Private school vs public school

General Forum
1

I had a terrible experience in school, and I’m worried that my kids or close relatives might face the same issues. Although I attended a bad school, I’m unsure how much of my negative experience was due to the specific school and how much was because it was a public school.

The school I attended was rife with racism. An entire month was dedicated to blaming my ancestors for everyone else’s problems. The behavior among students was atrocious, and the teachers were either lazy, incompetent, or completely overwhelmed by the chaotic environment. The quality of education was so poor that I received zero support in my senior year. For example, I took precalculus but never learned what it even was because it was never properly explained. And it gets much worse from there.

I don’t want my kids to go through the same ordeal, but I’m not sure what is considered ‘normal’ in schools.

2

You should talk to other parents at the schools in your area to get honest feedback.

Our daughter’s first public school was really bad. We took her out in the third week of first grade and switched her to a very small, non-religious private school (from pre-K to 8th grade). The private school was great for her early years. However, when she reached 6th grade, we moved her to a different public school than the first one. The private school had only 12 kids per class, and the teachers were very supportive academically. But as she got older, we felt she needed more social interaction and to learn to be more responsible and independent. She’s almost done with her first year in public school now and she loves it.