Public School Teachers - any different than private school teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:curious—why do private school teachers make less than public?

Private schools are not subsidized by the county and in cases of testing, the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:smaller class size, less pressure, less workload, no union protection

smaller class size: true
less pressure: not true (different kind of pressure)
less workload: TOTALLY not true
no union protection: true

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that teachers can also be also be parents at the same time, right?

Well of course I do realize that and as I asked, please no teachers.

OP, it's unreasonable to request that teachers not respond, especially the way you described the public school teacher's behavior. Of course, many of us will come to the defense of the profession, attempting to make you see that your incident was most likely an isolated one.

You seem fearful, which, no doubt, will be transferred to your child.

If you're so afraid of what your child may experience in the public systems, then go the private route. But I can guarantee you that many private educators are not required to have teaching degrees, which translates into lacking the necessary repertoire of skills in handling a diverse group of learners. Most of us in the public sector are also very educated - many with Masters, some with PhDs.

So, rather than being fearful, deal. Ask for another teacher, if possible. But please don't assume that we're all bad. It's ignorant and also demoralizing.

[Anonymous]

Oh give me a break will you?

What does it matter if it is an isolated incident if that incident, even one alone, is so bad to me that it warrants action? I do not expect any teacher, public or private, to degrade a child or humilate a child or to use sarcasm to get her point across. I don't care how many children that teacher has to manage, I don't care how pressured she feels, or what her personal problems are. Teaching is not for those who love to teach. It's for those who love to teach and also enjoy children.

You bet I'm fearful. I'm fearful of teachers who speak this way to our children and seem to think these should be cast aside because they just may be 'isolated incidents.'

I'll tell you how I plan to deal with any teacher that speaks to my child the way this public school teacher spoke to those children. I plan to address it not just with the prinicipal, but with the superintendant of schools. I plan to publicize this problem as I have done on DCUM and any forum I can find. I want parents who find teachers speaking this way to kids unacceptable to fight for their children's rights to be treated properly.

Would any teacher dare to speak that way to the principal of her school? Would any teacher dare to speak that way to any parent? I can bet that would not happen. Our children are less likely and less able to argue back and will cower in the presence of a loud, authoritative, and insulting adult. And some of these teachers just hope that they can continue to talk to our kids without us finding out or doing anything about it.

Don't you dare insult not just mine, but all parents intelligence, to be able to discern inappropriate and unacceptable teacher behavior when we witness it by casting it aside as just 'fearfulness' instead of admitting that it should never happen.

And for your information, I have three friends who are teachers. All of them do speak this way from time to time to their students. It's still unacceptable. UNless a child is threatening a teacher, using foul language in class, or destroyng property or hurting other children there is no reason to speak that way to any child.

I never said 'all teachers are bad.' Assuming such from my post makes me think you are ignorant because this is an enormous leap in logic. What I suggested was the likelihood of this manner of speaking to our children being more prevalent or more likely in public school systems than private school systems...because parents who pay alot for private educations are less likely to tolerate any teacher speaking this way to their children.

[Anonymous]

OP, please calm down for your own blood pressure! (I say that not unkindly.) I am not the PP you are talking to, but I believe all she meant was that it is impossible to generalize about public school teachers (and your posts do suggest that you are somewhat generalizing). No one is suggesting you shouldn't pursue whatever action you want against this specific teacher.

And if you truly and honestly do have three teacher-friends who speak this way to their students (seems to me that you might be embellishing a bit for effect, but whatever), then I'm kind of amazed that they are your friends, because no teacher should speak that way ever to students, regardless. Again, you seem to be generalizing from your experiences. (Not to mention that if you have already come to your own conclusion based on anecdotal evidence, why did you post in the first place?)

[Anonymous]

My DC went to an expensive private preschool, and I have seen a teacher yelled at him for crying (even in front of me). The end result is that I had to transfer DC to a different class because DC disliked the teacher so much.

The public school teachers I have seen are better, though not perfect. I have seen a teacher pulling a boy who was not paying attention to be closer to her, telling the whole class not to wet on the floor in the restroom, but these were more gentle than what I have seen in the preschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, please calm down for your own blood pressure! (I say that not unkindly.) I am not the PP you are talking to, but I believe all she meant was that it is impossible to generalize about public school teachers (and your posts do suggest that you are somewhat generalizing). No one is suggesting you shouldn't pursue whatever action you want against this specific teacher.

And if you truly and honestly do have three teacher-friends who speak this way to their students (seems to me that you might be embellishing a bit for effect, but whatever), then I'm kind of amazed that they are your friends, because no teacher should speak that way ever to students, regardless. Again, you seem to be generalizing from your experiences. (Not to mention that if you have already come to your own conclusion based on anecdotal evidence, why did you post in the first place?)

Well only one is a real friend, other two are good acquaintances. But we have gotten into disagreements about this. Plus their students are much much older, high school students who do talk back and sometimes use bad language with them. Evenso...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Again, you seem to be generalizing from your experiences. (Not to mention that if you have already come to your own conclusion based on anecdotal evidence, why did you post in the first place?)

Because I want to know of other private school experiences.

[Anonymous]

So if someone posts with a horror story about a private school teacher, will you homeschool?

When DS was in private preK, a teacher gave him such a hard time (basically for being smart and verbal) that the other kids told their parents that DS must be a bad boy, because the teacher yells at him all the time.

[Anonymous]

If you're so fearful, then homeschool. It seems to be the "thing" to do these days.

[Anonymous]

OP...Is it Colvin Run? My child is going to start kindergarten there in the fall. Please let me know. Thanks so much!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP...Is it Colvin Run? My child is going to start kindergarten there in the fall. Please let me know. Thanks so much!!

No worries: (1) this thread is over a year old, and (2) Colvin Run does not feed one of the best schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're so fearful, then homeschool. It seems to be the "thing" to do these days.

It is.

. . . for children of know-it-als

[Anonymous]

Most generalizations about public and private school teachers are just that -- generalizatons. Having said that, I will add one of my own. Based on my own experience, raising a child who attended both public and private schools, I have observed that:

• my child's private school teachers were better educated. This doesn't mean they had more degrees, but that they knew their Latin, history, and literature.

• many of my child's public school teachers displayed an anti-intellectual attitude. They knew their pedagogy, but were not particulary strong on content. (this was particularly true in elementary and middle school)

• my child's private school teachers were much less likely to depend on textbook kits and anthologies and more likely to develop their own materials, assigning whole novels.

[Anonymous]

I toured a public elementary school in Bethesda recently and was truly saddened by what I saw. We have 3 kids in private, and while I LOVE the school it's a realy financial hardship and so my husband and I wanted to take another look at public. In a nutshell: I came, I saw, I was horrified, and I left. In 80% of the classrooms I visited, the teacher was off in a corner assessing 1 child, while the rest of the class were left to their own devices. The teachers I did see who were actually instructing students could not have looked more checked out or uninspired. Then there were all the other aspects: portable classrooms, 125 kids on the playground with only parent supervision, a Principal who spoke as though she did not graduate from college, no science lab, poor art, music and PE, and class sized of 25-26 kids. I entered the building with an open mind and left feeling like these kids were not being given the same chance as my own kids in their private school. I know many parents can't afford private school (we barely can) and it really exposed what I consider a national problem in our education system.