One School Vs. Another (part 1)

...or What is the Big Difference Between Private and Public Schools (and what about Homeschooling)?

Part 1

I never had to drive in a school bus, and neither will my girls.

To be perfectly honest, I have been thinking about schooling a lot lately.  I am NOT over exaggerating either, I sincerely need a break from my brain from residing in education world.  But I have come to a higher level question: what exactly is the difference between a public school, a private school and homeschooling?

Let's Begin with Public School
I have never had a visceral issue with the public school system.  I am a product of the public school system, and I do not feel I had a poor education.  My parents were public school teachers, and my grandfather a principal.  Jim, the Ladybugs and I are privileged to live in a city with an above average public school system, which also just so happens to be where I grew up.  I am a researcher by nature, so I have seen the test scores, and I'm not thrilled with our neighborhood school.  But I also hate standardized tests, so I definitely feel it is essential to meet with the principal and take a tour of the school.

While considering public schools as an option for the Ladybugs this fall, it is completely impossible to not think about my childhood.  I always say that we remember the best and the worst in our lives, and teachers are no exception.  I must say that I can remember vividly the bullying, the nasty piers, the Girl Scout meetings and trips, the piano lessons and the bad teachers.

There was the gym teacher in junior high who taught American History and told us that BC was Before Christ and AD was After Death, instead of Anno Domini (the year of our Lord).  Then there was my fourth grade teacher who said I was the "ring leader" in a class-wide cheating ring.  I had an ex-nun in nine grade as an Algebra teacher who was extremely mean and made fun of students, and an English teacher senior year who marked my paper wrong when I wrote "dawn" instead of "morning".  I also had a music teacher in junior high who carried a bottle of alcohol in his briefcase and another music teacher in high school who told me I was a selfish and spoiled rotten bitch.  But this was over 13 years of schooling with approximately 70 or more teachers in all.

I remember instances in which my parents complained to the principals or when my father accompanied me to a school board meeting.  But overall my education was wonderful, and I remember teachers who worked extremely hard at their job.  My Kindergarten teacher, Miss Wetmore was and still is one of my heroes.  Therefore, I believe it was never the school, but the teachers who determined whether or not I was learning.

This being said, I want to discuss my views of our public schools.

I believe in education for everyone, not just the privileged.  Choosing to send our Ladybugs to a private school was never because we felt elite, it was because we felt called there.  It felt right.  But rumors and hearsay can definitely scare a person from sending children to a public school.  What exactly could my children learn?

One of the big issues of public schools is the quality of education.  Some cities are poor and therefore their public services are weak.  Our city is a product of our current economy, as many of the families work (or used to work) for the automotive industry.  There are wealthier neighborhoods and there are poorer, working class neighborhoods in the city.  The neighborhood schools are a direct reflection of the quality of individuals living in said neighborhood.  That being said, we do not live in the poorest neighborhood, rather a "middle of the road" one.

Currently public schools in our state have different requirements for teachers then when I was attending schools (I graduated from high school twenty years ago).  Teachers are no longer able to teach subjects that aren't their major (or minor in some cases).  Therefore, clueless gym teacher from my childhood would NEVER be able to teach an American History class nowadays.  Historians have also created BCE and CE in recent years, maybe to stop the confusion of clueless people.  There are also many rules in place for bullying in schools; for students as well as teachers.  Teachers swearing at students or calling them names would NEVER get by anymore.

The List
I have decided to make a list of PROS and CONS for each option were are researching.  Here is my list for Public Schools (using our neighborhood school as the choice at this point).

PROS

• Close Proximity (within walking distance) 
• Free
• Band/Choir/Art
• Neighborhood children attend
• Certified Teachers
• After School Programs
• Our Tax $ being used
• Variety of ethnic backgrounds

CONS

• Lower test scores
• Larger class sizes
• Emphasis on standardized tests
• Children from all different economic backgrounds
• non-Bible or Christ focused