your thoughts on private/public...

[widdly]

Just intersted to heat others' opinions on private versus public schooling. Where do send your child and why?

I have just started looking into primary schools for Archie and there are 4 schools i am considering, will probably enrol in each school and decide when the time gets nearer. there are 2 very small country public primary schools that i love and there are 2 R-12 private schools in our town, 1 is Lutheran and 1 is Catholic, though religion doesn't even come into it when enrolling your child. The reasons i am considering private are:

1. I like that the kids have to strictly adhere to uniforms and they always look so smart.
2. i might have more of a say in his education if need be.
3. (this sounds terribly snobby) there might be less chance of him falling into the "wrong" crowd?

SO, what do you think???

[BellyBelly]

I think you really have to assess your child's personality too. We chose to send Marisa to a private primary & secondary school as she has Selective Mutism, and the school we are zoned in has 4 prep classes... whereas the private school has one class at each year level. She will get the one on one nurturing she needs and wont get lost in the crowd, and it will nurture her confidence. My son on the other hand is outgoing and I think will be fine in public primary, but I will put him in private secondary. My hubby is now feeling a bit funny about one being private and one public so it may change, but I definitely think personality is important when deciding and of course what schools are around you - the child has to like the school for it to be a positive experience.

[widdly]

thankyou kelly, that is so true about assessing the individual child. i know that Archie is going to change A LOT in the next 3-4 years, but at the moment it seems like he is a bright, outgoing kid, though he is slow to warm up in new situations, im leaning more towards the small public schools atm, but i know that there is a risk of not being able to get a place if they are full up with country kids and i really dont like the other public schools here, they are either in really awful areas, or they are huge schools with large class numbers, and i just can't imagine dropping an almost 5 year old child off at such a huge school and expecting him to feel comfortable. It seems like such a huge decision! thanks so much for your input

[daddy2b]

Hi widdly,
It is my belief that private school gives your children more choice. As a generalisation they have a greater selection of subjects, more diverse range of programs, mandatory weekend sports and more rigorous supervision. If your child has the aptitude then this may be of benefit. That being said sending your kids to a private is not a guarantee that your child won't have problems. I'm the oldest of 4 and went to a public school whilst my younger 3 siblings all went to private schools. My younger brother has been in some trouble during his younger years and did end up dropping out of high school. I also know of other people who have sent their kids to private schools only to be disappointed when they did not use this to go onto further education. It's a tough choice given the amount of money involved but my intention is to send my kids (the first one's a month away) to private school. Goodluck with your decision.

[Indadhanu]

Well, I'm not a mum yet but already thinking about it (mainly because I'm studying education so I kind of let myself get off topic when I'm studying ).

I think so many things come into it...

First of all, for me, I'd have to look at my child and their personality, and then look at the schools teaching style, resources, policies etc. Class sizes, how many students per teacher, and teacher aide time are all pretty important. For me I'd need to know that if my child was struggling that there would be the right resources to support him/her, and that they wouldn't get lost in the cracks.
Anti-bullying policy is SOOOOOOO important as well. As well as food policies (tuckshop and brought from home).
If your child has specific interests, its always good to make sure they have a good range of what your child is interested in (no use sending an arty child to an elite sports school and vice versa!).

Private schools have always had a strong image of being the better schools for choice (especially in high school) but lately there are public schools that are getting a really good rep too. It all depends on what your child is interested in. The high school I went to was very much a sport and IT school, and won awards over the local private schools... but the private schools in the area were better equipped and focused on science and art.

As for uniforms... private schools aren't necessarily more strict than primary schools, it just depends on the school... you're best bet would be to take a tour and have a look at the way the kids are dressed in the school yard. Nicely dressed kids means the uniform rules get enforced, scruffy kids with shirts hanging out and wrong coloured shoes/socks means its not that strictly enforced. I went to two public high schools, one the uniform was hardly enforced at all, the other was so strict if we wore the wrong coloured shoe laces or boys wore the wrong coloured belts we'd get detention (I kid you not!). All schools will tell you they enforce the uniform (unless its in their school policy not to!) but you're better off looking for yourself.

You'd have to go along to a P&C meeting and talk to other parents to see how much say you have in your childs education. That's usually where you CAN have your say (at those meetings), so have a look and see if parents options are being listened to or fobbed off.

Last but not least... falling into the wrong crowd... nope, theres no school that can prevent that, public or private.


I don't think I can tell you whether I'll be choosing public or private. It depends on what we need out of the school for each child, and what the schools offers to do for us. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, just different, and it depends on what you need.

(Hope this helps! Dunno if I'm mentioning things you already know or not?!?!?)

[Ginger]

i agree with what the others have said, you have to assess each school individually on its own merits- public or private. there are some fantastic public primary schools out there. i've been involved with some public primary schools in my career and have been very very impressed, i would definitely send ds to some that i've seen. trust your instincts a little- go check them out and see which one you like the feel of- do the kids seem happy there? then go for it

[BeautifulMadness]

Sometimes the school/s have an open day where u can take alook around talk to teachers etc to get a feel for the school ask questions etc

I personally went to a public school and it was **** my nephew now goes there n its gotten worse and he hates going there but he cant change schools or rather my sis wont move him. He is a bright boy wrong school. so make sure the school you choose has the things that will move you're forward not keep them back.

Most important i think is what other parents say about the school.

my son is only 14 mths so i havent thought about it lol

[saslia]

DH and I, and my mum and aunty, are all teachers in public schools. We all went to public schools and all of our children will also attend public schools. I think the reasoning that you get better teachers is wrong - so many private schools have less experienced teachers than public. Class sizes are also an issue - govt schools have max 24 in year 1,2 and 3 wheras the private school my niece and nephew attend have 32. They also do less "extras" than DD - they both do phys ed but only she does dance, drama and music.

I think it is a personal decision but if there is a great public school nearby why not go there. We also could not justify the fees.

[River]

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[Pretty Butterfly]

My children are in private, and its no where the cost you would think. It is definatly a better school than what is around this area. The other schools are just disgusting, and thats community thinking, not just me!! Our school has a sepate comp lab, art lab, maths lab and english room. The sports are amazing, and NO class is over 22 kids. Tutoring is offered for all students on a one on one basis. And this starts at kindy.But you will need to check all the schools in your area to find the best for you. I spent 18 months before I sent my first son off!!! Good Luck!!

[widdly]

leasha - thanks a lot your reply was very informative, i can see that you are very passionate about your chosen career that is fantastic to see!

thanks everyone for sharing your opinions and ideas. I have researched the schools both public and private in our area and have come to the decision that public will be the best for our family. There are 2 lovely little country public schools that have great facilities and small class sizes, i have put his name down at both. After finding out all the info about the 2 private schools in our town, i couldn't justify spending that amount of money on school fees and uniforms when the class sizes were just a big, and the schools both seemed to come across as quite snobby and above everyone else, which isn't the way we want our son to grow up.

thanks again for all the input

[satya]

I was just going to say I like the idea of public best but I see you've already made your decision - and a very good one I think.

Private schools do not guarantee that your kids will fall in with the right kind of company, in fact some private schools these days have huge drug probems (hushed up of course) due to the extra money that many of these kids get from their parents who often have more money to splash around.

I know a number of people who were privately educated and they usually come across as quite snobby and I would hate for any child of mine to come across like that. It does not guarantee success later in life and often when they have to take jobs they feel are below them it's a hard thump back to reality.

[Bathsheba]

I agree with Kelly, it depends on the child. However when choosing a school we choose between private schools and have moved our DD from one private school to another because the first was art/drama focused and her current one is more sports focused (her passion is athletics).

DH and I both attended public schools and were not happy with our educations. We were in huge classes, were bullied right under teachers noses and were never encouraged to succeed. We felt that there were many teachers just "baby sitting" and allowing children through the system because they just couldn't be bothered. Cutting down tall poppies were the order of the day. DH and I were well above average in most subjects but dumbed-down to fit in and avoid being teased. I felt in awe of the local private school girls. They seemed to enjoy going to school and the ones I knew were actually proud of their school... no way was any one "proud" of our school My parents threatened to send me to the private school because my grades were falling and I agreed to it!!! Then they withdrew the threat. Damn!

DH and I were worried about the "snob" factor but from what we have experienced (our DD is now in year 8 and has been in the private system since pre-school) it's inaccurate to think that only snobs send their kids to private school. There are many families like us who are totally normal, down to earth people who drive old cars and who don't care what people think about that! LOL Yes, there are few 'snobby' families but do you know what? I'm glad my DD is mixing with them because the girls from those families are not as popular as she is! If you try to flaunt your wealth at her school you are just laughed at which is how it should be. Now my DD has learnt not to be intimidated by these types of people. She will grow up and know how truely hollow those types of people are and not be in awe of them like I was. I think that's just fine

[Isadora]

I have been thinking alot about this lately Widdly.

I went to a public school and it was absolutely fine. Whereas DP went private and he wants nothing less for DD and our future children. People say by sending your children private they wont get into trouble, which is completely untrue, there are bad seeds in every school, its unavoidable. There is a 'wrong crowd' everywhere, regardless of whether you go private or public.

My main concern with sending my children private is, majority of the time they have to be christened to even get in. If my children arent christened, it will be alot harder to get them in, and who are they to say that little Johnny who is christened is better than my child. Its incredibly hypocritical, they say god loves everyone, yet my DD isnt christened so there go her chances. Besides what is that teaching kids?

Its a hard choice to make and everyone has their own individual reasons, but I'm glad I dont have to think about it seriously for awhile yet

[Bathsheba]

My DD isn't Christened yet. I don't think Anglican private schools require it... mainly Catholic. If you want to send your child to a school that requires Christening then that would mean it would have a significant spiritual component to the curriculum... maybe it's ok to give preference to families that need the religious component? If it came down to it why should a family who is Christened miss out because a non religious family wants to attend the school? Just my opinion. We are hoping to send our boys to a Catholic school. they aren't Christened but our minister has said he will write a letter which will help them get in. We attend church nearly every Sunday. I think I'd be upset if a family who never attends church got in and we missed out on a chance to have our boys educated in Christianity at school.

[Astrid]

DH and I have discussed this at length. We are both pro public schooling, but if the local public school fails our children then we will consider private schooling. Both of us went to a number of different public schools, both good and bad. I found the best school for me was the "rough" public one with the bad rep, surprisingly it had many subject choices and facilities along with teachers who were eager to help those willing to learn. DH on the other hand suffered by going to the local high school which was agriculture based, great if you were taking over the family farm, but not if your interests lie elsewhere (ie computing). So certainly as everyone else had suggested the actual school needs to be looked into, not just its private or public status.

[Muppity]

Hi Elissa

I think that the best decision that you can make is the one that is best for you and Archie.

I would suggest that a way that you could make it even better is to become involved in the school in any way you can. Like joining the Parents committee and going to working bees and helping out in his class if you are able as it helps parents to get a wonderful insight into the way that the school really works and also builds a relationship with the staff.

[Bathsheba]

Yep, good idea Taffy. I got involved in my DD's last school, and even ended up working there for 5 years! you learn so much from knowing what's going on behind the scenes. In the end I decided that as much as I loved working there I could see that the school just wasn't for my DD. They had trouble keeping sports teachers because they neglected the subject so badly When it came to drama it was the opposite... my DD just wasn't going to be fully catered for and because i was on staff i could tell that it was just going to get worse. Hence the change. She adjusted very easily to her new school. Changing wasn't as hard on her as we thought either.