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Regret public school for your kids?
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Anonymous
| BTW, 20 is greater than 17 as recommended by STAR. |
Anonymous
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There are some other studies that address the sizes of 20. They look at all instruction and some actually come out of the military. Would love some actual data as opposed to vague promises of such--first it was suggested to read the STAR report, which didn't at all support the claim being made (see above), so I am skeptical of this comment as well. |
Anonymous
Again (do people even read the actual previous posts? LOL), STAR did not consider classes of 20 with two full-time teachers. |
Anonymous
Sorry, I don't understand this post. Which post claimed that it did?? |
Anonymous
| This is not meant to be a competition or a legal case, I posted about STAR earlier. Smaller classes are better. Too busy to get studies, one recent study said that it helps gifted kids more, but all kids benefit. But the local public school has class sizes of 20. As the previous person asked why not split the classes. I get the impression that it would mean more work for the teachers. Please google a lot and you will eventually find the info. |
Anonymous
To split the classes you would also need more space/classrooms. That could be an issue for some schools. |
Anonymous
Of course smaller is better; no one is disputing that! The issue being discussed (if you read the thread) is whether a class with two full-time teachers (i.e., a ratio of ten students to one teacher) also is better. I have googled and googled, and found nothing to suggest that a class size of 20 with two full-time teachers (not an aide) is worse than a class of ten with one teacher. STAR does not support your point, nor does any research I have found. What is effective is when there are more teachers in the classroom per student; 10 students with one teacher or 20 with two teachers appear to be equivalent, according to the research. And no one is trying to make this a "legal case" or "competition," BTW. I'm just a person who likes research to back up claims. I say that in a sincere way, BTW, not a snarky way. Bottom line, a better student-teacher ratio is better, so in that sense only, private school (at least those either with two regular teachers per class or class size below 15-17) is probably has an advantage over public (to get back to the original question). That is not at all to say that public school is inferior in other ways, however. |
Anonymous
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If the "perfect" ratio means the school can't afford other inputs to learning (equipment, higher quality teachers, modern computers with trained staff, pencils and paper...) then the "perfect ratio" isn't so perfect.
I'd rather bigger classes and a first rate facility with first rate staff. |
Anonymous
| PP here - and I've read the research (even written some of it), so I know of what I speak. |
Anonymous
Former teacher here, and I completely agree. |
Anonymous
Who wouldn't agree with this, LOL? Anyone know of any top-notch private schools in the area that don't have pencil and paper, trained staff, etc., etc.? Didn't think so.  (Unless you're referring to public schools...)
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Anonymous
You've read the research and written some of it, but can't/won't identify any of it?? |
Anonymous
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I have been reading this thread with interest. I am a teacher with 15 years of experience in both excellent public and excellent private schools. To bring this back to the original question: OP, in general, an excellent public school will give your child just as good an education as a private school, in terms strictly of the curriculum in the basics. There is no question, however, that your child will get substantially less attention from teachers in public school, because of the numbers. In elementary school, in private school your child will also get more art, music, P.E., etc., and the curriculum won't be slaves to the state-mandated tests, which can often crowd out more interesting curriculum items.
However, if you can't afford private, I don't think it's cause for worry unless you don't live in a good public school district or are really uncomfortable with your child being given considerably less individual attention. Hope this helps! |
Anonymous
| Thanks, PP. Your post makes a lot of intuitive sense and was well delivered and fair. |
Anonymous
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A few months ago, my husband and I toured a Bethesda elementary school to look at the kindergarten program. We spent a hour and a half in the building, and during that time, only 2 of the 3 kindergarten teachers were in the classroom. When I asked the principal, who was giving the tour, where those teachers were, she said that they were in other classrooms testing children. While those teachers were gone, they had parents filling in. In one classroom, there was a parent sitting by a blackboard giving a grammar lesson in pronouns. When I asked the principal about this, and whether this was the norm, she said that unfortunately due to the federal testing associated with No Child Left Behind, teachers were required to spend considerable more time outside the classroom than anyone would hope for.
I was reminded of this after reading poster 7:32. I can see what she means about your child receiving considerably less attention from the teachers. Numbers aside, they are not in the classroom enough... |