Teachers: Why do you choose to teach at private vs. public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One needs to look at the salary comparisons based on the school calendar too. Public schools often have longer working calendar schedules with required orientation weeks, while privates only have a few days and often pay summer stipends for extra work.

Depends on the state. In VA the required number of instructional days is exactly the same for public and private. In MD it’s less for private. 180 required for public and only 168 required for private (and any day kids are on campus counts as a school day like graduation, orientation, half days, etc). The demands over email outside of contract hours are WAY higher in private school. The benefits are also much worse in private school than public. Private schools don’t have unions in this area which has become more of an issue during the pandemic when teachers were worried about COVID in addition to sexual harassment and the usual workplace issues. Private schools are quick to black list any employee that doesn’t fall in line so many teachers are afraid to speak up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents are more supportive in private in many ways.

And the nominees for "biggest generalization in this thread" are . . .

As a teacher, I am sooooo grateful for the generosity of the parents. It isn't just money, it is the way parents know that (w/o unions) teachers are they by choice, and generally choose to "boost up" teachers. I have had parents bring me lunch when I was having a tough time, bring me dog food when they heard from their kids I got a puppy, and donate old lap tops, in case we needed them for writer's workshops.

I asked one parent if they had some "preschool instruments" for a fun project (they had preschoolers). They told me they did. They went out that day to collect them for me (from other parents), without telling me they had done that.

It amazes me that people who are making a sacrifice to pay even 15% of their monthly expense to pay tuition (for some it is a much larger sacrifice), are still so invested in making sure THE WHOLE SCHOOL thrives.

Parents without those kinds of means also prepare great foods for potlucks, volunteer to be a guide for new families, and really listen to what teacher's say.

It's like a "not-hostile" workplace. Especially wonderful for teachers who "retired", but didn't really want to retire.

Parents who believe in this are more likely to choose private because they believe in this. While private is a stretch for some (probably many) for others, tuition is a week's pay or less. So there are usually at least a few parents in each class that can help bridge the gap when needed and are glad to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

Hell, let’s just throw out all teacher education! Just hire a bunch of people who can assure us that they know how to teach. I can’t see what would possibly go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

[Anonymous]

It was a financial error on my part. Made when I transferred my two kids from a crappy public school to private. Nearly all of my salary went to tuition. Spouse carried the rest of our bills. Had I not made this decision I could have retired by now and my kids would have a choice beyond state colleges. Note: spouse's healthcare covered us. Could not have paid 1.75 tuitions (25% discount for 1 kid) and high health care. There were perqs to private, but think carefully how much it will affect your future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers, why have you chosen to teach in private school vs. public school? I have heard public school teachers make more money (in Baltimore, at least) and private school parents can be very difficult. So why choose private over public?

I teach in Baltimore City. I chose it so I can send my DD to a private school. Baltimore City pays more than any other district in MD. If money wasn't an issue, I'd choose to teach in a private school. Why? Let me count the ways. 1) more involved parents 2) students who come prepared to learn 3) more freedom to be creative because of a lot less testing. 4) more resources.

Why not teach at a private your kid can go to at a lower tuition?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Honey, if you are satisfied that teacher certification is a mark of quality, then enjoy! Nobody is stopping you from sending your kids to public schools where you can be assured that your kids will only get 100% guaranteed certified teachers. You are lucky that your preferred choice also happens to be free. I’m happy for you.

My own observation is that there is no correlation between teacher certification and actual skill at teaching, and so I send my child to a school that I believe does a better job of selecting and supporting teachers than does our public school. I am lucky to have that choice, and appreciate it.

It’s a little ridiculous, however, for you to be demanding that I agree with you about the value of teacher certification, or making the absurd assertion that only certified teachers are “professional”. We have been lucky enough to meet some wonderful educators during out kid’s time at a private school. I have no idea if they are certified or not, and I don’t care. Sorry if that is distressing to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Honey, if you are satisfied that teacher certification is a mark of quality, then enjoy! Nobody is stopping you from sending your kids to public schools where you can be assured that your kids will only get 100% guaranteed certified teachers. You are lucky that your preferred choice also happens to be free. I’m happy for you.

My own observation is that there is no correlation between teacher certification and actual skill at teaching, and so I send my child to a school that I believe does a better job of selecting and supporting teachers than does our public school. I am lucky to have that choice, and appreciate it.

It’s a little ridiculous, however, for you to be demanding that I agree with you about the value of teacher certification, or making the absurd assertion that only certified teachers are “professional”. We have been lucky enough to meet some wonderful educators during out kid’s time at a private school. I have no idea if they are certified or not, and I don’t care. Sorry if that is distressing to you!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Studies are fairly consistent that a master's degree in education has generally between no impact to a negative impact on teacher effectiveness. I would not expect this to be true of doctors - the profession got put on a more rigorous path in the late 19th century. This didn't happen for education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Studies are fairly consistent that a master's degree in education has generally between no impact to a negative impact on teacher effectiveness. I would not expect this to be true of doctors - the profession got put on a more rigorous path in the late 19th century. This didn't happen for education.

School psychologist here with many years of experience working in public schools. I absolutely agree that teacher certification (mostly comprised of completing a ridiculously basic Praxis exam) has no bearing on whether or not the teacher can actually teach well! We need to come up with a better system of determining who is a qualified teacher. My Dh is a physician and I do think the medical system has a better grasp of selecting qualified doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Studies are fairly consistent that a master's degree in education has generally between no impact to a negative impact on teacher effectiveness. I would not expect this to be true of doctors - the profession got put on a more rigorous path in the late 19th century. This didn't happen for education.

Interesting do you have link to share, would interested in seeing some of these studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Studies are fairly consistent that a master's degree in education has generally between no impact to a negative impact on teacher effectiveness. I would not expect this to be true of doctors - the profession got put on a more rigorous path in the late 19th century. This didn't happen for education.

School psychologist here with many years of experience working in public schools. I absolutely agree that teacher certification (mostly comprised of completing a ridiculously basic Praxis exam) has no bearing on whether or not the teacher can actually teach well! We need to come up with a better system of determining who is a qualified teacher. My Dh is a physician and I do think the medical system has a better grasp of selecting qualified doctors.

Wondering if teachers’ actual experience with the subject matter they are teaching is more valuable than teaching degrees?

Also wonder how much teaching in future will be done remotely by have students watch materials presented by the best of the best?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

It’s a huge honking fallacy to assume that the certification somehow makes a teacher “more”. It’s just false. You would not believe who gets certified. Certification does not measure teaching ability, domain knowledge, or empathy.

So you pay your unlicensed doctor more than the licensed ones? Do you pay your unlicensed electrician less than a licensed one? Do you pay your unlicensed Uber driver more than the one with a license? Oh wait, you don’t think of teachers as professionals in the first place.

Studies are fairly consistent that a master's degree in education has generally between no impact to a negative impact on teacher effectiveness. I would not expect this to be true of doctors - the profession got put on a more rigorous path in the late 19th century. This didn't happen for education.

School psychologist here with many years of experience working in public schools. I absolutely agree that teacher certification (mostly comprised of completing a ridiculously basic Praxis exam) has no bearing on whether or not the teacher can actually teach well! We need to come up with a better system of determining who is a qualified teacher. My Dh is a physician and I do think the medical system has a better grasp of selecting qualified doctors.

Wondering if teachers’ actual experience with the subject matter they are teaching is more valuable than teaching degrees?

Also wonder how much teaching in future will be done remotely by having students watch materials presented by the best of the best?

[Anonymous]

From the teachers I know who made the move from public to private, the biggest factor was all the required, and constantly growing, testing/administrative requirements. The burden of having to follow complex processes and constant evaluations and reporting was miserable.

They took a pay cut to move to private and are happier. That said, some of them miss working with a more diverse and higher-needs population and community.