Member-only story
Is Private School Only “Better” Because You Have to Pay?
Because my oldest is now the age kids typically start kindergarten I’ve been thinking a lot about school. I’ve been pondering whether I should homeschool or send him to public school.
I’ve also been thinking about private school, though I doubt there are any I could afford unless we got a scholarship.
It’s sad to me that the quality of education that people receive is tied to money. I don’t think it’s fair that school is yet another way that kids start out on unequal footing.
But is private school really better than public school? Are the teachers and curriculum actually better?
School serves a lot of functions in our society. Education is the most obvious, but it’s also childcare. It’s lunches. It’s socialization. It’s access to books and services.
For families that can afford private school, they’re not stressing about where their next meal is coming from. Or whether they can afford adequate housing.
One of the big complaints I hear about school is bullying. Many children do not come from ideal circumstances and public school puts everyone together. Everyone with all of their individual issues together in a classroom where a teacher may be trying to teach thirty students.