Public v Private

[Jaycee]

I'm sure there's been threads started regarding this issue before, however there is a specific question I want to ask.

If money wasn't an issue, would you send your children to a private school or do you believe that the public system is just as good?

What do you think the differences are between public and private schools with regard to the standard of education received?

[Sterla]

I'll be interested to read this... We are still trying to decide which way we want to go with our kids.

[Rowellen]

I think it depends on the individual school. If money was no object I'd be sending my kids private. Especially for high school. I went to the local high school where I am and I flat out refuse to send my kids there. DH went there too and he can't see a problem with it but he never went anywhere else to compare it too. It's an ongoing arguement in our house. The local primary school has a pretty good rep & when I compared it to other nearby private primary schools, their results were similar so we'll be sending our kids to a public primary school. I'd still rather they go private but it is really not financially viable. The school I'd like them to go to charges $8K just for tuition for prep and it goes up as the child gets older . It's a long drive away too, about 25 mins drive for private compared to 5 min walk for public.

[lady_neon]

We're still baking our little one and aleady thinking about this!

I guess it depends on the schools available in the area. Some are REALLY good and others have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country/drop outs etc. Some private schools are also REALLY good however others have high rates of paedophelia, and drug use

If money wasn't an issue (or travel!) I'd be sending my future children to Murdoch College - it's the only private school in Perth that isn't religious based.

[Ginger]

if money was no object i'd be sending my kids to private school from kindergarten.
unfortunately money is an issue so i have booked them in to start at year 5.
i can only speak for our local area- but i feel that the private school has a better culture for achieving and is much better resourced.

[Phteven]

Money isn't an issue. We send our children to public school.

They couldn't get the education that they are getting in their public school in the private system. It's not just the academic things that I love about the school. I also love the fact that bullying isn't something that my children need to deal with and that they spend their time with children from a wide range of backgrounds.

Most private schools are run by religious organisations. Despite the fact that I do belong to one of the major religions I don't really think that religion belongs in schools.

[LuluHB]

I definitely think the area and school comes into it, and for that reason my girls are going private from kindy. The difference between what my kids are learning and the kids I know who are going to public kindy and preprimary is enormous. I also prefer the discipline of the private school, the extra curricular - the focus on community etc. The facilities are superior, there are smaller classes and the teachers are truly accountable for their standard of teaching

Its not fun paying 14 years of private fees x3, but we feel the sacrifices we are making to do it are well worth it.

[onthefly]

We'd still go public, I think. There's more to education than schooling.

[Jaycee]

Most private schools are run by religious organisations. Despite the fact that I do belong to one of the major religions I don't really think that religion belongs in schools.

I agree with this Onyx, I went to a private highschool and honestly, RE was a waste of time (I am only stating this from an academic point of view!)

[MulwareeRainbow]

As far as academic progress is concerned, there is no difference whatsoever between public and private (check the PISA 2010 report done by the Aust Centre for Education Research, sorry can't recall the page numbers in particular) once you adjust for socioeconomic status.

The thing that you buy when you send your kids to private school isn't a better education or better extra curricular activities, you're just buying a certain type of peer group.

[Lenny]

Public for my boys. Well, at least for now anyway. Really really good quality private would be a very long drive away. Really good public is a 5 minute walk - my childrens school friends will be accessible. I'd like to think the extra money can be utilised on family travels and experiences.

I'm pretty sure if i lived much closer to Melbourne, i'd be considering private - once we'd cashed the lottery money.

[Jaycee]

Lenny, you raise a really good point. There's more to education that the schooling side of things. Children learn from new experiences just as much as sitting in a classroom. A holiday, family trips to the museum or art gallery etc are all just as important as learning in a classroom.

[fionas]

In our small town, there is one public primary and one private (religious) primary school.

The public primary has better NAPLAN results and a good reputation. The private school also has a good reputation.

In other words, they're much of a muchness but based on what I can see/hear the only reason we would send DD1 to our local private school is for the sake of giving her a private education. I'm not going to do that.

HOWEVER, the secondary school choice will be much harder. The local state high schools AND the local private schools, based on their results, are not much chop.

So, despite my many political reservations about sending her to a private school (I don't believe you should be able to 'buy' a better education), something I read in a Christopher Hitchens book resonated with me. His mum sent him to a top UK private school insisting, "if there's going to be an upper class in this country, Christopher is going to be part of it."

As someone who believes that a better education would have changed my life for the better and instilled more confidence in me that was not forthcoming in my home environment, I'd like to give my daughters the best possible chance to do whatever they want and not be held back by the belief that they're not good enough.

So, yes, if money was no object, I would absolutely send them to a private secondary school.

[lady_neon]

Most private schools are run by religious organisations. Despite the fact that I do belong to one of the major religions I don't really think that religion belongs in schools.

Agreed (I also belong in a major religion).

We'd still go public, I think. There's more to education than schooling.

So true. I learnt a lot socially going to public schools in low-socio economic areas.

However, the sad fact is that society is judgemental. If my child/ren are choosing a corporate career where the school they've been to matters then it would suck for them if they'd went to a public school IYKWIM. When the time comes, if kiddo wants to be some top notch lawyer, or a gardener, we can decide then which school is best going to help their career.

[onthefly]

I think it's sad that people think it's s important where they went to school. i get that sme people do operate that wy, but it strikes me as a very limited vision (and at least partly motivated by a desire to retrospectively justify all the money that was spent on their schooling and thus ensure that their own position is assured).

we would never use a religious school, but did consider a local independent school. one key reason we decided against was the extremely homogenous nature of the school body.

[Phteven]

I've got a little time now to give a more complete answer....

I've always said that I wouldn't sacrifice my children's education to my political beliefs but last year we were thinking of moving and we looked at a private school with similar features to the public school they attend and in the end I couldn't do it. I just didn't want to buy that peer group so we stayed put.
I'm very grateful that I have the luxury of being able to choose to live somewhere with an awesome public school so I don't have to use the private system to educate my children. I know that not everyone can just move into area for one of the best Public Schools in their state.

I totally agree with the point FionaS raised about giving children the self-belief to achieve but I don't think that private school is necessary to achieve this. My children are at a Public school where many parents are high achievers in their fields and tertiary education is the norm. Most of the children they are at school with simply assume that they will go to University because that's the assumption they are being raised with. Regardless of which system you are educated in you are more likely to attend university if your parents did so.

The High School we are eying off is a public selective school. Many of the parents in our school have their eyes on the same school because like us they believe it offers more opportunity than the local private schools.

My sister saved herself some money by keeping my niece in the local public school until she reached year 10 and then moving her to the private school for the last 2 years. I remember getting a big influx at my school for year 11 & 12 so it must be quite a common thing to do.

I totally agree with Lenny that money might be better spent on education through holidays and experiences rather than on education in a classroom.

ETA - The thing about it being important where you went to school...... I agree with MadB that it's pretty lame and from an employment perspective so many companies are outsourcing hiring these days to make sure that they are getting the best people for the job rather than someone who went to the same school that it's becoming less and less important. TBH I assume that my children will work OS and in other states so employers probably won't have a clue what kind of school they went to.

[Astrid]

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.

[Indadhanu]

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.