Public Schools versus Private Schools

Most parents in today’s world believe that because a school has good exam results for the existing children in the school, then that school is going to be sufficient and perfect for their children. This can be misleading to see a school as only about achieving the best grades. For most students, the most important element is about the relationships they create with their friends and teachers (Colorado Special Education Services Unit, 2001). This paper will elaborate why private schools are better than public schools due to the high standards put in place by the private schools.   A while back, enthusiasts designed a formal education system that would be used to meet the demands of the industrial revolution. Looking into today’s global economic climate, it is evident that the previous education system is unable to meet the needs of the students in schools. When we talk about the education system, we are mainly referring to public schools since the government has to set the rules and standards for them. Private schools are better than public schools because the way the school is governed comes from the owners of the schools as well as the board members while in public schools; they are strictly under the instructions of the government. Sometimes these rules do not apply in each school, and instead of changing them they are forced to continue working with what they have thus diminishing the quality of education. It is difficult for them to come up with their own policies since they are under a specific type of rule as compared to private schools. One of the problems that can be noted in public schools is that parents are not involved enough. The time allocated in the classroom is not enough for the teachers to instruct the student on exactly what they need to know. There has to be some arrangement of interaction outside the school hours. Private schools take it upon themselves to ensure that there is an interaction between parents and children (McCord, Widom, & Crowell, 2001). They achieve that by making sure the parents come to meetings more often, and they make sure that every parent should sign their children’s assignments to show participation. Another evident problem is that public schools are overcrowded; it is easy to say that the smaller the class, the higher the chances of better individual student experience (Butcher, 1989). In the statistics posted by the National Center for Education, fourteen percent of U.S. schools exceed the required capacity (National Center of Education Statistics, 2005). In private schools, there is no issue with overcrowding since the school knows the limit to how many students should be registered in every class. With this in mind, the school does not exceed these numbers since they do not want to compromise on the quality of standards they have set for themselves. According to a recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, thirty-four states contribute less funding on every student before the years of recession. This explains why public schools do not have enough facilities to run them, for example, shortage of books in the library or insufficient laboratory equipment. Since private schools are funded by parents, they can facilitate the schools with the resources needed. This opens a door for improved education. Teachers in public schools have been trained using methods from long ago which do not apply today. There is a disconnect between the teachers and the students in that; the modern student has a detailed view of the world based on home experiences. Access to information is as easy as pressing a touchscreen on a Smartphone. The teachers do not get a clean slate, so all they do is clutter the student’s minds with random ideas that do not apply in their lives. Private schools are different because before a teacher is hired, they go through a long process of vetting to verify if they are eligible and updated to teach. If need be, the school offers further training for the teachers since they have the resources to facilitate this activity. In most schools, arts may not be considered as significant as mathematics and science, but it is vital for students to be able to express themselves through art. Private schools have been praised for keeping up with the art forums because they understand the importance of student engagement and learning (Drake & Nelson, 1999). Public schools have this type of limitation because they run under government instructions, therefore, missing out on the opportunities to improve the students’ mind state through art. Public schools have fallen victim in that they are being closed down in all corners. Many public schools have found themselves on the chopping block since board members concluded that the schools are not of specific standard. This act has brought about a lot of uncertainty for students, teachers, parents as well as the community. Private schools do not come across such issues because they understand the consequences of closing down something they have invested in. In this perspective, they make sure that the school is running smoothly and this brings about stability for the students, parents, and teachers.   According to National Institute of Education (2008) it is evident that the system in education has its shortcomings and even the people who defend the schools can come up with a list of things they would like to change in the system. There is a lot of pressure on the schools since they are expected to create better human beings and then release them to make the community better. It is one of the biggest ambitions that the nation has, a collective project to bring about good working citizens (Hoxby & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2000). It is evident to see that if a new system is not formulated, then the nation will only rely on one system to ensure continuity of a nation which is a very risky situation. Public schools have a high number of students who drop out, and nearly sixty percent go to prison at some point. Sadly over half of young men who attend public schools do not earn a diploma. If these statistics are not changed completely, then the society will not be secure anymore. This is evident because if these young men fail to graduate, they will need to earn a living and they will end up joining gangs who sell drugs or go into cartels that rob people. This will cause insecurity in our nation. It will also hinder economic growth since the workforce from young and energetic people will go into a direction that is taking from the society instead of contributing to the society. According to statistics from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a report found that thirty-four states contribute less funding on a per-student basis as compared to the recession years. Forty-four percent of the education funding is mainly funded by the states in the US, and these small numbers mean that the schools’ budgets are minimized despite the improving economy. If the government cannot find the funding for schools, then the achievement gap will stay stagnant, and the number of students graduating will keep diminishing as time goes by. One might argue that private schools are expensive and that not every parent can afford to take their children to a private school. According to (National Center of Education Statistics, 2005), private schools are more expensive because the parents are expected to fund any student activity, and this propels the quality of education. If the government agreed to adjust the budgets for public schools, then they would be at par with the private schools hence contributing to an improved education system. This paper has depicted why private schools are better than public schools, and this is because private schools have better funding than the public schools. Private schools have better resources to boost the quality of education due to better funding as compared to public schools.

References

Butcher, P. S. (1989). Private Schools of the United States. RQ, 28(4), 571-572. Colorado Special Education Services Unit. (2001). Private schools. Denver, CO. Drake, F., & Nelson, L. (1999). States' Rights and American Federalism: A Documentary History. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Hoxby, C. M., & National Bureau of Economic Research. (2000). Do private schools provide competition for public schools? Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. McCord, J., Widom, C., & Crowell, N. (2001). Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G8 Countries--2004. [Washington, D.C.]: United States Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. National Institute of Education (US). (2008). Public & private schools. Stanford, CA: Institute for Research on Educational Finance and Governance.