As a parent, it’s normal to want your child to get the best education that is available to them. However, sometimes, it’s not always feasible be it due to finances or grade point averages or something else entirely. You might think that you child should be in one of the top private schools in the country in order to give him or her the best opportunities at life. However, this isn’t necessarily true. Some of the top private schools end up having a poor turn out because the children who go there don’t appreciate what they have and spent the entire time partying and not studying. While there are so many benefits of private school education, there are several cons as well. Let’s look over a few of them before you rush to enroll your little one in a private preschool.
Advantages
- Smaller Classes
- More Parental Involvement
Private schools strongly encourage the parents to play a big part in their children’s education. They usually have a board consisting of various parents and teachers that meet together in order to discuss the school activities, curriculum and more in order to make sure that the children are getting every benefit possible. - Higher Academic Standards
One of the main advantages to private schools is that the bar is set higher, academically speaking. This might be a downfall as well but it does mean that the students have to push themselves harder and will be more challenged than in a public school setting. Some private schools require that their students meet more criteria and deadlines than public schools in order to keep up their grade point averages.
The benefit of smaller class sizes is that there is more opportunity for one on one time with the teacher. As he or she gets to know each of the students individually, they will be able to notice their strengths and weaknesses. Strengths can be encouraged and fed, while weaknesses can be worked on and overcome. It also means that there is less risk of bullying. The smaller the class, the less cliques will form, the more the classes will be separated accordingly and the less fighting and bullying will break out in general. There will also be less bullying because the teachers will be better able to look out for it in a smaller class.
Disadvantages
- Less Extra Curricular Activities
Even the top private schools of the country can tend to be lacking in sports and games clubs. Their focus is entirely academic and some can actually fail to see the importance of sports and things like that. This means that the children miss out on the team building activities that sports encourages. They may not get as much physical activity as public school children get either. - More Expensive
This is the main disadvantage for private schools. Public schools are usually free for the students to attend. Private schools not only cost money, they usually cost a lot of money. Some schools offer scholarships and grants for students to be able to go, based on their grade point averages but not all do. Private schools are, obviously, privately funded and so they need to be able to keep up the funds in order to keep the school open. Without government funding, the families of the students are responsible to pay for everything that the school does including tuition. - No Special Treatment
This is not really a pro or a con, but actually quite fair. Even so, it deserves to be mentioned. Many people incorrectly assume that having a private school on your resume is going to give you a leg up in the working world. However, this is not the case. Just because someone went to private school does not mean that they are going to be the best candidate for the job they are applying for.
So, as you can see, simply sending your child to the top private schools isn’t going to guarantee them a good education. It really depends on the child and how much they are willing to invest themselves into their studies. That’s where you can come in as a parent and help them to make sure they are not doing a disservice to themselves by tuning out of class and not finishing schoolwork on time.