Slate: If You Send Your Kid to Private School, You Are a Bad Person

Oh, man, we don't have to go THERE, do we?

Ha ha. Kidding. But I do think the impact of the teacher is often overstated and that the educational environment is dictated by the affluence and education of the parents. That to me is the value of a private school, that you've cleaned out the underbrush that's there mostly because the state says they have to be. We have a wide mix of races and economic classes in our schools. I can't believe how many kids get to sixth grade and still have no real concept of what college is or why it would be important.

 

I went to a high school that, at the time, was considered one of the best public schools in Northern California. If you compared the resources that my school had to some of the inner city schools, it wasn't even close...

But if you walked a few blocks to the Jesuit school in the area, they're resources were so much better than ours it wasn't even funny.

There are a lot of private schools where you're getting nothing that you couldn't get in the public schools...

But, if you find the right private schools, some of those places are just amazing as far as resources and subjects that you don't usually see these days at public schools.

 

I mean it all depends on the public school you're comparing to. Where I grew up, in the affluent suburbs of Cleveland, you really couldn't find a private high school better than my public one. But in the inner-ring suburbs and Cleveland itself? Yeah, there are definitely private schools better than the inner-city schools.

Kind of related: my experience has been that good teachers will self select out of bad schools and in to good schools. The good teachers (in general, not 100%) will leave the Cleveland Public School Districts of the world and head to the Walsh Jesuits (good, private) or Hudsons (good, public) of the world because their quality of life is better there. Teaching in a bad school can be a frustrating experience for reasons like this: http://www.theonion.com/articles/inspirational-english-teacher-canceled-out-by-ever,31461/ (And, again, this isn't 100% true. There are some great teachers who stay in the inner city. But on the balance, that's how I've seen it go.)

 

When I was in high school 25 years ago, the best young teachers from my high school were routinely poached by the local Jesuit school. Their starting wages were much better, but you wouldn't see a teacher who had put in 10 years in the public system leave because of the benefits and whatnot.

 

Lowell?

 

Could our colleagues north of the border weigh in about the dual school boards for public and separate schools?

 

I've sent one child through private school and another to a well regarded public high school in one of the best public school systems in the country and hands down private schools are better. the curriculum is about the same, public schools offered a greater variety of classes, both offered enough AP classes to satisfy a Korean parent.

Private school is better because they can change rules on the fly, make exceptions when needed and there is no political bureaucracy with layers upon layers of administrators micro managing classrooms. Private schools are very conscious of money and put as much money into the classroom as possible. I'm not talking about certain NY, DC or New England prep schools with 9-10 figure endowments.

Private school teachers are available to parents at all hours. Private school teachers don't wait until report cards to tell parents their child isn't performing up to potential. Private school are generally smaller so kids get to participate in many extracurricular activities. You aren't anonymous in a private school. Teacher certification is not a concern of mine as a parent who did choose private school. There were brilliant private school teachers from Pre-K thru 12 who weren't state certified, by choice. There were some bad teachers, too. But their contracts weren't renewed after a couple of years. There are some brilliant public school teachers and some really bad ones. They're all certified and they'll all retire with pensions.

Our local school system has 12 HSs, at least 18 MS and 3o+ elementary schools. And don't think that when a principal is named for one that the superintendent doesn't look at the race and gender of the candidates to makes sure the class picture looks 'inclusive', and that's as important as any other criteria.

 

If you don't think some private schools have bureaucracies that rival public schools, you haven't looked at a large enough sample.

 

my personal experience with secular college prep schools. There's a head of each division (HS, MS, ES, PS) a headmaster of the school and a board of trustees or similar board. Outside of capital expenditures and some key personnel, headmasters are fairly autonomous in their power.

 

Well, you have that one good experience by your child, that's enough to speak for comparing public and private schools everywhere. :

 

well obviously supposition and unicorns beat experience

 

I can only comment on Ontario.

There are two tax funded public school systems. One for the Roman Catholics and one for everyone else. Both are treated equally.

Public schools in Ontario are solid. Teachers are paid fairly well

Here's an article from the Globe & Mail

http://tinyurl.com/m2ybxqa

Salary for a new teacher in Ontario is $45,709 to $55,404

Salary for a teacher with more than 10 years experience: : $76,021 to $94,707

Yes, you can opt out for a private school--like Upper Canada College--but it's mostly been a system for wealthy upper class white people. Oh, and now they're allowing rich visible minority people in. You know, Asians.

Ontario's public system is solid thanks to Egerton Ryerson who was instrumental in the establishment of a free public education system in Ontario in the late 1800's

We still believe in the importance of public schools. And mostly everyone will fight their erosion