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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am not certified to teach in a public school.  That's the case with most of my peers.  Also, privates expect less of you.  You don't have to turn in lesson plans or attend as many meetings.  It's easier.  I'll take a pay cut not to turn in a million lesson plans.[/quote]

No good teacher wants to do less work and make less of an impact. I call troll, and a poor one at that. I went from public to private and I am held MORE accountable. If I perform poorly, that will impact the reputation of the school. As a strong teacher, I don’t want to perform poorly anyway, nor say I desire less work. My private school requires lesson plans. My former public did not. My current private school requires regular observations. My former public school made up my observations since the admin didn’t actually show up. I work harder now and I am very proud of my work.[/quote]

I imagine that you are a terrific teacher with this mindset and effort level.  I'm curious if you feel your school is comprised of a lot of teachers like you?  Sounds like your school also has some structural requirements that you didn't experience in publics.

A teaching perk I've heard about private schools is having classroom flexibility/autonomy vs more structured curricula in publics. What do you feel is a successful model of teacher requirements AND yet- not being micromanaged/mired in paperwork?[/quote]

I’m the PP. Yes, many of my colleagues feel the same way. There’s a common consensus that we found the ideal school in which to teach. Yes, we do have great autonomy in our classrooms, but it comes at a bit of a cost. We need to justify our choices through our lesson plans by explaining how we are meeting standards, etc. I don’t resent it, though, because I know it helps me make good choices. Members of the admin team all teach a class, so they still have a foot in the classroom. That helps when it comes to observations because they aren’t removed from what they are observing. I can also go observe their classes if I’m looking for new ideas. They are also supportive. We are thanked regularly and we are asked our opinions about school-wide initiatives. I’ll be spending the rest of my career here because I can’t imagine finding a school better run than the one I’m already at.

Teachers do have to be certified, but they can earn it during the first year. We have a couple of career changers, so this is a benefit. The school has a great mentoring program for new teachers that is very supportive. Mentors/mentees meet regularly to lesson plan together. Admin observes, but they do it in a non-evaluative manner at first. New teachers are given periods off to observe master teachers in the building. Honestly, I think that’s more useful than education classes for certification. Considering so many teachers quit after just one year, I’m glad the school places such a strong focus on our new teachers.

My experience teaching in a public school was dreadful and about the exact opposite from this. That doesn’t mean I think all publics are poorly run; I just happen to intimately know a particularly bad one in this region. It really comes down to admin, in my mind. They set the tone for the school. [/quote]

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