Should Private Schools be Scrapped

[DerBear]

Like the title says:

So should they be scrapped and if so why...

[line]

I think they should not as they do give good and high quality education (like all schools or at least all schools should) also they help out by not over flowing public schools aswell....so i dont want them to be scrapped

[line]

So post your answer and reasons

[SosbanFach]

What's the point in scrapping them? It achieves nothing! They are also largely unaffected by a majority of local council education cuts!

[Jess]

of course not. some private schools are good, I'm sure

[Genghis Khan]

Nah, I wouldn't go as far as abolishing private schools, even though I -just mildly- disagree with the notion of a select group of people with more money having the right to better education, scrapping them is quite extreme.

[Tristin.]

no. they provide a service that i believe is good, if a parent wishes to pay for their childs education then they should be able to

[curtlaw]

Private schools, in my opinion, allow kids and their parents a different perspective and definately allows a choice between a public school setting and a private school setting. Private schools (especially private schools who accommodate children with physical or mental disabilities) are vital in keeping parents and students happy about where they are. For example, if we were scrap private schools, these kids with disabilities would be forced to go to a so-called "normal" school, and I'm very sure these students would be looked down upon. Therefore, I truthfully believe that having a private/public school system is a good idea and hence should not be scrapped.

[CryWolf]

no. they provide a service that i believe is good, if a parent wishes to pay for their childs education then they should be able to

I agree with this.

[SosbanFach]

The wolf has spoken! Does anyone supprot getting rid of them?

[TheMatrix]

Certaintly not I.
Well, maybe the bad ones, but that is best saved for another debate.

[pineinchneis]

i went to a private primary school so i have first hand experienxe of them. not all of the kids there were super rich (naturally a few were) but they shouldnt be scrapped because they are PRIVATE so the government doesnt really have a right to tell them to shut. its like forcing all independent grocers to shut to enable state run shops to be set up

[Lights]

Nah, I wouldn't go as far as abolishing private schools, even though I -just mildly- disagree with the notion of a select group of people with more money having the right to better education, scrapping them is quite extreme.

It's not really fair to say that, because the parents choose to put their child/children into private education. It really comes under how parents want to prioritise the spending of their money. While some parents put giving their children top education at the top of their lists, others will put luxuries like family holidays first. Also, parents with a lot of money usually have all that money because they've worked very hard for it, and (at least one of them) has gotten a very good job that pays generously. That's not to say people with less fortunate incomes haven't worked just as hard, I'm just making the point that we can't penalise parents for opting to spend their hard earned cash on sending their children into private education.

Certaintly not I.
Well, maybe the bad ones, but that is best saved for another debate.

I think that fits into this debate quite appropriately, actually.
Also, saying "the bad ones" is really quite irrelevant to this debate/discussion because you could say "the bad ones" to any kind of school, because any significantly 'bad' school, regardless of it being state-funded, or privately funded, can, should and probably will be shut down. We're specifically talking about whether private education should be 'scrapped'.

I can't see any reason for private schooling to be abolished at all. It reduces classroom sizes in the far bigger state-funded schools, it helps the Government because it means they don't have to pay out the money for a small percentage of children's education, and it helps the children who get privately-schooled themselves! Smaller classes almost always means more attention from the teacher, resulting in better grades and qualifications.

[Amaryllis]

Definitely not.

I go to one of those posh, snobby, bloody expensive private schools and I have no intention of ever going to a public school in this country. I admit, I'm not proud of what jackasses most of the students here are but I would die in a public school. I live in Asia and trust me, the public schools here are crap. The teachers hit their students, if you get 9/10 for a spelling test, whack. Nothing less than bloody perfect.

And worse... I'd have to learn chinese all over @[email protected] DOOM. The first 4 years of public school live. Ugh... I got Ds and Cs. But the moment I transferred to an australian private school? "And the english award goes to Z. Visual arts, drama, DT, Z Z Z. Student representative, Z! Middle school captain! Z!" I'm actually smart here so... I damn well love it.

But once again, snobbish jackasses attend my school. My friend has a friggin helicopter and a movie theatre in her bedroom.

[Amnesiac]

On the contrary, I think public schools should be scrapped.

[Black Eight]

On the contrary, I think public schools should be scrapped.
I'm really curious about this. Why should public schools be scrapped?

[Amnesiac]

I'm really curious about this. Why should public schools be scrapped?

The education system is fucked because it tries to categorize individual students instead of focusing on their specific talents and abilities. Schools and the states that run them spend too much time constructing arbitrary curriculums, standardized testing systems and other ridiculous government fabrications. In addition to that, many reading, writing and social studies courses are plagued by political biases and red tape. Add to that the lack of competitiveness in the teaching market caused by low salaries and mediocre teacher benefits and you have a public education system doomed to half of what it could be.

All of these problems could be solved by a transition to a fully privatized school system, for vouchers for low-income families. In addition, schooling should not be mandatory and homeschooling should become a more favorable prospect for parents. For too long, the U.S. has had a public education system that doesn't serve its students' individual abilities. It's been turned into some sort of dull, fascist machine that spits out mounds of shit.

Not only would converting, over time, to a privatized system benefit students – who are, after all, the ones who need to be focused on – it would give students and parents a variety of options on what kind of education they're interested in receiving and what career paths they're specifically interested in. Also, it would get rid of the horrible entrenchment on student rights that currently exists in the public education system, as well as all the bitchy teachers.

Many states have graduation requirements that force students to take courses in the most unnecessary fields. Texas, which easily has one of the most horrible, unprofessional and disgustingly conservative education boards in the United States, requires students to take courses in foreign language, physical education, health education and the fine arts. Requires. Why they can't understand the concept of a student choosing what they're interested in independently is beyond me. In addition to that, physical education/sports shouldn't even be part of the public education system.

My school district spends tens of millions of dollars on sports stadiums and other infrastructure annually that have absolutely no place being run by the government and are better off left to private leagues. I'm sick and tired of the government telling me to fucking exercise. I go to school to learn. I go to my local gym to exercise. Those two shouldn't be mixed, goddammit. I don't care if promoting school sports teams "brings the community together," it's a complete waste of money, something that isn't the job of the government to put together.

I didn't really want to write all that again, so I just got it from this thread (http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=111176).

[CaptainObvious]

none of the problems you point to are intrinsically solved by switching to private education, though.

[Amnesiac]

none of the problems you point to are intrinsically solved by switching to private education, though.

True, the public school system could be fixed, but the effort required to do so would be huge. In addition to that, education is one of the government's favorite places to cut corners, so swaying public and government opinion to support spending more on schools wouldn't be easy, either, especially in the Tea Party era.

A lot of the problems I mentioned could work themselves out by a switch to private education. Families would have more options on what kind of education they're looking for, government funding cuts wouldn't cripple schools anymore (like they have mine), there would be less bias in curriculums, ect.

[christcenteredlife]

Nah, I wouldn't go as far as abolishing private schools, even though I -just mildly- disagree with the notion of a select group of people with more money having the right to better education, scrapping them is quite extreme.

this would have to apply for colleges as well. you can't take away private education in the high school sense, but allow it in the college and hold this same position.

[kingbudapa]

Def not, private schools are college prep schools that help us at that next level

[Sage]

In addition to that, education is one of the government's favorite places to cut corners, so swaying public and government opinion to support spending more on schools wouldn't be easy, either, especially in the Tea Party era.

What is right is not always easy- In truth, it seldom is. Frankly, I'm sick of this trend of people pointing out faults in the government and pushing for more power and influence to wealthy businessmen than elected officials. If there are injustices and inequalities in a fully privatized school system, there is nothing that can be done about it, because business owners are not held to the same level of accountability as elected officials. You do not properly educate a nation by turning education into a product.

Where, in your ideal system, is there room for low-income children to receive the same standards of education that wealthier families would have? You cannot sincerely believe that a school with the same access to the latest textbooks, the best facilities, and other resources would be able to stay open through the limited pool of money that the lower classes have at their disposal. For a few people with money to have access to a greater education, someone, somewhere, has to suffice with worse, and that is not how you foster a culture of well-educated citizens.

[Amnesiac]

Where, in your ideal system, is there room for low-income children to receive the same standards of education that wealthier families would have? You cannot sincerely believe that a school with the same access to the latest textbooks, the best facilities, and other resources would be able to stay open through the limited pool of money that the lower classes have at their disposal. For a few people with money to have access to a greater education, someone, somewhere, has to suffice with worse, and that is not how you foster a culture of well-educated citizens.

The system is already like that. (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/0527/Economic-segregation-rising-in-US-public-schools) Schools in low-income areas usually provide a much lower-quality education than you'd find in the richest parts of a city. The inequality already exists today, and it's true that with a private school system it could get worse.

There's are exceptions to every political idea, including mine. If we're going to privatize the school system, we should offer government vouchers to the poor so that their kids can get an education that isn't shit, or the government could build public schools specifically for low-income families who can't afford a private school. I not a believer in the "government is always the problem" theory, even though I do believe there are a lot of places where it shouldn't be.

[dontcare97]

I think they need to be more accessible to children who need them the most. It isn't fair for children with lower incomes not to get the special education or safety provided there. I'm not saying ever private school is the best option but it does provide a competitive place where public schools are down sized and try harder to improve student learning, not test scores.

[Short Circuit]

I go to a private school, why? They are better equipped, smaller class sizes, and teachers can give a one-to-one help when needed.

I would not say the education is for "brighter" pupils, as you might as gathered, I am not the brightest bulb in the pack!

My parents did it, as I was not a model pupil in the state school I was in, and the teachers had problems with every other kid to worry about an individuals needs. I will not leave the school to become another Steven Hawkins or the like, but then again, I will not leave without being able to read and write, like a small percentage of kids in State Schools do now.

[Sporadica]

i agree, they shouldn't be because me personally I'm conservative when it comes to private industry but I also like the socialist safety net.

I actually want the Canada Post to be privatized.

I really like competition because IMO the consumer has a better purchase when competition is in play

[Unique Physique]

While I understand that people in private schools do have a seemingly unfair disadvantage over those that go to comprehensives, I don't think they should be scrapped. They are independent businesses and if a parent has the money to send their child(ren) to a private school, then they should have the right to. At the end of the day, the important thing is the child gets an education, whether it's from a state funded school, a faith school or a private/grammar school.

Another thing is, most private schools offer scholarships to gifted students (academic or otherwise), so they pay no/reduced fees, so poor kids aren't always disadvantaged. Also, at the end of the day, colleges and universities do not care about what school you attend - they care about your grades and because there's a national curriculum all kids are tested to the same standard, so it's possible to go to a shithole comprehensive/state school and end up in Cambridge University or any other prestigious institution.