Public versus private school education Essay

When it comes to the education systems, parents are usually faced with great tasks in choosing the best place for their children in line with the public and private education systems. Parents will basically look for a setting which will allow their children to thrive in their studies. May I start by affirming that the final decision of the parents is based the advantages that one system has over the other. Both the private and the public education systems have differing merits against one another. Many would prefer private education system due to a number of underlying factors and merits over the public school system. Most of the private schools have outstanding and rigorous academic performance and even though there are public schools that also have a tremendous performance in academics, some of these public schools still perform under the bar. Another prominent factor that we consider is the ability by the school to adequately prepare the child for college. Private schools surpass public schools in terms of college preparation this is because for a child to pass in the public schools will depend greatly on the geographical location of the schools unlike the private schools whose performance is commendable irrespective of the location. Another factor that puts the private schools at the par over the public schools is the number of the children per class or rather the entire school population. Naturally, the population in the private schools are quiet manageable than the population that is in the public schools. The public schools are faced with the challenge of admitting any student within the school vicinity and therefore they end up clogged thus making administration burdensome (Sargent, P, 1914). Unlike the private schools which generally has low admission and thus manageable class sizes. Another added advantage of the private education over public education basing on the class and school size is the individual attention that the students in private schools enjoy unlike their colleagues in public schools. Thirdly, the general school environment and the safety measures also dictates the school one attends or is taken to. Parents are greatly concerned with the security of their children and would prefer where the security is readily guaranteed. Since the private schools choose who they enroll their security level is quiet sure than that of the public schools although a good number of the public schools also have safe environments conducive enough for learning. The fact that most of the public schools are funded by the local property tax, their school budget usually becomes a political business thus most of the school activities are refrained as a result of this. There is limited room to respond to budgetary demands especially in areas where the voters live in poor communities with fixed amount of monthly income. However, the private schools are better placed to raise a substantial amount from the development activities and their strong allegiance with their alumni. They can also easily solicit funds from the founders and the corporations. The private schools are less restricted in their development of curricular because they are not subjects to the budgetary limitations imposed the state unlike the public schools. Both the administrators and the educators of the private and the public schools do work to ensure that they create the best learning environment as possible. Although there are good public schools but the best overall schools are usually the privately sponsored. Administrative support is another factor that draws the difference between the public and the private schools. The private are quiet advantaged in that they have a lean management structure since the expenditures comes from endowment income and the operating income. On the other hand, the public schools are characterized by the larger bureaucracy thus making major decisions is greatly hampered. The private schools rarely have or even need teachers unions unlike the public schools which have union contracts and also need political considerations. The facilities in the public schools are sometime mediocre because of the effects of political support and the economic revenues. They are also affected by the economic realities of the surroundings such the rich areas will have schools with best amenities whereas the poor surroundings will lack them Conversely the private schools have the ability to attract the endowments and other forms of financial support thus may have good amenities and facilities than even the universities (Sargent, P, 1914). In as much as one school may outweigh the other, there are still some other underlying factors that must be considered in choosing the best school. For instance the cost, most of the private are not affordable to all the parents thus is only affordable for the rich. Most of the public schools are located within the vicinity of the homes unlike the private which maybe far from home and some public schools offer transport to and from school whereas the private schools may or may not. Public schools offer general programs which are designed for all whereas the private schools have flexibility to create specialized programs such as outdoor tips after class session. At times the private schools create their own curriculum and assessment systems and thus put their students at the advantaged side when they do the standardized tests. The law requires that all public schools educate all children thus they accept any child regardless of race, economic status, religious affiliation or sex. The private schools are not so, they have no law as regards their admission and they have no required educational program for special needs. The enrollment is earned by merit on the grounds of academic performance. If a child becomes unruly the school decides to expel without any intervention from anywhere so also if a child fails to perform as required by the school he or she easily looses admission. Though not all, many private schools have religious affiliations whereas public schools are not affiliated to any religion. It is quiet clear that there is no overall rule as to which school is right and which one is wrong. For parents who are faced with choice of school, the best advice is to outweigh the factors which one considers as important and the settle for the school that meets those factors. Reference: Sargent, P. (1914). The Handbook of Private Schools: Survey of Independent Education