Private schools and public schools share various similarities and differences. Both are means of dissemination of education and are homes for earning. Both offers enhanced extra-curricular activities along with educational courses and thus shape the personality of an individual. Both follow the curriculum designed by the state education departments. Both aims at developing their faculties and recruiting more educated staff members. But various dissimilarities co-exist with these resemblances. For example cost is factor where difference exists. Private schools are generally regarded a better option for educating the children if one has the resources as compared with the private schools where fees are low. Private schools are able to execute more effective and efficient educational policies and programs and can take on better teachers owing to strong financial backup that itself is generated through heavy students tuitions. In contrast to private schools, public schools are funded by government treasury and have little sources to finance the more modern and effective education policies and methodologies.
The most important aspects of private school as compared with public schools is the strength of the students at class and school level. Private schools have smaller number of students as mainstream students attend the local public schools. National Center for Education Statistics says in this regards; “As reported by teachers in 1999-2000, average class size for self-contained classes tended to be somewhat larger in traditional public and public charter elementary schools than in private elementary schools.” (NCES) According to a web site called Public School Review, “Private schools average 13 students per teacher, compared with an average of 16 students per teacher in public schools” (publicschoolreview). So public schools are more crowded as compared with private schools but public schools are more ethnically diverse. The second most important strength of the private schools is that it offers supplementary enhanced and higher education focused lessons and courses and their objective remains to polish their students to join an institute of higher education. In comparison with private schools, public schools seem working on the conventional philosophy that each student is unique and college education does not suit everyone and hence no one should be forced to go ahead with higher education and they should be allowed and encouraged to choose and carve their future paths.
Although both private and public schools offers a variety of courses in variety of subjects but public schools offer general programs whereas private schools offer specialized programs for students that can enable them to take specialized courses at college and university level. In public schools the education of the students is pre-decided by the state what they have to learn and parents and/or students have no say in this regard. Private schools provides flexible programs and students and their parents can opt from variety of options. Another indirect advantage that contributes toward the overall efficiency of the private schools is the minimum role of state bureaucracy as compared with the bureaucratic nature of public schools. In private schools, less time is spent on formalities including following unnecessary state policies and paperwork and thus more time is available to concentrate the quality of education, syllabus and methodologies.
Besides these dissimilarities there are various interesting parallels between the two streams of schools. Mostly same text books are used as recommended and/or suggested by the state education department. Peer group and their involvement in brawls remain a disciplinary problem for both. Both have punitive measures although they differ with reference to degree and type.
So above-mentioned arguments and supported facts suggest that both private schools and public schools have various parallels at the levels of aims and objectives but they differ in execution of their programs and implementation of their policies.
References
Braun, H., Jenkins, F., and Grigg W. (2006). Comparing Private Schools and Public Schools.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July
30, 2008 at Web Site:nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2006461.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000:
Overview of the Data for Public, Private, Public Charter, and Bureau of Indian Affairs ] Elementary and Secondary Schools. Fast Facts. Retrieved July 30, 2008 at Web
Site: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=55
Public School Review. (2008). Public Versus Private Schools. Retrieved July 30, 2008 at Web
Site: http://www.publicschoolreview.com/private-public-schools.php
