Another continuing battle in the world of education and politics is public versus private education. The arguments for and against each are compelling. This is another one of those debates where there is no winner or loser, right or wrong, though there are those who disagree. We’ll present each side of the argument without taking one side or the other.
The obvious arguments for a private education is the quality of that education itself, or at least so the supporters say. Supposedly, a child who goes to a private school gets better teachers, newer books, individualized attention, smaller classes and the so called better class of person to share his pencil case with. The person who goes to a private school doesn’t have to worry about being picked on by bullies. Private schools are simply the ideal utopia for your young child.
The arguments for public education are not as obvious, especially with all the bad press that most public schools get. But one thing that most people don’t realize about public schools that is not true about private schools is that a teacher must be certified by the local educational association. This is not true about private schools. So while the general theory is that you will get a better quality of teacher in a private school simply because of the nature of the school itself, this is not necessarily true.
But the biggest argument for public education really comes down to money and the community. Unfortunately, the money that is allocated to a public school is based on the attendance of that school. If that majority of students in the area go to private schools then the attendance at public schools drops which causes a drop in their funding. This doesn’t just affect the school system itself but the community as well. The less money the schools get, the less money the community gets. What then happens is that the children who go to the public schools don’t get the education that they are entitled to because they don’t have enough money.
This leaves the parents of the child about to attend school with a difficult decision to make and that’s only if they are even aware of this problem. And that is where the problem itself begins. Parents are not informed. They think that sending their children to private schools doesn’t affect them any more than just the money they have to pay for their education itself. In the process of doing this they are taking money away from their community and ultimately lowering the standard of living in the community.
For everything in life there is always a trade off. The debate between public and private education will continue, with both sides fighting hard to get their share of the pie; public schools fighting for more funding and private schools fighting for vouchers so that more kids can afford to go to private schools. The truth is, until these two institutions can find a way to coexist with each other, there will be no winner in this war.
By: Michael Russell
Posts Tagged ‘Private Education’
Education – Public Vs. Private
April 4th, 2010Do Employers View Private College Education As Equivalent To Community College Education?
February 5th, 2010
Choosing where to go for post secondary education has gotten harder in the last few years. Even though there are more choices and options available, there are also more people going to college and entering the workforce. Future graduates have always had to think about a college’s location, price, curriculum and reputation, and nowadays they also have to think about what their school will look like on their resume.
A lot of students have the bad habit of changing their minds about what career they would like to have, and unfortunately, this comes with changing majors. Some changes are small, but there are students that completely change direction and have to alter their course load, and this would be more difficult at a private college. Private colleges are much more expensive, and it would cost a student an awful lot of money to change his or her mind!
These days, a student has to make extra sure that they know exactly what they want to do for a living before they decide what kind of school to go to. This way, they will know which school will look the best on their resume. Whether or not an employer will care about which type of college an applicant lists on their resume all depends what career choice someone makes. Some employers barely look at the education part of a resume, caring more about skill and experience, while others scrutinize the education section.
If you are looking to make a career out of a job that is more skill based, it would probably be a better idea to choose a good community college. These types of colleges tend to offer much more hands on experience and learning than private colleges. Employers will be more likely to hire a student right out of college if they have had this type of learning. If your goal is to make a career out of a job that is more knowledge based, a private college may be a good choice. These fields can be more competitive, and employers are more likely to look at the education part of your resume.
There is a middle ground between the two career types discussed above, and for this broad span of career choices, students need not worry about which school to choose. These employers will probably mostly care about the fact that you have the education and experience for the job and will not be concerned about whether you went to a community college or a private college.
If you fall into that “middle ground”, you can feel free to make your choice based on what the school offers you, as opposed to choosing between community and private. If you have the money to spend, a private college might be a good choice, and if a community college has just what you are looking for, then it would be just as good a choice for you.
By: Amy Nutt
Marbella Schools – Private Education Versus Public Education
January 29th, 2010
Some of the best school in Spain are actually in the Marbella region. But these are private schools and fee costs can be very high indeed. Parents can expect to pay out between 200 euros and 5000 euros each month to have their children study in these schools. Not suprisingly therefore, most of the pupils in these schools are the children of wealthy foreign residents who live along the coast.
Some examples of the best private schools in the province of Malaga and Marbella are:- St Anthony’s College in Mijas Costa, Colegio Salliver in Fuengirola,Sunny View school in Torremolinos, Colegio El Romeral and Sierra Blanca in Malaga city and Colegio Anoreta in Rincon de la Victoria.
Other examples of private schools include:- Benalmadena International College, Colegio Alboran, Calahonda International College, Aloha College and International College San Pedro.
Most of the children and teachers in private school are bi-lingual. The schools offer the best in sporting activities such as horse-riding, sailing, football, cricket, tennis and most of them also offer the British curriculum.
The public schools in the provinces of Malaga and Marbella are attended by the vast majority of children living in those areas but the fact is that, especially in Marbella, there is a relatively large gap between the very rich and the ordinary middle and working classes. The rich can afford to send their children to expensive schools. Sadly, expense ususally means better quality in terms of extra-curricular activities and general facilities (such as computer suites with internet access, swimming-pools, tennis courts).
The great disadvantage of the public schools is the amount of overcrowding. This seems a problem throughout the Western Costa del Sol, whose population has grown way above the national average over recent decades. The public education system has not been able to keep up with this massive growth in pupil numbers and there is therefore an average of 24 pupils per class.
The obvious answer then is to build more schools to acommodate the growing numbers. But the problem is suitable land upon which to build these new schools. The money must be provided by the Town Hall and approved by the Junta de Andalucia. If there is no suitable land on which to build new schools, then invariably more overcrowding will exist and in the end, it is the children who will suffer.
By: Jay Neil
