Hi, my names Keith and I'm 14. Until recently I lived in the United States where I attended
a school which practices corporal punishment.

I was only ever paddled along with the rest of my class. I was always innocent and could never understand how such practises can be legal.
I have a right to attend school without the of being hit because pf my fellow students.

A few weeks after my last paddling, I moved
in with my stepfather and attended a fair school- a school where students aren't abused.
My stepfather and Mum winning custody of me was
great. My stepfather has caned me several times
but only when I've misbehaved. When I was living with my real Dad he would hit me very
mildly, unlike my stepfather. But at last whilst living with him I'm not abused. I can't understand how any parent can allow their children to be innocently beaten. The President has a lot to answer for.

My school a like "semi-private but still free for all of the people who they randomly select and their siblings" kind of deal, it's pretty weird. It's fairly small for the schools here, 20 kids to a class. Not incredibly cliquey. It's alright for a middle school I guess, but I was homeschooled for a long time before that.

This is pretty old...

I really like my school (U of D Mercy). I chose it, I'd better like it. Small classes (liberal arts classes maxed out at 40, with a bunch 20 or under), very personalized attention, a variety of minors, great atmosphere, fun classes, diverse student body and faculty, good scholarships, almost guaranteed to graduate in 4 years...the food stinks, but if that's the worst thing...

My schools perty good. its the middle school in which ill be goin to next yr that scares me. its full of gangs, and fights, and arson. i just hope it'll be better next yr!

It depends on the kid. My brother needs homeschooling. I think I would have bennefited from private school personally... although, in that case I wouldn't have been able to ***** to the authorities about everything the way I do.

i like my school it is pretty cool!!!!!

I think Public school is awesome because we need to relate to people of every race and social class 5 days a week! But at the same time, private schools lack the diversity but for advanced kids they're one of the only places you can be challenged. I still think that public school is important though, because in the real world you will be with people that are diverse and are not all on the same intelectual level!

I Believe Public Schooling Is Best Because There Is More Diversity Not Only In Race But In The Kind Of People That Attend Public School. There Are Rich,Poor,And Middle Class Students That Attend Public Schools. This Diversity Teaches Young People To Respect Others No Matter What Their Social Standings Are!!!

My school is crappy!!! Where I live they are thinking about a school tax cut and our school is crappy enough that I don't know what they would do if they went through with it. When I was in 2nd grade all of the teachers went on strike because they said that they weren't getting enough money. This went on for almost 3 weeks. I didn't go to school. When my mom went to my school to pick up my homework a gaurd had to walk her to my classroom. The subs that they had didn't teach the kids. They were running around the room and playing cards(we aren't allowed to play cards at our school, they think that we are gambling). My mom almost tansferred me to a different school because of it. That is what I think about my school.

I did homeschooling for 7th and 8th grade and I hated it. the only cool part was thatI got to go to college for a few semesters. but other than that it was tottally boring I didn't even learn anything. cus I wasn't doing any of the work. and I am usually a great student. I mean I was still getting A's cus my mom was grading me, but I think it was bad, cus I missed out on all the social events and group projects. and other special things that the school does(not socially related). Well I am happy cus I am going to kenedy Highschool as a freshman this fall, for the Architecture magnet, because that is what I want to be. I figuer if you have to go to school and deal with the bad things, like teachers, adn homework. you might as well learn something, that you really are going to use in you real carreer.

If you want a good education, homeschool. If you want a social life and think you need to be ready for the world, go to public. If you want the best of both worlds, go for private. I like homeschooling the best simply because I've been doing it for my 8 years of school. I may be a little more quiet than you, but if the public schoolers I see at church are any indication, maybe that's a good thing. I have a pretty good family life, I mean, me and my parents aren't screaming at each other all the time, and I can be in as many extra curricular activities as I want w/out worrying about the football team getting new jersies every year and the drama department getting jipped. I might not have as many friends as you, but that's ok, it's quality, not quantity we're talking about. Just my two cents y'all,

Lots of love,
Lynne

I went to public school for 7 years, and now i home school.
The only REAL plus to my public school was that i got to see all 4 of my friends on a daily basis....but the classes weren't very good, the after school/extracirricular stuff was allright and some of the teachers hit on the students X.x'.
Homeschooling is great I get to study what i want (with the exception of math, ick) and i can take more stuff (I'm taking japanese, asl, and astronomy). As for seeing people...I see my school friends at f.i.r.s.t and on the weekends and stuff, and I'm part of a co-op (a bunch of us work on projects and stuff every other week all day) and I play in the public school band....so in homeschooling you get a LOT more options. But if you're one of those social butterfly people (i'm not really..) you might like school better

-rito

The biggest problem in today's society is that rather than being concerned about how well educated their students are and how good an experience they have, a lot of school districts are more concerned with who can point the finger at them when something goes wrong. I guess you have to watch out when you are in that position, but they are hurting their students, which is counteractive to their goal.

In my school this year, the atmosphere was severely hurt due to "policy". So many of my teachers had briliant ideas to teach the topics, and get kids more involved in the school (let's face it....no school can exist without students), yet they couldn't do it because it posed a "legal threat". Band trip to Williamsburg, VA? Cancelled due to the war in Iraq. The only way that it could go on was if every student was accompanied by a BLOOD RELATIVE. What purpose does it serve? The school is then not held responsible for what could happen if a terrorist attack occurs. Aren't the terrorists successful if they disrupt the lives of American Citizens? If they create..."terror"? Students are not allowed to maintain the school website in spite of the fact that they are very very well qualified to do so... Why? because they are afraid that something posted there could be a "legal threat". They don't trust the students. If a student were in a position to maintain the website, I would expect that they would be so proud to have the privledge that they wouldn't do anything to jeapordize it. Having internet collaberation software for students, teachers, and parents to collaberate and learn? No. Why? Because they don't trust the students to be responsible about it, and because they don't control EVERYTHING THAT GOES UP THERE, which could lead to a "Legal Threat".

This atmosphere of distrust and paranoia spans to ever aspect of school life. When things go wrong, they point the finger at the student or the teacher. When things go well though, they claim to be responsible. The fact of the matter is that they aren't. It has nothing to do with them that students study their hardest and do their best. It's because the student has the will power enough to overcome the crap that they shell out. Conversely, when students are failing, they are quick to point the finger at the student or the parent, when it is infact because they have failed to inspire the students to succeed.

The bottom line is that public schools today are too concerned with how they are percieved by others, and how best to avoid legal threats to bother ensuring an inovative and student-centric atmosphere for learning, developing, and growing. They also seem to have a severe lack of trust in students. I think that this lack of trust contributes to the negativity of the environment created. Often times, students will amaze their teachers if given the opportunity. Students will demonstrate responsibility if offered the challenge, and are treated with the respect they so richly deserve. If the rare case arrises that they don't demonstrate the responsability, then you deal with them on an individual basis. You don't oppress everyone because you don't trust one.

I seriously think that the school system is going down-hill. We need some serious trust and political risk taking to salvage it. Education should set you free. It should inspire and fully involve innovation and free thought, and not bind you in the straitjacket of society and accepted thought.

Our mission for the future (when we all grow up) should be to change this. Trust our children. Support our children. Challenge them to think creatively and individually. Encourage them to innovate. Encourage them to make their own decisions about what to think and do. We need to encourage this sort of thing through the education system of America.

Private Schools
Pro: Enriching religious classes, smaller classrooms, typically better facilities
Cons: Teachers need absolutely NO qualifications, poorly designed after school and volunteer programs, questionable Fine Arts Programs

Homeschool
Pro: Ultimately the most flexible, one on one time with your teacher (mom or dad)
Cons: Some states and colleges/universities now consider it truancy, social aspect of life very easy to lose, diversity somewhat stifled

I personally think that Public school is the best. They have stadards which the teachers MUST meet in order to be allowed to teach there, they have well organized after school programs and volunteer programs, diversity embraced, excellent fine arts programs, and easily accessible resources (libraries and such).

Obvioiusly they all have their pros and cons, but Public school is better overall.

THE END

are you just sucking up so you can be student of the year??

i really liked my old high school. it was great--had alot of hard classes--and really hott guys. it was all good.

but i have moved recently and now my new school has the same amount of ppl but it's the size of a small college!! it's huge! but they don't have chemistry 2 or biology 2 or even Latin 3! so it is a big pretty skool with no meaning--i have to go to college this year to take the classes i want!!

I going to a new school this year, and physically speaking is all up and modern. I don't know about what kind of teachers there are or what kind of atmosphere is sat it, but if I don't like it I'm not adjusting, I'll do things my own way.
The school I went to was an excellent school. My parents purposly move around so that the schools me and my sister attend are well-kept and education level must be high for my parents to let us attend. Off the subject. The school I went to was a high school for 30 years, and has been changed into a middle school three years ago. The text books are modern, and although the building isn't too fresh, it has new technology (although kinda slow, but it's still good), air conditioning, heating. It hada nice atmosphere to it. Comfortable. There's a major diversity, and no populars were mean or snobby like always shown on TV. There are no drugs, and when something did happen this year, our school didn't try to hide it, in fact they informed everyone about, and showed us where it'll lead if it was ever repeated. Most teachers are very good, all the teachers I had were amazing. I've changed schools this time because of a perfect opportunity to own a house in a very nice neighborhood instead of renting came up. I'm getting the feeling the school's going to be money and A&F oriented, but I'll live.

my school SUCKS.. There's absolutely no diversity. There's the popular and then there's just the other people. No cliques. We don't really have a gothic group or geek group or anything. It sucks.

i dont agree because in public school you get to meet people and learn all at the same time. even though ur learning can be interupted by other idiots.

I think private schools are better way to learn. The school are almost never in financial jeopardy and the education is far better. For the first 7 years of my life I attended private school, besides my cousin and my sister, I was the only person in my neighborhood who had any private schooling. So, I decided to change to public school since all of my friend went there. In my private school, I had already mastered writing in cursive by the 1st grade and when I transferred, it came as a big shock my class mates hadn't even began things I'd learned by the 2nd grade. So my point is ,if many parents sent their children to private school, many children would have better perspectives on going to college and being successful in careers, because teachers in private school have the patience of teaching students advanced lessons, not only in education, but in life. I know I didn't tell all this in my story , but please understand where I'm coming from.

My school just spent 6 million building a new gym (we already have about 20), even though our textbooks are falling apart. I think it's plain to see where my school's real interests lie. Myself, I can't wrap my brain around the fact that we are one of the top 100 high schools in the nation, even though our school clearly admires sports related talent rather than academics.