Depends on the school and the needs of the child. Down this way there is not any benefit with private schooling unless you as a parent want to hang with a certain crowd. Also the only private school religious. I absolutely agree that schooling should be secular, sadly even though we have chosen a public school, the Vic legislation allows for SRI (that is for another thread).
I received some my best education and support at the lower socioeconomic schools. I learnt I was smart, as opposed to be ignored at the "better" as I was not dragging down their precious averages.
Depends on the school, their philosphy towards teaching and learning, the policies, the child... DD starts Prep in 2014, and after all the research into curriculum, pedagogy and policies, of all the rivate and public in a 20km radius, we've chosen a public school to be the best place for her. Haven't looked into high school yet but we'll go through a similar process, and chose what is best for her. I don't think either is better or worse, it just depends on what your child needs and what the schools can give them.
We look on the basis of support for disability for DS as the priority and then philosophies, policies, community feel, etc afterwards. Most private schools up here didn't even have full time SN staff. For us the best choice is a public school. They have a variety of programs, cater to quite a few religions (which was important to us, we're atheists but want our kids to be exposed to numerous belief systems/cultures) and are an excellent fit for our whole family. High school will be harder and more dependent on DS' needs.
It really depends on the type of philosophies, learning, experiences etc that you want for your child. Then it depends on the school.
Money isn't an issue for us either and we chose public for our DD1. She had places at the two local private schools and when we lined them all up, where she goes now suited us all far better than the two private schools.
ETA see Ausgirl that's why I think it's totally dependent on individual schools. In the two private school transition classes here there are 30+kids to one teacher. In DD1s class there are 2 classes of 20 to 2 teachers and one fulltime and two part time aides plus the indigenous assistant, the ESL assistant.
The public schools near us are quite large (5-7 primary classes for each year level, 25-32 kids in each class) and appear to be poorly resourced. In our investigations (admittedly, 6 years ago for DD1) we found a lot of jaded, unenthusiastic staff in our local primary schools. Our local public schools left me utterly depressed. I couldn't imagine leaving my child there each day.
We chose a small private school for our kids. Classes are capped at 22 for Prep and 24 for other primary classes. Double stream primary (two classes each year level), triple stream secondary. Teaching resources are plentiful; if something is required for either a class or an individual child, it is acquired. The teaching staff are enthusiastic and the children are all engaged - no child 'slips through the gaps'. The children are all valued as individuals, encouraged in their strengths and supported in their weaknesses. The sense of community is fantastic which, as well as being enjoyable as a parent, is IMO an important example to set for our children. A cohesive community working together for a common goal despite individual differences.
I read others saying that people who choose private school are 'buying peers for their children' and I disagreed. But I guess I am buying into a community which holds the same value and enthusiasm for educating children as I do. I'm happy for that to be a by product of paying to send my children to an environment where they are valued and engaged every day.
I do think that the private vs public debate should be influenced by what is available in your own area, as well as considering the needs of the individual child. I saw public schools I disliked, but I also inspected private schools I wouldn't consider sending my children to. We are committed to a private education for our kids and I feel confident we have found the right school for our family. I hope others find the right school for their kids, regardless of whether it's public or private.
I think it depends on the schools in your area. We are sending DS to the private one and the girls will follow. The public school in our area is so bad I wouldn't send my dog there, let alone my kids. I know a little boy who was 7 and his mum found he had been taking a knife to school to protect himself from kids bullying him. We have had kids from that school bully DS when his been on our front yard, he was 3, these kids were 10-11 years old . DH went to the public school, he cant spell, his writing is so bad its barely readable and he was bullied so bad I think it still affects him in some ways. But I am not against public school, if we were in a good area with a good public school I would send the kids to it.
(that is for another thread).
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. DH went to the public school, he cant spell, his writing is so bad its barely readable and he was bullied so bad I think it still affects him in some ways. But I am not against public school, if we were in a good area with a good public school I would send the kids to it.
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