Private Schools

[sailorseal]

Are they necessary?


Yes!

[InkL0sed]

No.

[hecter]

Public schools should be more than enough to cover all the basic and even advanced needs of the students.

[LYR]

Public schools should be more than enough to cover all the basic and even advanced needs of the students.

They don't.

[hecter]

Public schools should be more than enough to cover all the basic and even advanced needs of the students.

They don't.

Didn't say they did.

[LYR]

Public schools should be more than enough to cover all the basic and even advanced needs of the students.

They don't.

Didn't say they did.

Do you think they do?

[jonesthecurl]

I have no objections to private schools that serve a particular need - a huge emphasis on, say, drama or some other specialist subject.
For general education I think it's a bad idea.

[muy_thaiguy]

I have no objections to private schools that serve a particular need - a huge emphasis on, say, drama or some other specialist subject.
For general education I think it's a bad idea.

So, was my grade school education a bad idea simply because it was a private school? Even though when I went to the public junior high, my reading average was well above that of college level?

[jonesthecurl]

Yes. As a socialist I feel that it's an unfair advantage.

It's not necessarily a bad idea for the individual who gets the privilege.

[LYR]

Yes. As a socialist I feel that it's an unfair advantage.

It's not necessarily a bad idea for the individual who gets the privilege.

A socialist living in a capitalist country. That's the way capitalist countries work.

[luns101]

I went to private school until 8th grade. When I transferred to a public high school it was a joke. We hardly covered anything I had learned in private school until I was a junior. There are some good public schools out there, and other people have probably had better experiences in them than myself.

[Martin Ronne]

I went to private school through 5th grade, then starting in 6th I was home schooled. I'll go to college this coming fall.

[Martin Ronne]

Yes. As a socialist I feel that it's an unfair advantage.

It's not necessarily a bad idea for the individual who gets the privilege.

An unfair advantage? Thats one I haven't heard before.

[strike wolf]

The problem is quite obviously in the public schools. the teaching methods and what is learned is not nearly sufficient.

[MeDeFe]

Are the necessary? No.

Does that mean they can't be around at all? No.


As long as you don't have Bernie Madoff teaching economics sponsored by Lehmann Brothers it's probably fine.

[Zeppflyer]

I'm all for them as it should be a parent's right to get their child whatever sort of education that they deem best. As to quality, while generally better, it certainly varies quite a bit. There are certainly some public schools that are better than some private ones. It all depends on the people, the philosophy, and (to a lesser extent) the resources available.

[got tonkaed]

I think its a somewhat tricky issue in terms of the US. Here in Korea there are huge numbers of private academies which focus on one particular subject, with math and english being far and away the two most popular. But there are academies for more or less anything, and a lot of students go to multiple academies in addition to their normal school (which seem to be primarily if almost exclusively public - though there are differences to the American system). Ive even heard of students who actually forgo the school, and just do a super schedule of academies, which is an interesting avenue, and possibly something that will become more common.

I guess working in a private academy has shown me how private schools can work and how they also might not, especially if brought in as part of a larger scale solution. First, the quality of a lot of these schools in korea is pretty low. Teachers arent that qualified, especially the koreans who are teaching english (though the foreigners are usually not qualified either) and in smaller academies there can be pretty large levels of disorganization. Furthermore, theres a pretty big disconnect in terms of english education between the parents and the individuals who teach their children (partly because of a language barrier, but partly also because there are a lot of false promises and unrealisitic expectations). There are certainly a few places out there, especially in some of the more small townish areas, where theres going to be a lot of potential for abuse since the market is so saturated and consumer knowledge is poor at best.

Having said all that, the kids we are turning out, even the lower quality ones, seemingly greatly outperform the students who dont attend some academy. Seemingly some of my middle to lower level kids have english which is much better than their parents and better than their peers simply by getting access to the materials and having a few hours a week of immersion education. Granted a lot of our higher end kids are also getting private lessons and maybe doing test prep on the side, but like anything that isnt an option for everyone.

In my town, our school is one of the more expensive options, but has a pretty decent standing within the city at this point. I teach everything from really low level kids, to pretty upper level stuff. I also volunteer a few hours a week to teach a free class, with kids who cannot afford to go an academy, so we just give them some of our books and any teacher who can volunteer does the term. The kids who cant afford to go are so massively behind the kids we normally have, despite having english classes in their normal school that i find it very unlikely many of them will ever approach the scores required on the test to get anything out of it. In that way, being able to get to the private school and go through the coursework is giving the kids a pretty large advantage over those who are not.

[sailorseal]

As a teacher said a Trinity the other day, "If the public schools options were anywhere near the education you could get at Trinity would your parents be paying all that money for it?"

[got tonkaed]

As a teacher said a Trinity the other day, "If the public schools options were anywhere near the education you could get at Trinity would your parents be paying all that money for it?"

private schools offer more than simply an education. Most research into private schools suggest the networking that arises out of those schools is desirable enough that i bet many would.

[KoolBak]

I'll throw in my 2 cents....first - that was very interesting Tonka - being a true ignorant ameruhkan, I have absolutely NO idea what schools are really like outside the USA - thanks for your time!

I attended both public and private; the last being a Brothers of the Holy Cross private Catholic college (sister school to Notre Dame). What I LIKED about that school was the small class size and the fact that they MADE me work...I couldnt BS my way through it (which I did in a public university). I also enjoyed the little catholic girls who were getting out into the world for the first time

But I digress.....Are they NECESSARY? I think NOT...I think they are a luxury for those that can afford them. I chose my community 20 years ago as I knew I would be having kids and this area is consistently #1 or #2 (public school district wise) in the state. I am thrilled with our public schools. If my kids had to go thru the public schools I did when I was a kid, they would be in private.....and I would be even broker.....lol.

Interesting thread.

[Nobunaga]

... Public schools are like real estate. Location, location, location. I'm house-shopping now and the public school system is the first and most important factor I'm considering.

... Of course private schools have the right to exist, we're not communists.

...

[got tonkaed]

... Public schools are like real estate. Location, location, location. I'm house-shopping now and the public school system is the first and most important factor I'm considering.

... Of course private schools have the right to exist, we're not communists.

...

this seems quite true.

[Frigidus]

They certainly aren't necessary...but there really isn't a problem with them.

[InkL0sed]

They certainly aren't necessary...but there really isn't a problem with them.

[jonesthecurl]

Yes. As a socialist I feel that it's an unfair advantage.

It's not necessarily a bad idea for the individual who gets the privilege.

A socialist living in a capitalist country. That's the way capitalist countries work.

yes, and?
I'm a capitalist too, the positions are not mutually exclusive.
(well strictly, I'm not a capitalist at the moment - I didn't bring my old business with me to the U.S. - but no doubt I'll start something up).

I think that one of the jobs of the state is to provide an education for everyone regardless of income.