Schooling Central

I have one son in grade one at an excellent state school, and one daughter in 3 year old kinder at an excellent private school. The plan is that dd will do 3 and 4 yo kinder at the ELC she currently attends, and will then start Prep at the same state school my son attends.

The problem is that the state school is not turning out as well as I had hoped, and the kinder at the private school impresses me far more than I expected. I really only sent dd to the ELC because it was close and they offered the hours I needed. As it is at a fairly prestigious private school I expected that the quality would be pretty good, but in no way did I research the educational program, nor compare it to others available. On the other hand I researched my son's school extensively, and actually moved to the other side of the city so that he could attend it. Now I want to pull him out and send him to my daughters school....but my husband is extremely resistant to the idea.

We sent our son to a state school because we believed he could have a first class education there, and we believe all children have the right to such an education. There is no gymnasium, swimming pool, music complex or arts precinct at his school, but nor do we think he needs such things to be well educated. The problem for me is the quality of the educational program. The year has started so slowly -only yesterday were the maths classes finalised and a reader sent home, and I'm finding it very hard to get information about what goes on in the classroom. The teachers seem to assume we know about the spelling and maths programs and I find myself having to quiz my son each day, or line up with the other parents to see the teacher more often than I'd like.

At my daughter's kinder the program started from the day she arrived. We have been sent detailed information about what activities take place during her sessions, the educational theories behind the activities, and how they fit into the educational plan of the school. Everything they do is well organised, well thought out, well executed, and we are kept well informed along the way. I wish I could say the same thing about my son's school.

So, the argument I have with my husband goes a little like this....The education of my children is one of my highest priorities in life. I'm not interested in training them up over 13 years so that they can ace their year 12 exams and study medicine. But I am passionate about them having an inspiring education where they are constantly challenged to learn more about themselves and the world they live in. If the current school does not provide this, and the school down the road does, why should we not use it? My husband's response is that public education needs to be supported, and we would be wrong to abandon it. I agree there is an injustice in the country when only those who can afford it can access superior educational facilities. But I think we would be wrong to deny it to our children because of such beliefs.

How do others feel about this issue?

Annabel.

Hi Annabel

This is such a hard decision - i know where you're coming from.

I work in the private school sector, and like to think I am a hard working, committed teacher.

When I was at Uni, I was very committed to working in the Public school system, as, like your husband, I am a big believer in the right of every child to a free, QUALITY, education! However, as I was married, going country for work was not an option for us, and I was offered a job at a private school where I had done one of my pracs.

there are lots of great things about private schools - like extra facilities and resources that the public schools oftenhave to forego due to lack of funding, and there are lots of great teachers who are very committed to their job.

On the reverse side, there are a lot of tired teachers, who have been there for ages, and are seen as "experienced" despite the fact that they have failed to alter the programmes that they have been teaching for 10 years...

This is the same deal with public education though!

I suppose that's my point - teaching all depends on the teacher your child gets. It may be that the teacher your daughter has this year is enthusiatic and energised about her job (something you want from all teachers) and that your sons may be lacking a bit of motivation! However, the roles may be reversed next year...

I would recommend hanging around the playground and speaking to some parents who have older kids in the school, Suss out their experiences, which teachers are good etc. Alot of teacher accountability also depends on the principal so have a good look at how they operate.

Overall, I have always thought that private for high school is best, and public (in a good area) for primary (due to smaller class sizes) is better. If not in a good area though, i'd always opt for private, as at least they have some say in who attends and who doesn;t...

Good luck

Thanks for the reply.

It is so hard to know what a school is really like until you're a part of it. I feel lucky having dd at the private school as it gives me access to the school that most people wouldn't have, such as junior school information nights etc. I agree that a great way to find out about a school is to talk to the parents, but it's hard to find people that are willing to be candid about their experience when you don't know them (I once got stopped by a father at ds's school gate asking for the 'inside word' after doing a tour of the school, but I doubt I'd have the courage to round up parents like that lol!).

I realise that there will always be good and bad teachers at any school, and although I feel we have been very lucky at the private preschool, I am also fairly pleased with ds's teacher this year. My concern is with how the school is run in a more general sense. It's the culture and the big picture ideas that impress me so much at the private school, combined with the tight ship they run. Things seem sloppy and parochial in comparison at the state school, which frustrates me no end.

My husband says we need to approach the school more often to sort out issues we are not happy with. I think he's right on one level -if the teacher doesn't know we have a problem then she's not going to to be able to help us to resolve the problem. But I have so many issues with the school now I feel if I took them all to the principal I would in effect be telling her how to run her school. And that's not a good thing!

We have committed to staying at the state school until the end of the year, and we both hope that things improve and we won't have to think about changing schools. In the meantime I plan to put ds's name down at the private school just in case dh changes his mind

Annabel.

Hi Annabel, yes a difficult subject to say the least. We have thought that public for primary and private for secondary is best for us. One of the main factors for us in the secondary decision is the fact that the teenage years are a challenge for most children and their parents. A private school generally provides a more strict environment in terms of work ethic, standards of dress and general social behaviour. A massive generalisation I know, however my husband attended both public and private schools during his secondary education, he knows the private school pushed him hard and had very high expectations, the public school did not. This of course does not mean that all public secondary schools fall into that same category and we all know the ones that have a 'good name'. The fear I have is that our ds is attending a public primary school that has a 'good name' which in our opinion it is very undeserving of. So being burnt at this early stage in a public primary school does not lend any question to our decision of private for secondary. It does of course lend question to our decision for public primary lo and behold!

I understand your husband's stance on supporting the public system however until that system is providing 'quality' education as it often 'promises' to then I feel it is only wise to do the best we can for our children. If we are fortunate enough to be able to afford a private education and we think that is best for our children then I have no guilt in providing that for them. It is the Government policy that drives the outcomes for our public system and that is where people can show their support of public schools...although it is debateable that either side of politics delivers on the very heart of the country's future, education of the children. I guess I worry that walking away from the public system rather than standing up to it and demanding more from it via the principle and or education department is unsupportive but a mother's instinct can't help but want to give her children the best she can. That being said we are undecided if we are walking away from it and or moving to an alternative school.

I understand your quandary completely!

I'm in a similar situation, with a 6 yo DD in grade 1 at a very good state school and a 3 yo DD at the ELC of a private school.

My husband and I both went to state schools, and we started out with the notion that we would support state education by sending our chidlren to the local school. Then we looked at the local school. We were genuinely shocked by the rising damp, peeling paint, total lack of grass - in short, the miserable state of the place. We had the sense that the staff were really trying, but the material they gave us talked a lot of well-intentioned but meaningless waffle about "holistic approach" "educating the whole child", tolerance and diversity etc. To us tolerance should be a given, not something you have to promote, and when we asked questions about how the theories about the holistic approach translated into practice the answers were very vague and woolly. The other primary schools that we looked at were very similar.

We were fortunate to find a primary school a couple of suburbs away where everything the Principal said made total sense to us. Facilities as limited as any state school but huge emphasis on the quality of the teaching, which to us is the most important thing. We schmoozed and worked it pretty hard to get her in there although we don't live in the zone. DD absolutely loves it.

Anyway, this year our 3 yo started at the ELC - after 2 miserable years at creche something had to change, and it was very hard to find a good 3 yo programme combined with working parent friendly hours. Grammar school for a toddler was never the plan!

The thing that has really struck me about the private school is the incredible organisation and communication. The teaching staff are so well supported - by admin staff, by specialist teachers, and by professionals such as speech pathologists and psychologists, that they are free to get on with teaching the kids.

My 6 yo's (lovely) teacher is always harried, teaching 25 kids of hugely varying ability on her own and collecting excursion money and helping with the fete planning and all the 101 other things she has to do. We get no communication on what the kids are doing in the classroom, and I feel guilty asking her because I know she is so busy. I wouldn't have a clue what she is up to in maths, for instance.

At the private school, there are weekly plans for each child available in a folder, and a daily diary of what they did on the wall for the collecting parents each day. If there is a problem, no matter how minor, the private school teacher will ring you to discuss. The director of the ELC called me at my office recently because I had mentioned in passing to one of the before care workers that 3yo was being naughty at bedtime! If the child is showing any issues at all they will get an appropriate professional in.

So in short, I think the difference between public and private is that at the private they have the resources to help the teachers be the best teacher they can be, and I often wish wistfully that 6yo was there as well. That said, 3 yo will go to her sister's state school for the following reasons:

* diversity - the private school is probably as diverse as a 16k a year school can be, but of course an inn-city state school is much more racially and socio-economically diverse.
* the private school is single-sex and we only have girls in our family, so I don't want them to never meet a boy for their whole childhood.
* money - with a good state option its hard to justify spending $100k per child on primary school.

Our compromise is that the girls will go to the private school in year 7, or maybe year 5.

If we didn't have the option of this particular state school our chocie may well have been different. So yes, I feel your angst!

worldsmostadorablekids wrote:

QUOTE:


The thing that has really struck me about the private school is the incredible organisation and communication. The teaching staff are so well supported - by admin staff, by specialist teachers, and by professionals such as speech pathologists and psychologists, that they are free to get on with teaching the kids.

My 6 yo's (lovely) teacher is always harried, teaching 25 kids of hugely varying ability on her own and collecting excursion money and helping with the fete planning and all the 101 other things she has to do. We get no communication on what the kids are doing in the classroom, and I feel guilty asking her because I know she is so busy. I wouldn't have a clue what she is up to in maths, for instance.

At the private school, there are weekly plans for each child available in a folder, and a daily diary of what they did on the wall for the collecting parents each day. If there is a problem, no matter how minor, the private school teacher will ring you to discuss. The director of the ELC called me at my office recently because I had mentioned in passing to one of the before care workers that 3yo was being naughty at bedtime! If the child is showing any issues at all they will get an appropriate professional in.

So in short, I think the difference between public and private is that at the private they have the resources to help the teachers be the best teacher they can be, and I often wish wistfully that 6yo was there as well.

I think you've really hit the nail on the head here when you talk about the organisation and communication. I have brought up the issue of communication at my son's school and although they have made some attempts to improve the situation, I don't know if they have any idea about the kinds of communication channels that exist at my dd's private school. Of course, as you have pointed out, they don't have a head of junior school with her own PA dedicated to providing such a service.

It looks like the whole private/public school discussion is over in our house, as we are now seriously considering an alternative public school, and it seems this is a compromise we can both live with. Part of me is happy that our son will continue to be well educated in the public system, and part of me feels a little sad every time I read my daughter's fancy newsletter! I am thankful that I have several quality public schools to choose from - I know not everyone is so lucky.

Annabel.