Public Schools vs Private Schools - Essay Example

This has led to the question as to why there are disparities between private schools and public schools. This debate is not limited to academic performance but also includes such factors as school funding, classroom quality, libraries, variety of programs offered, security, among several other factors. It is for some of the above reasons that parents usually find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to choosing schools. Parents now have more than enough schools to choose from than before. The government has however written off the performance debate.

The United States Department of Education has come up with a report that shows that there is no big difference between the performance in private and public schools as it is believed. Comparisons There are various research and literature that have been written to draw these comparisons. McEwan (103) notes that apart from the very few exceptions, there is no sufficient evidence to make conclusions that are strong and enough to draw conclusions on these comparisons and review of disparities. He blames this on the fact that the nature of schools, the samples that are available and the students, including their selection and sizes, the families, schools and their communities, present so many variables that have not been measured.

There are about 46 million students who get enrolled in the public schools in the nation through the various grades up to seniors in high school. About a sixth of the same are enrolled in the private schools Another difference between these two categories is significantly noticeable in the classroom. Despite this, public schools get the financing for their programs from the local, state or federal governments and sometimes from all of them. The admission rules are defined and they therefore have no choice in admitting students.

Private schools on the other hand are governed by an elected board of trustees. Additionally, most of them are funded primarily through tuition, contribution from donors or endowments. It is for this reason that private schools seem to have enough finances to finance their programs and achieve higher and better standards as compared to public schools. The quality that is witnessed in the classroom is not only limited to the teaching but the environment that is presented. One other major factor is that of classroom discipline.

In private schools, the rules are clearly stipulated and laid down when the student opts to attend such a school. The consequences of infraction against the code of discipline are dire. Public schools on the other hand present a different scenario. The constitutional rights in public schools are highly held, and the duration of time under which infractions are dealt with is long, cumbersome and usually complicated. It is no wonder that the quality of classrooms and teaching in private schools is usually high relative to that of public schools.

The significance of classroom discipline is noted on the fact that proper discipline has a correlation to the atmosphere of learning and when a teacher has control in their classroom, he or she will have a higher power to give quality instructions. There are also very interesting differences between private and public with regard to school libraries. With regard to