only place where your children interact with the community. my husband and i feel it is very important to contribute to your community through volunteering and what not. i think its actually better if your kids learn how to interact with people of all ages, and from different backgrounds, insted of just their own peers

Answer 15

I think children are better educated when their parents are actively involved in their education, in their classroom and in their school.  Public or private doesn't have as much affect on the outcome as parental involvement does.

Answer 16

I am a mother who is about to face this issue. I think each school is unique and different in their own ways. I went to 2 private schools growing up and finished at a public school. I have to say that as a student, I much preferred the private schooling. I found their policies to be very different and I don't know whether or not all public schools are this way, but the one I attended was very rough. Education wise I definately believe I was better off at the private school. I learned a lot more there. When I switched, I found that they were learning things in yr 9 that I already learned in yr 8.

Answer 17

As a current step- parent, I believe that children are more educated in a public school. They are not sheltered to the "real world" and the things that are going to happen in real life. Public schools must follow No Child Left Behind and Private schools do not. Private schools are very expensive and homeowners pay taxes and vote on school bonds to enusre the productivity of schools. I gor for public schools with my step child and it would be no different with one of my own!!!

Answer 18

In a public school.. u learn more about the world inside school and outside and plus u communicate & relate to kids better.. my opinion

Answer 19

I have seen great public and private schools and really bad public and private schools. My oldest children went to public schools and my youngest currently goes to a private school. It all depends on the needs of your child. I do not think, in general, one is better than the other.