Public Schools vs. Private Schools Essay

EDUC 512 Issue 1.5 Should Public Schooling be Redefined? Issue 2.6 Are Local School Boards Obsolete? Marla Layton What is the role of public schools? Who should be governing public schools? This paper will address each side of these educational issues as well as offer a position statement and an action

Parents have a growing number of options available these days when deciding where to send their children to school. Public and homeschool are two of the most popular choices, and each one has benefits that are as unique as the children in attendance. Public school is free, homeschool has added costs; public school has more peer pressure, homeschool typically has less. When deciding which option to choose, parents should do their research in order to make an informed decision. While the reasons parents have when deciding where to send their children to school range anywhere from cost to religious, one thing remains constant—they want the best education for their kids.

School Choice Improves Student Achievement In his new budget, President Obama proposed to substantially increase federal spending to improve public schools. Yet steady spending increases of the last three decades resulted in little change in the poor achievement of students that worries many citizens. Much research, however, shows that what works well is parental choice among schools fairly competing for students as in the case of traditional, tuition-based private schools. Rigorous studies comparing students randomly selected or not to oversubscribed private and charter schools as well as large, statistically controlled surveys show that these schools excel in achievement and parental satisfaction.

Private Schools Will Not Fix the American Education System The American public education system was founded on the radical notion that all members of society should have equal access to education. Also crucial was the notion that a basic common education was essential for a true democracy. This revolutionary system is now in indisputable trouble. Many worry about America’s ability to compete with foreign countries while others address the growing dichotomy between the quality of education in different economic areas. Recent rural shootings have only exasperated the problem, and caused many parents to entirely abandon the public system for a private alternative.

There are three main types of schools that students currently attend. The most prevalent school is the public school system. Funded by the government through taxes, this school usually has higher class sizes. The second is private schools which can have religious affiliations, and often do. However, that is not to say that all private schools have religious affiliations. To attend one of these schools, more often than not, the parents and students must have a higher socioeconomic status than most.

Public School Public schools cater to students in the elementary, middle and high school levels. These are usually traditional schools and there are guidelines set by the state as to the means of evaluating and teaching students. Moreover, some public schools accept students depending on the entrance test scores, and the cut off may be high.

     Private schools also prepare the student for the business world. There are many strategies to becoming a successful businessperson. One of these traits is the ability to work as a team. In private schools the students have more chances to grow in that area because of the class size. However, public schools are more centered on the idea that students must fend for themselves, and teachers “are accountable to multiple constituencies, while needing to respond to the varying capabilities and needs of their students” (Benveniste 52). Another large part of being successful in the business world is the communication skills. In a private school the class size is

Thesis: Private school students are more likely to have a better viewpoint in learning, a firm stance in education, and will be more successful in colleges than of public school students.

Being a seventeen-year-old boy from savannah, I have been raised within the walls of government, and tax funded schools, all my life. And it is at this point that I notice that it has not had any impact on my success thus far. I have attended Marshpoint Elementary, Coastal Middle School, And Islands High School. These schools are not only all public, but also within a one-mile radius of my house. My parents believed in the public-school system to help extend my growth into the college scene. And I have done exactly that. I came from a middle-class house whose income was well into the triple digits, and both my Mother and Father were both very religious. So, it seems that the arrow would have pointed in the private school direction at one point, right? Well it never did. My parents, as well as myself, never believed that private school would ever benefit me more than public school would. And I still stand by this today.

1. What is the difference between a college and a university? Explain in five or more sentences. -The difference between a college such as Broward College and a university such as Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University is that colleges offer undergraduate programs while universities offer undergraduate and graduate

The topic of what kind of school to send children to has and will be a huge topic in the United States. The debate about Public versus Private has been a debate for a long time, because of varying experiences and statistics. Most parents of young children debate about whether

• One difference between a public and private university is how they are funded (tuition). Private universities don’t receive funds from state legislatures because they rely on tuition and private contributions. While public influx if money is why public university.

There are different types of education that a student may receive in today’s society. The choices are narrowed down into two main categories, public and private school. Many people in today’s society believe it’s better to send their children to private schools rather than public schools. To most parents deciding

Public vs. Private Education      I have examined and compared public versus private education. Also, this collection of information should help you understand differences between public and private schools. Aspects of equality and achievement in private and public education will be dissected and evaluated.

Thus, the competition is fierce. In public schools, a highly intelligent youth may graduate first or second in his or her class, whereas if they attended private school their graduation rank may be fifth or sixth. Sadly, some graduating seniors from private schools feel that a public school education would have presented more college options.