I work in public education. That being said, my oldest (4 1/2) has just started his second year of full time private preschool. The school goes through 12th grade (the last year of high school in the US for those from outside the country). Right now I feel that he will get a much better education privately, at least while young, than he would in the public school system. What do parents with older children think, is private school worth the cost in the long run? We are lucky that his school isn't extremely expensive, though it will go up as he ages, and we will have two children there soon. I want to know what others think as I look at the amount we will be spending over time.
I was in private school most of my life and I missed out on a lot. Public school [especially when kids a young] permits them to meet other kids from all walks of life. In future, this helps them relate to everyone [not just the bunch of rich, snobbish kids they went to school with]. I'd suggest that you send your child[ren] to public school as soon as possible. They'll thank you for that later in life. Public school prepares kids to face the real [harsh] world.
The private school we send them to is fairly diverse. They are not incredibly expensive and offer a lot of financial aid. There are 4 languages spoken by children in his preschool classroom, more in the school, a variety of ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, and family arrangements. I also expose my kids to a variety of people through community center classes and friends of the family. My concern is more about the quality of education, I went to public school, and I was lucky that I feel I got a good education but the district has changed a lot, and the needs of the students as well. My kids are ahead of many their age, meaning in public school (at least early on) they would likely be put off to the side to work independently, which for my son would likely result in boredom. We are not rich by any means, firmly at the lower end of middle income, and not snobbish either, I grew up in a much lower income bracket.
I think it can be easier to fall through the cracks in the public school system to be honest. As a kid I attended both public and private schools and I did better in the private school that has smaller classes and more individualized attention. I felt more "attended to" in the private school system. But not everyone can afford to send their child to a private school so if you can find a good a top rated public school that is run more like a private school with smaller classes ect.. I think that can be a good compromise. And to add, the private school I was in was racially diverse and this was in the 1980's so it's possible to find them.
Thanks, Mayvin. Working in public schools I am well aware that the ones in our area all have large class sizes and not very good rating in the past few years. His private school, luckily not being expensive, has a maximum of 20 kids, but most classes have around 15 students each. Which has been really good for my son so far. I don't know if we'll be able to afford two kids in private school forever, but it is nice to hear from someone who was in both settings as a student.
