Private Schools vs. Public Schools

[Machjo]

I don't actually have any kids, but if I did I would assume the public school system would be suffice. People like to make horror stories out of it but it's like public health care, the majority of it is good, you only hear the bad parts.

I'll agree that public education is not so bad. But why should this stop us from trying to improve it? In Sweden (the oft-touted model socialist success story) uses a voucher system for its schools. Why could the NDP not look at something like that, learn from other socialist governments abroad?

 

[karrie]

I should add too in tesponse to SJP that depending on the system adopted, a privately-owned school can be just as secular as a state-owned school can be religious.

I'd like to add to that too that religion versus secularism aren't the only variations between public and private schools. Art versus sports, advanced curriculum versus more relaxed, uniforms versus not, military versus relaxed rules...

Children aren't one size fits all, why would we think their educations should be?

 

[L Gilbert]

I think it's simple, let kids learn at the rate they feel comfortable with (within reason, a little push or a tug sometimes as needed) and keep them interested and they will do just fine. As soon as you make them bored, you have trouble. Also, getting them out to be with other kids has an effect on their learning skills.

 

[L Gilbert]

I think it also depends on who is teaching your kids. If the child doesn't like the teacher and vice versa, the grades won't be as good.

 

[talloola]

I think it also depends on who is teaching your kids. If the child doesn't like the teacher and vice versa, the grades won't be as good.

A good teacher can get the best out of most kids, and I've seen, over the years,
kids come almost to a stop for a whole year, because they have a teacher they
don't like, or doesn't like them, or just teaches in a way, that doesn't capture
anyone's attention. (sometimes it's just the damn kid.)

 

[L Gilbert]

Right. Sometimes it is the kid, in which case it is up to the teacher to figure out what will work for the kid.

 

[talloola]

Right. Sometimes it is the kid, in which case it is up to the teacher to figure out what will work for the kid.

and often, that teacher needs input from the parents, to help get the kid back
on track. They can work together.

 

[L Gilbert]

Yup. I think that's part of the thing with teacher/parent meetings. (When the teachers aren't sitting in the pubs after a few rounds of golf on "professional day".

 

[SirJosephPorter]

I like the idea of a school uniform, as it promotes more unity between puppils, and can also help to bridge class barriers.

Can a public school not institute the uniforms, if it so chose?

 

[TenPenny]

I've always thought that the idea of school uniforms was silly.

The idea of any uniform is make you part of a group, all for the team, suppress your individuality for the greater good. School is about maximizing your learning and your performance, not about making sure you're no different from the rest.

Uniforms are fine for sports teams and the military, but are silly for school children.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

I understand in the third world they are big on school uniforms.

 

[JLM]

I don't actually have any kids, but if I did I would assume the public school system would be suffice. People like to make horror stories out of it but it's like public health care, the majority of it is good, you only hear the bad parts.

Like most public systems I don't think the product delivered is too bad, the biggest problem is the bureaucracy and cost, too many drones and dog f*****s.

 

[Machjo]

and often, that teacher needs input from the parents, to help get the kid back
on track. They can work together.

They must work together.

 

[Machjo]

Can a public school not institute the uniforms, if it so chose?

Absolutely. I was in such a school.

 

[Machjo]

I've always thought that the idea of school uniforms was silly.

The idea of any uniform is make you part of a group, all for the team, suppress your individuality for the greater good. School is about maximizing your learning and your performance, not about making sure you're no different from the rest.

Uniforms are fine for sports teams and the military, but are silly for school children.

I had to wear a uniform at times. If anything, it enhances our deeper differences. Since a student can't wear different clothes, we become more distinguishable by our character. I had to wear a school uiform at tiemes. Do I seem like a party hack?

 

[Ariadne]

Private schools typically have a lower student teacher ratio, so students that are sometimes left in the dust in the public school actually have an opportunity to learn in a private school. If the public school is in Canada, and the private school is in, say, Switzerland, then the private school has numerous advantages. Instead of learning about Rome in a book, students visit Rome - authentic learning. That is a distinct advantage of private schools. If the private school is down the street from the public school in Canadatown, there only difference can be seen in student performance. It seems that students from private schools tend to score higher on provincial exams - could have something to do with student teacher ratios.

 

[Niflmir]

Niflmir...

Around here, public schools at my children's ages are fairly small (so that small children don't have to travel out of their neighbourhood), so out of necessity, class rooms are run to the lowest common denominator (ie, the slowest kid sets the pace). And, the schools have had any and all disciplinary tooth removed from them, which is problematic if you are raising a difficult kid.

For my kids, the choice of which was a better school for them was clear. I don't care about retention rates and grades in the end. I care about keeping a bright kid engaged NOW, not bored while the class plugs along at a slower rate. I care about having a hyper boundary pusher come up against some strong boundaries, not being allowed to break them repeatedly and end up suspended in grade 2.

It has nothing to do with public/private being better on the grand scale for me, and everything to do with fit for my kid. My kids aren't statistics. You can't round up with them. It doesn't matter how it washes out for society in the end, it matters how it works for them NOW.

That's a valid reason. The environment is definitely better for keeping children occupied.

It seems that students from private schools tend to score higher on provincial exams - could have something to do with student teacher ratios.

The reason for this is what I am claiming and offering evidence of: it is the socioeconomic status of the students that accounts for this.

 

[JLM]

I've always thought that the idea of school uniforms was silly.

The idea of any uniform is make you part of a group, all for the team, suppress your individuality for the greater good. School is about maximizing your learning and your performance, not about making sure you're no different from the rest.

Uniforms are fine for sports teams and the military, but are silly for school children.

Have to agree to disagree on that. School is not the place for making a fashion statement or displaying financial status and uniforms just take away one more distraction.

 

[Niflmir]

Freedom of expression does not extend to students.

Have to disagree with you. Life is a place for making fashion and economic statements. One must learn to deal with these things in a timely fashion, throwing someone into the real world with no experience with apparent class barriers isn't being fair to a person.

Children need to develop social skills in a real social environment, not a sterile one.

 

[TenPenny]

Have to agree to disagree on that. School is not the place for making a fashion statement or displaying financial status and uniforms just take away one more distraction.

Uniforms don't do anything to take away those things.

Some kids have cell phones, Nintendo DS, some have empty lunch boxes.
Uniforms do NOTHING to 'assimilate' the kids into one cohesive mass.
That's a fiction dreamed up by the same people who think that 'not keeping score' makes sports fun for little kids. (They all keep the real score anyway).

If you want to be deluded by this foolishness, go ahead. But that's all it is, foolishness. The only thing uniforms do is make all the kids from one school look the same from a distance, and distinguish them from the kids from some other school, so they're easier to tell apart when there's a big fight.

There are thousands of people studying and making great arguments for stupid trivialities like school uniforms, while avoiding any effort to actually improve instruction and learning.