Are kids who go to public school really less smart?

Does Private school really provide a better education?

Doesn't the quaity of education depend on who's teaching the student?

Do kids who don't have the money to go to private school deserve the stereotype?


Honest and respecful opinions please.

Where I live, all of the private schools are religiously affiliated. I've talked to some people who went to one of the local prek-8 private school. They say it's the same as public school in that there of course will be some smart kids, some not as smart kids, some kids who don't care, some kids who start trouble, etc.

My high school (public) is HUUUUUUGE. (three grades, 3000 kids) so of course there is a lot of diversity. We have some freakin brilliant students.

i live in london and go to a comprehensive school (public school)

i know people who got into grammar schools because there smart and people who got to private school because there rich and they are some of the nastiest people i have ever met not saying that all people who go to schools like these are like this but it seems the majority even my own brother, they just think they are better than everyone else.

i dont thik private school is good because they have no idea about the real world except to buy there way through it all, if they had one day in reality they wouldnt be alble to cope.

i go to a private school, after years of public education, and i've gotta say i think i've learnt more here than in all my other schools. i think it's because private schools can afford to pay better-qualified teachers or whatever. i do think it's better because the teachers i have now are better of engaging their students.
$8000 a year? it's $10000 for me and i'm on a scholarship...

I think private schools have the sterotype for smarter and better educators simply because they can afford the best. I don't necessarily think that all private school kids are smarter than public school kids, but I think that private schoolers get more opportunities to better advance their skills. I don't think it's fair to have certain sterotypes about schooling, we are all required to go and its not our fault if our parents prefer one over another. School is school, its sole purpose is to educate.

I've never gone to a private school, but i do go to a charter school, and it's definitely college prep. and what really is the difference between a charter school and a public school?

I think a lot of it depends on the student. I go to a catholic school, and yes, the honors classes are extremely hard, and many people are extremely smart, but then again we have the average students who could care less about school and don't get very good grades. I do like going to a private school though, how we basically don't have a "crime rate". The worst thing that ever happens is somebody gets cupcakes stolen out of there locker, or the occasional book goes missing. Nothing serious, no fights or vandalism or anything, which I am extremely grateful for.

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Originally posted by SouthernBelle:
Where I am from the public schools do give a good education at all. Even the students admit it.

The private school I go to does not hit the students. Yes, it is strict, but it helps shape a person about to go to college and go into the work force. A boss won't take I didn't feel like it.

And, I am not a spoiled rich kid. I have a job and help pay for my schooling.

I guess this post is proof enough that even if you go to private school, that doesn't mean you are smart.

I went to public school, and I wouldn't classify myself as less intelligent than anybody else.

I think that it really comes down to the individual schools and teachers, not whether it is a public or private school.

I go to public school I really do take offense to the idea that kids who go to private school are not as smart as those who go to private schools. Going to public school is not a shameful thing. Most of the kids where I live could probably afford to go to private school...but they don't. Instead they get an excellent education. I live about 30 min outside NYC and honestly, some of the public schools around here are better than the private schools of the area. Not that the rankings mean anything other than AP tests taken, but many public schools, including mine, rank within the top 100 in the nation.

Don't let the school determine you. Let your actions determine you.

I have been in both private and public schools briefly (now homeschooling). The only difference I noticed between them was that our learning was a lot more faith-based at the Catholic school. The Catholic middle and high school we have also do not have honors tracks, which the public schools do. Also, the private school system has gone seriously out of whack in our town. So it may just be where I live, but I think the public schools are actually a better alternative. I think the one exception would be the Spanish Immersion program my second-grade sister is in. This is an opportunity she would not have in the public school system, and the ability to speak Spanish at such a young age I think is worth the money.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Miss_Mod,

I went to 13 years of K-12 public school. My city has one of the area's better school systems though. You don't put your kid in private school here for the education he will receive; religion or an attempt to keep the kid in line is the primary factor.

Then I ended up at a small Catholic university for college...and that was the best decision I ever made. Tuition is ridiculously steep (though everyone gets a scholarship, and with mine, tuition is just slightly more than at a state school), but unlike most of the state schools, I have one-on-one time with the professors if I need it, I have small class sizes (the largest class I've taken had 40 students) and it's just comfortable.

I think it's ridiculous to pay thousands of dollars a year on private K-12 school when there is another perfectly good option for free. You're already paying an insane amount for college tuition, might as well then pick the best fit school for you.

I have been to both, well sort of. My first High School was a public school and now I go to a grammar school with no fees (almost a private school). The public school had a reputation for bad behaviour, theft etc but I still made some life-long friends there and loved my two years there. I got good results in exams and despite the reputation loads of kids go to top universities.


At the grammar school there is a lot less crime and people are more concentrated on their studies. But we still act up. People get Es and Fs in tests and are not necessarily less smart than kids at the public school.

So that's what I think.

I go to a private school. I think that it does, on AVERAGE, give you a better education. There are smaller classes, and there is more money to pay better teachers. My english teacher when to Harvard at 16 and then she went to Dartmouth for her PHD. Im not saying public schools are bad, it's just kindof a fact that most private schools have a better education. They are harder, mine is a college prep school so we are offered many college courses. Mine also is a catholic school. But only about 50% of the kids are catholic. The rest are christian or of other faiths.

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Originally posted by Holliewood:
I went to a private high school, and it definitely had loads of problems. Teachers there are still getting fired for unspeakable things. My brother had a chemistry teacher who used to be a satan worshipper and built bombs in the 90s, my scripture teacher ended up getting fired because he got caught looking at child porn in his office (plus he used to hit on the guys all the time), and the new gym teacher this past year apparently was an online sexual predator. I don't even wanna get into all the teachers that didn't get fired/killed themselves when I was there. It was a very interesting time of my life, that's all I gotta say. My school was pretty cheap for a private school though (About $3,000 at the time). There are some schools that cost about $30,000 a year...more than most colleges.

That's just a little bit scary....

I went to a private high school, and it definitely had loads of problems. Teachers there are still getting fired for unspeakable things. My brother had a chemistry teacher who used to be a satan worshipper and built bombs in the 90s, my scripture teacher ended up getting fired because he got caught looking at child porn in his office (plus he used to hit on the guys all the time), and the new gym teacher this past year apparently was an online sexual predator. I don't even wanna get into all the teachers that didn't get fired/killed themselves when I was there. It was a very interesting time of my life, that's all I gotta say. My school was pretty cheap for a private school though (About $3,000 at the time). There are some schools that cost about $30,000 a year...more than most colleges.

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Heck, my physics teacher in high school was a PhD.

Lucky. Mine learned physics while on LSD in the 1970s.

Well, okay, that was what was said around school, but if you met the guy, it was quite believable.

I went to public school, and I'd say I'm just a bit (by a bit, I mean a lot) smarter than a few fellow college students I know went to private schools. Your education does indeed rely on your teachers (just as much as it depends on you), but public schools are just as likely to have good teachers as private schools. Heck, my physics teacher in high school was a PhD. Don't see that very often, even in private schools.

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Originally posted by veggiechick08:

quote:

Do kids who don't have the money to go to private school deserve the stereotype?

I didn't realize there was a stereotype. And it's not an issue of money; most private schools seem to be religious and I am an athiest.

Yeah, there's a stereotype. I'm reminded of it regularly.

Where I am from the public schools do give a good education at all. Even the students admit it.

The private school I go to does not hit the students. Yes, it is strict, but it helps shape a person about to go to college and go into the work force. A boss won't take I didn't feel like it.

And, I am not a spoiled rich kid. I have a job and help pay for my schooling.