Hey. Just wondering if you can give me some advice. Just looking around at schools for my son to start school.
What is the difference between public and private???
What are people opinions for choosing private or public??
Thank you
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7 Replies
I've never been in a position where I really needed to consider private schooling because I'm spoilt for choice with excellent public primary and high schools in my area but even before that the idea of private education was really unappealing to me.
To be really frank, I'd home school before sending my kids to a Christian or Catholic school, well any religious based school really. That's just something I feel very strongly about.
You really just have to consider the aspects that are important to you, whether religion is a factor, fees, school policies etc. You're best off visiting your local schools and sussing them out then making a decision.
Just remember that no school be that public or private guarantees a good or bad education, the education your kids receive will depend on a lot of factors both in terms of school, in terms of their personality and external factors.
I had my daughter at a state school and it didn't have many support staff. My daughter hated it and she never got the help she needed so I moved her to a private school and from my experience I definitely wouldn't go back to public. Private schooling has been a godsend and my daughter loves school and is doing much better. But everyone's experience is different.
Same with our son and we have done public & private in 2 states and sadly the state system is broken.
Yes I'd hate to think where my daughter would be mentally if we didn't move her :(
We have decided private for a few reasons.
1. Our local public school is tiny and I find that really unappealing. Mostly composite classes and an average of 12-18 kids a year. I worried that with such a small cohort if there are personality clashes there is no room to put some space between them.
2. Local public has a big technology push and has iPads in the classroom room as a daily teaching prop from kindergarten. Personally I am quite against this - I just worry there are no long term studies on the long term affects of devices in immature brains, on eyesight and posture. We limit our children’s screen time accordingly. The school we have chosen may use computers/iPads once to twice a week at this age.
We would have happily gone public if we had been zoned for a school that met these values. I would encourage you not to think in terms of public or private but whether they offer what you would like and/or need.
As a student who went to both public and private, there was a huge difference for me between both. I know people say there's no difference they all follow the same curriculum which yes is true, however private has a lot more to offer.
Being private with high fees, they can afford to hire extra teachers who can provide extra support for students, they have great equipment particularly in the arts and science departments, they provide sports equipment that is in good condition and they have larger budgets for co-curricular activities. We never had to pay for the 15 co-curricular activities I was doing (except any additional uniforms) and that included transport to interstate things and meals etc.
The library at the public school was rotten, hardly any choice and only 1 of each book copy, the private had numerous copies with a massive library, lots of computers (never had to wait for one to become available), it was staffed until 8pm so if you needed to study or access content it was open late. Just a lot better academically if you wanted to be that way inclined.
I guess people need to question, if they could afford a private school without it being a burden financially, surely you would choose it over a public school :/ I know I definitely would!
I am zoned between 2 public schools, we've also got 3 private schools near by.
I researched them all.
Both the public schools have excellent libraries and facilities in general, they have computer labs and a certain amount of computers in each classroom as well as a few iPad. Both the public schools offer sport and music programs which are funded (parent costs are for uniforms and equipment, naturally).
The public schools have good policies in place to deal with bullying, which were put to the test last year when my daughter was having issues - I couldn't fault the way it was dealt with and it has subsequently stopped.
The private schools didn't offer any sport or music programs, the facilities were on par with the public schools but had class sizes of 30 plus, and none of the private schools had an adequate response in being questioned about bullying policies. Though the fees were actually affordable and could be reduced further by volunteering.
The only real difference that I saw was a formal uniform and a certain status!
We chose the public school within walking distance from our house, even if I won the lottery and could send them to the most prestigious private school in our state I wouldn't because my kids are absolutely excelling at their humble little public school, feelings that are shared with many other parents at this school too.
There are good schools, mediocre schools, and schools you'd want to avoid like the plague but these qualities aren't specific to public or private because there's good and bad in both sectors.
Choosing a private school just because it's a private school or not considering a public school just because it's a public school is baffling to me. Making an informed choice is the best option!