Public School Teachers - any different than private school teachers?

[Anonymous]

Okay I would like to hear from the parents only and not teachers please!! Please, teachers, stay out of this so I can really hear public opinion of parents. I beg you!

Parents, do you feel there is a difference between public school and private school teachers in terms of their attitude, manner, way of speaking, courtesy, knowledge?

I had a horrible experience when I went into a public school that is supposed to be one of the better schools in northern Virgina. It feeds one of the best schools in our country apparently. Well, I sad in a KG class in the corner of a room and heard teacher scold kids left and right for petty offenses. "Who cares what color you choose? I don't care, pick any color. You're annying me" and "What's wrong with you?" to a child who had difficulty pronouncing something and "I don't have time for this nonsense, I have to help other kids too you know." Unless a child is destroying furniture or hurting other kids I don't expect this kind of attitude from any teacher towards any child. I have two dogs and I never spoke to my dogs this way even when they pooped indoors someimes.

It seemed to me that these teachers might have enjoyed teaching but did not particularly enjoy children.

So now I'm rethinking that public school and maybe even public school generally, I'm just not sure what to do really. What have you guys observed about your child's teachers?

[Anonymous]

Wow! With the way you described your ONE public school experience, do you seriously think public school teachers will shy away from responding?

That's quite the generalization you've made . . .

[Anonymous]

Two kids in public school and I have never encountered that type of teacher.

[Anonymous]

You do realize that teachers can also be also be parents at the same time, right? I am a parent and have been in both public and private schools. The public schools I;ve worked in have a completely different atmosphere than the privates I've worked in. In the public schools, I've also felt a sort of pressure walking into the building. The pressure for teachers' students to behave, conform and perform is very intense. That plus large class sizes, little prep time during the day, little or no lunch time, TONS of paperwork, you get the picture. I would never speak to a child that way but I can see how it could happen. NCLB hasn't improved anything for teachers either. In the private schools where I have worked, it felt differently b/c the teachers were valued by the parents and admin. They were fairly free to do what they wanted in terms of lessons, field trips, etc. They weren't constantly under the gun w/ practice tests, etc. The classes were always smaller and usually (though there are always exceptions), the students came to school ready to learn and were better behaved. There are many reasons why teachers choose public vs. private and vice versa. In this area, unless your spouse makes a pretty hefty income or you live out in the middle of nowhere, it is pretty hard to live on a private school salary. If I had someone else supporting me, I would chose private in a second. The pressure of public has made many of my friends quit, take leaves of absence, get treatment for IBS and other stress related issues. I hate NCLB and the narrowness it is creating in our students. I hate that kindergartners no longer enjoy school by the middle of the year. If I could afford private school for my child, I wouldn't hesitate.

[Anonymous]

I've never worked in a private school, but working in public schools isn't easy. I've always sent my children to private school, just because I *know* how the public school can be.

I think you're making a generalization though. It's a single KG teacher who may or may not be having a bad day. Was the teacher young or old? That also makes a difference. Often older teachers are more "burnt out" than younger teachers. (Not always... but I've found that through my experience.)

A lot of private school teaches end up working in a private school after having the hassle of public school. They find the students more disciplined, the parents more caring, and the administration more freedom-giving.

At my daughter's old school, her teachers chose their textbooks, always had at least a 30 minute lunch break (or 45), had at least an hour and a half of planning time, and were given "Curriculum Freedom". =/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that teachers can also be also be parents at the same time, right? I am a parent and have been in both public and private schools. The public schools I;ve worked in have a completely different atmosphere than the privates I've worked in. In the public schools, I've also felt a sort of pressure walking into the building. The pressure for teachers' students to behave, conform and perform is very intense. That plus large class sizes, little prep time during the day, little or no lunch time, TONS of paperwork, you get the picture. I would never speak to a child that way but I can see how it could happen. NCLB hasn't improved anything for teachers either. In the private schools where I have worked, it felt differently b/c the teachers were valued by the parents and admin. They were fairly free to do what they wanted in terms of lessons, field trips, etc. They weren't constantly under the gun w/ practice tests, etc. The classes were always smaller and usually (though there are always exceptions), the students came to school ready to learn and were better behaved. There are many reasons why teachers choose public vs. private and vice versa. In this area, unless your spouse makes a pretty hefty income or you live out in the middle of nowhere, it is pretty hard to live on a private school salary. If I had someone else supporting me, I would chose private in a second. The pressure of public has made many of my friends quit, take leaves of absence, get treatment for IBS and other stress related issues. I hate NCLB and the narrowness it is creating in our students. I hate that kindergartners no longer enjoy school by the middle of the year. If I could afford private school for my child, I wouldn't hesitate.

Not necessarily true. My DS had 24 kids in his kindergarten class (private school). The MCPS school where I teach has an average of 14 kids in each class. MCPS schools require all classroom teachers to have a degree in education. This is not true of all private schools.

[Anonymous]

My kids have been in both public and private. The best teacher they (each) ever had was in public, and several others were excellent. The worst teacher they each had was in public.

The differences: it is easier for a private school to get rid of a dud teacher, so fewer teachers are awful. There is no difference in terms of the best teachers. Also, I have found the private school teachers to have more flexibility when responding to a child's individual needs - a combination of smaller average class sizes (although a few of the grades in public had small class sizes, the caps was much higher) and fewer hoops to jump through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids have been in both public and private. The best teacher they (each) ever had was in public, and several others were excellent. The worst teacher they each had was in public.

The differences: it is easier for a private school to get rid of a dud teacher, so fewer teachers are awful. There is no difference in terms of the best teachers. Also, I have found the private school teachers to have more flexibility when responding to a child's individual needs - a combination of smaller average class sizes (although a few of the grades in public had small class sizes, the caps was much higher) and fewer hoops to jump through.

I have experience with exactly the opposite...private school setting where for the most part, all kids are instructed on the same level, do the same work, same homework assignments, etc. My experience with elementary public schools is quite different. Differentiation occurs daily. Kids are instructed on their (reading/math) level, which may be below/on/above their current grade-level (For example, a kid in 5th grade in a public school being instructed with a 7th grade math curriculum IF it's appropriate)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that teachers can also be also be parents at the same time, right? I am a parent and have been in both public and private schools. The public schools I;ve worked in have a completely different atmosphere than the privates I've worked in. In the public schools, I've also felt a sort of pressure walking into the building. The pressure for teachers' students to behave, conform and perform is very intense. That plus large class sizes, little prep time during the day, little or no lunch time, TONS of paperwork, you get the picture. I would never speak to a child that way but I can see how it could happen. NCLB hasn't improved anything for teachers either. In the private schools where I have worked, it felt differently b/c the teachers were valued by the parents and admin. They were fairly free to do what they wanted in terms of lessons, field trips, etc. They weren't constantly under the gun w/ practice tests, etc. The classes were always smaller and usually (though there are always exceptions), the students came to school ready to learn and were better behaved. There are many reasons why teachers choose public vs. private and vice versa. In this area, unless your spouse makes a pretty hefty income or you live out in the middle of nowhere, it is pretty hard to live on a private school salary. If I had someone else supporting me, I would chose private in a second. The pressure of public has made many of my friends quit, take leaves of absence, get treatment for IBS and other stress related issues. I hate NCLB and the narrowness it is creating in our students. I hate that kindergartners no longer enjoy school by the middle of the year. If I could afford private school for my child, I wouldn't hesitate.

Not necessarily true. My DS had 24 kids in his kindergarten class (private school). The MCPS school where I teach has an average of 14 kids in each class. MCPS schools require all classroom teachers to have a degree in education. This is not true of all private schools.

IN MY EXPERIENCES, the classes in private were always smaller. I didn't say that private schools always have smaller classes. Many public schools have smaller class sizes now (esp in the lower grades) if they fall into the Title I category.

[Anonymous]

There are over 95,000 public schools in the United States and close to 30,000 private schools, including independent and religious.

Each of these schools has several grades, often more than one class per grade, and many kinds of subjects and teachers. Generalizing is a bit tough-- and generalizing from a visit with one obviously bad public school teacher is impossible. Here are some tangible differences across the board that can inform the style and performance of teachers:

1) Required credentials. With the exception of participants in programs like Teach for America, public school teachers must enter the profession with a certain number of education courses under their belts. Education/credentials for public school teachers focuses primarily on pedagogy, secondarily (if at all) on subject-matter expertise. That can be a good thing at the elementary levels. For first grade, classes about teaching a child to read are arguably more relevant than literature classes. It can also be a problem later on-- a public school math teacher is required to have extensive education courses, but many private school math teachers have advanced degrees in math.

2) Unions. Most public school teachers are in unions; very few private school teachers are. This affects principals' flexibility both in hiring and firing.

3) Religious approach. Many parochial school teachers are nuns or brothers (not all). Their training is different.

Overall, more of the private school teachers I have known are really bookish/academic people; more of the public school teachers were true "kid people." I've seen good and bad teachers in both.

I went to private school, but have spent a great deal of time in public schools as a tutor, volunteer, and debate coach. I've seen some fantastic public school teachers who would have fit in well at my very expensive private school.

[Anonymous]

My DC's public school KG teacher is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC's public school KG teacher is wonderful.

So is mine! And fresh out of (public) university!

[Anonymous]

I have one in public one in private. I think it is fair to say that the biggest overall difference I have seen is the flexibility in the curriculum. There are exceptional teachers in both types of school (and private can let duds slip in as well). As others have noted, private schools have the ability to weed out bad teachers if necessary - but that does not mean they don't stick around for a few years. Our public is excellent with an outstanding principal, however, when it comes to hiring, she seems to end up with too many teachers from the system that were "placed" at our school (and do not meet even the principals standards) if they request to fill an empty spot. I find that part of the process quite unsettling, and the one upside to private (but even so - I still think that overall, our public has quite a few teachers that would rival any private.) I guess what I'm trying to say is there is no guarantee no matter where you go - but we love both our schools.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 DC in 2 different charter schools and I think the teachers are wonderful!

[Anonymous]

I've had kids in both public and private, and even though we had some wonderful public school teachers, I think the main problem was that when we finally encountered a terrible one (disorganized, many complaints from parents) the school system just can't seem to get rid of her. So she's still there, being moved around. We've been uniformly impressed with the quality of the teachers at the private school -- they seem to give each kid more individualized attention, and there's much more communication with the parents; they don't wait until things are bad to let you know if there's a bump in the road. I think that private schools can just get rid of poor teacher more easily, plus they have to answer to parents who are shelling out 30K a year.