Private versus Public Education:

I have been working at private school for the last 5 years, running an after school sports program. My practicum this year is at a public school. I am very interested to see for myself some of the differences between a public school and private school in Victoria. Most of the teachers I’ve talked to from both private and public schools have very strong opinions against the other-mostly negative. I attended a Catholic high school in Ontario, which could be considered somewhere in between a public and private school. I don’t think anyone can make a blanket statement about which is better than the other, and in terms of either choosing to teach at or sending a child to either private or public school, it comes down to individual circumstances and preference.

Some advantages of private schools:

-small community atmosphere that allows for a lower student-to-teacher ratio.

-fewer disciplinary problems.

-tuition costs. Parents have more say in how things are done.

-the tuition factor also enables well-maintained campuses, and excellent books and learning materials.

- By percentage, more of private school students go on to college.

Some advantages of public schools:

-Free tuition

- the argument that the quality of the academic programs are not as high as those of private schools is not necessarily true. There are clearly awesome and brilliant teachers and students in public schools. Many extremely successful people attend public schools.

-Public schools vary widely in academics and extracurricular programs.

-Classrooms are usually larger in public schools, which is not always a bad thing. Students are exposed to more people from many culture and socio-economic backgrounds. This teaches students how to get along with one another regardless of differences, and can provide a more complete l experience that mirrors real life.