Public vs. Private

I exist in a love/hate relationship with private schools. I went to a public school until I was ten - the classes were huge, and there were no extra curricular activities. When I was transferred into a private school I was 9 months behind the rest of my class.

Private schools offer a good education and a huge range of subjects to study (the school I went to now has dance and outdoor ed as university entrance subjects). But in my final year there was a huge pressure to do well and uphold the "image of the school". I guess this is understandable in a sense since private schools recieve no funding other than what they can gather on their own, therefore to protect itself the school has to be 'sellable' to prospective parents/students.

HOWEVER, when public schools receive proper funding from the govt. they can perform just as well. But the problem is funding. If govt. allocate more funding to schools and universities, teachers are better trained and the schools more equipped.

I guess it really depends on the school and how much money people/the govt. is willing to give it.

I've been to four schools in my life and the first two were public (in the American sense of the word). I'm currently at a voluntary grammar school. The Northern Irish school system is confusing... I think it means that you take an exam to get into it, but you don't have to do well in it because they have to take as many kids as they can. And we get funding, but we also pay fees. And mine has a preparatory department, which is like primary school, only you have to pay fees... so I guess that was kind of a private school. I was there for three years and it was just...

Basically all the money from the funding and fees and everything went into the main school, and any that was left over went to the preparatory school. So we basically had no money. We couldn't afford to have a hall of any sort, we had to have assemblies in a classroom and do PE outside all year around. The books were all extremely old and trashed. The walls were all crumbling away, the school dinners were crap, the P6 classroom flooded because the pipes were too old and they couldn't afford to replace them, and compared to the previous public schools I'd been to it just didn't seem to have any sort of money. It was not a good place to go to school... People send their kids to private schools to get a better education but you definitely didn't get one there.

And the irony was, that was the so called 'private' school. All the public school kids made fun of us and thought we were snobs and that our school had loads of money but we so didn't. If that prep school had been public it would have been shut down long ago.

Public sucks. Well High school does anyway. I've left my high school, due to anxiety. Its just too big, there's 1500 students there. That is just too much.
I've never been to private school, but I would like to go to one. Because the classes are smaller. I have a problem being around too many people, so I think private might suit me. Except, I've heard private schools don't like taking in children with special needs. Damn, I am so screwed >.<
Plus my parents definately can't afford the fee's for private >.<

I've actually been to both and I like public school better. To me, private school is to sheltered and the kids don't have enough freedom. Each school has their pros and cons... you get a better education in provate school, but you don't have such a wide variety when it comes to students. Everyone is basically just like you. No diversity. (at least at my school)

Then you have public school which is more diverse and you get a better sense f what people are like in a less sheltered enviroment. The learning system isn't as good, and the supplies aren't that great, but I personally like it better,

Private school just wans't my thing I guess... people have their opinions though. They did have better field trips at prvate school though... damn. I miss those field trips.

:shifty... we are going to the museum of tolerance this year for my H World History class. (ahaha H is for honors... and I'm damn proud of my nerdy class! ahaha although i wish I had gotten into AP Euro. Oh well... next year? Nah...I don't write small enough. Ahaha AP kid joke. I learned it from a friend. You have to write so fricken' small in AP classes. They give you so little space to write notes. And each note thing is like an essay. oops... off topic. Sorry [/ramble])

but yeah... I like public school better.

So. I go to a private school and I can tell you now, it's not the same as what people would think.
People say oh yeah, good education, good people, etc, etc. It's not all good. Good educaiton? Yeah. I guess.
Good people, however? I can honestly say that most people in my class (an I'm an eigth grader) are some of the slutt!est, snobbiest, and just plain b!tchy people I've ever met.

And yet, in a way, if they were any different, I'd find this whole situation extremely weird.
For example, there was this girl. Really nice, really smart, great personality, far from a s!ut. She came in 6th grade.
Now by eighth grade, she wears s!utty clothes, last year she walked around in a towel only, she brought Vodka to school, need I say more?

Actually, what really p!ssed me off is that they only suspended her (and the other girl who took it with her) for a few days. But, getting off subject here...

A private school's image, other public schools call us rich and snobby - and though in return we call them ferals, cuz' they smoke, drink, get themselves knocked up etc, but at least at public schools, they have cuter boys.

I don't even think I made sense there.

What I'm trying to say is that I think it'd be better to go to a semi-private co-ed school. =)

HotPinkSharpie I do agree girls tend to be like that in private school but you cannot escape it. It just makes you more resilient in that sense. Try all girls Catholic school. 1000+ girls. :grr:

I see no difference between both. Yes, some offer better courses however in the end it's whether the students desires to apply themselves and does the work. The teachers teach, it's up to the students to use that material to learn. I'm pretty sure any school can have a good teacher-student relationship, private or not, to maximise learning.

An education is an education it's whether you are determined to have it or not.

However that is prone to argument.

HotPinkSharpie.:

So. I go to a private school and I can tell you now, it's not the same as what people would think.
People say oh yeah, good education, good people, etc, etc. It's not all good. Good educaiton? Yeah. I guess.
Good people, however? I can honestly say that most people in my class (an I'm an eigth grader) are some of the slutt!est, snobbiest, and just plain b!tchy people I've ever met.

Yep. It was Holden Caulfield who said that the more expensive a school is, the more crooks there are. :|

^ :lmfao That's true.
I like that I go to public school.
To be honest, my school is a lot more slack with uniform and stuff like that than the private school down the road and I like that :tehe:

I go to a private XD

It's quite good in the education sense, apart fro that I hate it.

*Insert sarcastic voice*

All girl, catholic, presentation concert.

Nothing beats it.

Awesome uniform, great freedom.

Nothings better then having your individuallity taken away.

^ I had my individuality taken away at a state school, yo!
... You have to pay for the uniform, 'n' all. :-o

I think I argued my point earlier in the thread, but I've gone to state schools my whole life and, y'know, I didn't think they were bad at all. And it's a very normal environment; my school incorporated a great mixture of people, for better and for worse. Also, on the education front... I truly believe that if someone has a reasonable chance (and at a state school, you do), they will learn if they want to. There are great holes in my education, but that's more to do with dropping out than anything else...

Then again, private education would probably give you some responsibility to your learning, right? But I'm sure those places can be bitchy... I don't know, teenage girls are good at bitching anyway, but, yeah... I could see how the problem would possibly be exacerbated.

I've never actually attended a public school in my life.
At the age of three I was put into a prepatory school, and then when I turned thirteen I attended a senior school.
I've always been in school where the students are both male and female.
I've never been in a all girls school.
I'd hate it, believe me.

Anyway, seeing as I've never been to a public school, I have no basis for comparisson, but believe me, private school's are horrendous.
Some of the people here are so far up their own arses, it's unbelievable.
My father sends me to a private school 45 minutes away from my home.
I have to get a taxi there and back.
Why does he send me that far, when there's a private school up the road?
Because this is the best one in the county, apparently.

I suppose my school's strict on things like behaviour and appearence, compared to what I've heard about public schools, but I don't know.

Some people are too quick to judge when I say that I go to Millfield Senior School.
They faint, and the instantly assume I'm the bitchiest person to ever grace the earth.
It's quite sad really.

sunshines:

HotPinkSharpie I do agree girls tend to be like that in private school but you cannot escape it. It just makes you more resilient in that sense. Try all girls Catholic school. 1000+ girls. :grr:

I see no difference between both. Yes, some offer better courses however in the end it's whether the students desires to apply themselves and does the work. The teachers teach, it's up to the students to use that material to learn. I'm pretty sure any school can have a good teacher-student relationship, private or not, to maximise learning.

An education is an education it's whether you are determined to have it or not.

However that is prone to argument.

There's alot of difference between my school (private) and my brother's school (public).

My brother's school has less facilities, alot of the desks and chairs are broken, and the teachers are alot slacker.
Not saying this applies for all public school's but at my school the teachers push you a bit more to do your work, we have better facilities than my brothers school.

Of course, this isn't a generalisation of all public and private schools, but that's just an example of the ones I know of.
Public schools tend to be alot less stricter than private schools.

^^Yes that's true, I've observed that. The conditions may be poorer in that sense, but if a student is focused enough it shouldn't impact greatly on their education. Well, we don't hope so.

Not the ones [public schools] around my area, they are less stricter on uniform but on work ethic, they have a better reputation than local private schools. We have a good reputation on looks, but education wise these students are amazing.

In conclusion, I think it depends what type of environment benefits the student the most. Whether they thrive is competition or not for example. :shifty

The amount of bitchyness you get at my school is un-believable.

Also I'm sure over half the year is pretty much all into drinking, smoking, 'hooking up' with guys. I find it rather distgusing.

Hmm, yeah, at my school, we had a lot of textbooks that were quite old. I suppose a private school wouldn't be learning from a geography book about the same age as them? Also, we had a lot of substitute teachers, particularly when I was in the lower school...

But otherwise, my school did pretty well on the academic front. I don't remember learning much, but I must have :-), and I do remember having a few good teachers (a few shit ones, too, but that's a given)

My school loved uniform regulations. Your shirt had to be tucked in at all times, and ties had to be a certain length... but otherwise? Eh, I used to walk around with ripped tights and a stained shirt, but no one really said anything. My nose stud, however, was a terrible crime. But the Uniform Nazism ¬_¬ didn't really become a problem until I was in year ten, when I think they got sick of years and years of rolled up skirts, non-existent ties and 452954 layers of orange foundation. And I know when the new head teacher was employed, she was obsessed with uniform (to the point where she wanted to make sixth formers wear it 'cause we all looked a state or something xD)

Obviously, kids smoked in toilets and outside the gate, people bitched, blah blah... but it was alright; no one was amazingly awful to anyone else. It was a simple case of... I dunno, I wasn't there much, but my school was fine. 8)

I can't speak for private schools, obviously, but I don't think they're necessary to get a good education.

Yeah, then again, I swear half the kids in my year border on illiterate :roll:
But, y'know... I base English skills off those on Mibba much of the time, forgetting that it's a writer's site with people who *gasp* take pride in their English skills... to be honest, and I forget this a lot of the time, the standard of English on Mibba is abnormally high (and duh, it's a writer's site, but I forget this when in the real world)

To be honest, when/if I have kids, I'll probably send them to a state school, unless the ones where I live are ridiculously terrible... but really, private schools are very expensive. I'd possibly try to get them into grammar schools instead, but really... I like state schools, it's what I'm used to. I don't see the need to spend thousands and thousands on something you can get for free. *shrugs*

ChemicallyImbalanced:

There's alot of difference between my school (private) and my brother's school (public).

My brother's school has less facilities, alot of the desks and chairs are broken, and the teachers are alot slacker.
Not saying this applies for all public school's but at my school the teachers push you a bit more to do your work, we have better facilities than my brothers school.

Of course, this isn't a generalisation of all public and private schools, but that's just an example of the ones I know of.
Public schools tend to be alot less stricter than private schools.

According to my observations, my school (public) has a lot better, newer facilities and stuff than the private school down the road.

Freddie Mercury.:

ChemicallyImbalanced:

There's alot of difference between my school (private) and my brother's school (public).

My brother's school has less facilities, alot of the desks and chairs are broken, and the teachers are alot slacker.
Not saying this applies for all public school's but at my school the teachers push you a bit more to do your work, we have better facilities than my brothers school.

Of course, this isn't a generalisation of all public and private schools, but that's just an example of the ones I know of.
Public schools tend to be alot less stricter than private schools.

According to my observations, my school (public) has a lot better, newer facilities and stuff than the private school down the road.

I think it differs from what suburb you come from. Some suburbs the public is better than the private, others it's the reverse. :shifty

In the area I live in- all Public Schools have changed their rules and uniforms to match Private schools, so either way here, you're basically going to a Private School. But, sometimes being a little strict is good.

There are a lot of differences between the two, public and private. I mean you pay for private and not for public, so there it's financially beneficial. With private, on the other hand, it seems like you recieve more attention in the classes, but maybe I've seen too many movies. ;)

I go to a public school and I like it. The environment is okay, and the people could be a little less dramatic, but you get that everywhere. :D In other words, it really shouldn't matter where you go to school. As long as you're getting the education you need, you're good to go. :)

Believe.In.Lies:

There are a lot of differences between the two, public and private. I mean you pay for private and not for public, so there it's financially beneficial. With private, on the other hand, it seems like you recieve more attention in the classes, but maybe I've seen too many movies. ;)

That's what they want it to look like but it really isn't most of the time. I don't see much difference except that the teachers seem more happy to be at my school.