Private school teachers, please answer this question honestly.

[Anonymous]

I've found that teacher training colleges are often attached to local school districts and therefore push the public schools as the work option

Um, no. I am guessing you are not in the field, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I told my sister who is a public school teacher about this thread. She said that although she has no idea if most private school teachers would prefer public if given the opportunity, she says that she knows of no one teaching public who would want to go private. In fact when she graduated college, the only classmates who went to teach at privates were the ones who weren't offered jobs in a public school system. To me, this speaks volumes.

I actually think this might say more about where she went to college than anything about public and private school teaching choices. I think there are some real misconceptions about why teachers teach in private schools. First of all there are a huge variety of private schools just like there are quite a few different private colleges out there. There are Montessori specific schools, college prep schools, boarding schools, progressive schools, schools attached to colleges and schools that were created just so rich folks didn't have to be too close to poor folks.

There are also abysmal public schools, well funded public schools, progressive public schools, appalling test focused public schools -

I've found that teacher training colleges are often attached to local school districts and therefore push the public schools as the work option. some teacher training colleges and programs train a person to be a great teacher no matter where they teach - public or private. Yes, some privates take folks out of college because they are experts in a subject matter but many want teachers with specific teaching training just like the public schools do. So many of the folks on this thread seem to want to pit one against the other - what's that really about?

My sister went to UVA. I doubt they really expected many of their graduates to be sticking around Charlottesville.

[Anonymous]

I haven't read through the entire thread, but I'd like to point out that not all of the private schools pay less than public or have less educated teaches. My DH was offered double the salary at his private school than what the public school had offered him to start. Also, the majority of the teachers at his private school have Masters degress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through the entire thread, but I'd like to point out that not all of the private schools pay less than public or have less educated teaches. My DH was offered double the salary at his private school than what the public school had offered him to start. Also, the majority of the teachers at his private school have Masters degress.

The majority of public school teachers have Masters degrees as well. What private school offered your husband double what a public school teacher makes? Even the top privates in DC pay significantly less than the public schools.

[Anonymous]

pp, the bennies might have been much worse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nor does having a certificate necessarily make someone a good teacher.

True. But state certification requirements insure that the recipient has taken the academic courses (in both subject matter and pedagogy) most often associated with good teaching.

I believe a person, for the most part, is either going to have the basic skills necessary to manage a class or they are not. An MA in the subject area or an education degree, is not going going to change that a whole lot. Therefore, the subject knowledge is the trump card in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

13:44,

So you are reducing good teaching to just managing a class? What does that even mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through the entire thread, but I'd like to point out that not all of the private schools pay less than public or have less educated teaches. My DH was offered double the salary at his private school than what the public school had offered him to start. Also, the majority of the teachers at his private school have Masters degress.


The majority of public school teachers have Masters degrees as well.

Several posters mentioned that teachers go to private schools because they don't have a teaching degree or higher education. I was just pointing out that not all private schools in the area hirer undereducated teachers.

Anonymous wrote: What private school offered your husband double what a public school teacher makes? Even the top privates in DC pay significantly less than the public schools.

I'd rather not say, but I will clarify it's in NOVA and not DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:44,

So you are reducing good teaching to just managing a class? What does that even mean?

not 13:44 but . . .

Unless you can manage a class, good teaching means nothing b/c you will NOT be abler to implement challenging lessons. So yes, it means quite a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13:44,

So you are reducing good teaching to just managing a class? What does that even mean?

not 13:44 but . . .

Unless you can manage a class, good teaching means nothing b/c you will NOT be abler to implement challenging lessons. So yes, it means quite a bit.

able

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:44,

So you are reducing good teaching to just managing a class? What does that even mean?

Management is half the issue. If you can't manage you can't teach. If you can manage it does not mean you can teach.

[Anonymous]

5:59, maybe you have reading comprehension problems because you are not at all answering the question I asked, nor does it sound like you are familiar with the post I'm referring to.

[Anonymous]

why would anyone assume that having a state teaching certification makes someone a good teacher, or that lacking one makes someone a bad teacher? I see no correlation.

My kids have attended both public and private schools. They have had terrific teachers and crummy teachers in both. The main reason we moved them to/kept them in a private school was class size, individual attention, and less teaching to the test. That said, we were in a school district with pretty poorly performing public schools. Had we lived elsewhere (or been willing and able to move) we might well have kept them in public school.

[Anonymous]

Having a MA or PhD is no indicator of one's ability to teach others; only their ability to learn. Private schools desire teachers with MAs or PhDs because they are selling a service. They want to be able to boast to potential clients about how educated and qualified their staff is. It's marketing.

[Anonymous]

15:54, just because you don't see the correlation doesn't mean there isn't one. Do the research, and make sure that research is reported in a peer reviewed journal.

You will find there is a correlation between certification and outcomes associated with "good teaching" over time.