Education 101
Education is one of the most fundamental steps in order to help children mature and grow into adults. Academic curriculums vary between cities and countries. They are divided into different groups, and the subjects are slightly altered from school to school. However, one of the biggest divide between schools is whether they are private or public.
About a year ago, I started attending BB&N. Before that, I went to the Eliot Innovations school, a Boston Public School. I noticed many differences in both curriculum and teaching strategies in the classroom.
Ever since President George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, public schools have changed their curriculum to help students succeed in academics. When the law was replaced in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act, schools were required to not only look at children grades’, but also their participation, readiness to learn, and other non school-quality factors. This made it easier for grade repeating kids to catch up, and for disabled kids to learn better. However, it lowered classroom expectations significantly.
Public schools in Massachusetts must meet a certain requirement for their curriculum. However, there are different types of public schools (Charter, Innovation, etc.), and based on that they either have more or less freedom for other classes that they might add. And, the size of the school and amount of kids going there matters a lot for budget, and the ability to provide more equal opportunities for students.
My Experience
At my old school, it was incredibly rare to get a B in your quarterly grades. Even kids that were kept behind mainly repeated the grade if they didn’t have enough attendance. We had 30 minutes to an hour of homework every night, and even then we didn’t have homework until 5th or 6th grade. Of course, every public school is different.
My public school was very lucky, we had a lot of parents that were wealthy enough to help raise the school’s budget. Originally, my school took up only one old building, and we were constantly running out of space. We were one of the fortunate public schools, and since then have expanded into 3 different buildings. The Eliot also had robotics, music, and theater.
However, from my experience, the Every Student Succeeds Act has been lowering academic expectations for children so significantly that they might not be prepared for high school or college, and will struggle when it comes to finding stable jobs. In my old school, I was ahead. However, when I arrived to BB&N, I was right with the curriculum. This is one of the biggest changes I experienced when moving to BB&N.
Pros and Cons
That’s why private schools exist. They guarantee the parent that their child will receive a good education. Private schools generally have better textbooks and curriculums, and smaller classes that allow for more tailored learning that is personalized for each student.
But, they also have a set of cons. Many private schools are religion-based, and they have a competitive environment that gives a lot of stress to students. Most importantly, the tuition that parents pay every year is very expensive. That’s why only about 9% of all K-12 students are enrolled in private schools.
In that way, public schools have a lot of pros. They provide free education from kindergarten to high school. They give kids a place to stay during the day, and help food insecure children to get breakfast and lunch. Public schools also give free transportation, as well as food cards and school supplies for kids that need it.
However, they have many cons. Besides the unstable academic level and curriculum between schools, public schools have a lot of problems relating to budget. This is why they often get second hand textbooks, and why although some schools have Chromebooks, many don’t. And, the schools that have Chromebooks generally have to share a small amount with a big number of students.
Long Run Effects
Private schools typically have higher graduation and acceptance rates than public schools. Many students in private schools are also able to get counseling, and are more likely to get involved in extracurricular activities and athletics that help them get into college. Research has also shown that private school children perform better on standardized tests, and this continued onto SATs. In fact, the national score for private school students is approximately 1235, 175 points higher than the average for public school students.
In my experience, private schools are better than public. Comparing the Eliot's curriculum to BB&N's would clearly show that BB&N's is more complex and advanced. It has been proven that the long run effects of going to private school are better, and that private schools tend to offer advanced, personalized curriculums that can be tailored to help kids learn.
Sources
Bernardi, Nina. “Private vs. Public K-12: How to Make the Right Choice for Your Child.” Tuition & Billing Management, Financial Aid, Admissions & Student Information Systems, 28 July 2023, www.tads.com/private-versus-public-school/#:~:text=their%20future%20careers.-,Long%20Term%20Outcomes,activities%20throughout%20their%20college%20careers. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023. Pierce, Emily, and Cole Claybourn. “Private School vs. Public School.” US News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 2023, www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/private-school-vs-public-school. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
NATIONAL CENTER for EDUCATION STATISTICS WHAT DO PRINCIPALS SAY? 1995.
“The Importance of SAT Scores for Private High School Students.” Rivieraschools.com, 21 Sept. 2022, www.rivieraschools.com/about/blog/all/p-clone/~board/blog-posts/post/the-importance-of-sat-scores-for-private-high-school-students. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.
“The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions (National Center for Education Statistics).” Ed.gov, National Center for Education Statistics, 2019, nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=55#:~:text=Overall%2C%2053.9%20million%20K%E2%80%9312,were%20enrolled%20in%20public%20schools. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.
The Understood Team. “The Difference between ESSA and No Child Left Behind.” Understood, Understood, 5 Aug. 2019, www.understood.org/en/articles/the-difference-between-the-every-student-succeeds-act-and-no-child-left-behind. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.