Public Schools vs. Private Schools
Eng 121
Prof. Nathaniel Miles Millard
November 8, 2010
Public school or private school for your children? You will see there are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. Public schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Private schools offer an alternative. Which works best for you? That's the real question which you have to answer. Let’s compare:
My daughter, now an adult, attended private school and public school, therefore, I am going to base much of my information on my association with the schools she attended. Attending public school in kindergarten I noticed an unusually large class size. There were about 30 children in her class. On the opposite side of the spectrum her cousin, who was six months older than she and in the same grade, attended a private Catholic school with only twelve students in the class. There are generally about 10 – 15 students in a private classroom setting vs. 35 – 40 students in public school. I was impressed with his learning progress and believed it to be an advantage to be in a setting where the teachers could really devote time to each student. This is only possible with small sized classrooms. I decided I would be send my daughter to private school the next year for first grade. As a matter of record, public schools do have more students in their classrooms than private schools. According to Education Week 32 states now have class size reduction programs or limit class size by law.
Whether my daughter attended private school or public school I was always involved in the welfare of her education. Some parents leave that up to the school system. I always believed that my involvement gave me an advantage of knowing early on if my daughter were failing or misbehaving in school. When my daughter was in public school, it was always up to me to find out her progress and grades whereas in private school, the administrative staff was always on top of