Private Schools are hurting Public Schools

[larry]

The argument for private schools is that the education and athletics is better. Maybe the argument for public schools is that if Private schools didn't exist then public schools, and therefore the community, would be much better with the added support of those students/families/boosters/fundraisers.

[Antwan]

The argument for private schools is that the education and athletics is better. Maybe the argument for public schools is that if Private schools didn't exist then public schools, and therefore the community, would be much better with the added support of those students/families/boosters/fundraisers.

 

 

I think that is a valid point. The difference...I think...is that private schools are all relatively small schools. Small schools tend to have more support.

[larry]

I think that is a valid point. The difference...I think...is that private schools are all relatively small schools. Small schools tend to have more support.

 

And more influential parents. How much would 50 sets of supportive parents make in the typical public high school?

[Antwan]

And more influential parents. How much would 50 sets of supportive parents make in the typical public high school?

 

 

You're not going to have 50 extra sets of parents unless you add 50 players. That is not likely.

A great number of those kids wouldn't play at a larger school.

[westtnman]

The argument for private schools is that the education and athletics is better. Maybe the argument for public schools is that if Private schools didn't exist then public schools, and therefore the community, would be much better with the added support of those students/families/boosters/fundraisers.

 

 

 

If you HAD community schools, there would not be a need for private schools. When they took the schools out of the community to make sure that we were in "compliance", the private schools started were a necessity.

[Gocart]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Are privates hurting publics, or are some of the privates successful because the publics are/were hurting?

 

I have lived in areas where privates did not exist - those areas enjoyed strong local support for the public school system, and those public schools were perceived as doing a good job.

 

I do not intend to criticize public schools - I have had a long association with them and admire the coaches and teachers who work in public education, making a difference in the lives of kids. Rather than criticize, I only point out that not in all regions will the market support private schools. Those who have been affiliated with private education for a while know that for every successful private school there are several who tried to start up and did not make it. They evidently did not hurt the publics, or maybe there was no reason for the community to support / pay for a private school in that area at that time.

[CoachT]

Here is how I perceive it: we have a private school planned in Lawrence County, starting with grades 1-3 and adding one grade a year. It will be christian-oriented but I don't think it is a particular denomination. If it succeeds, and they eventually take, say, 100 students from the high school we will be worse for it. If you took 100 christian students out right now I and the rest of the school would miss those kids since they are exactly what we need more of, not less. That is what I think has happened in many areas of the state, mostly urban and suburban. Over a period of many years that is a lot of support gone.

[buc55]

If you HAD community schools, there would not be a need for private schools. When they took the schools out of the community to make sure that we were in "compliance", the private schools started were a necessity.

 

I agree fully in our area that is the case. We have no community schools anymore. We have kids bused in from all over the county. With the "No Child Left Behind". Most of our good cummunity and volunteer parents has taken their child and have gone to private schools.

[big red big blue]

Williamson County is full of private schools and the school system there (athletically and academically) is second to none. I would imagine that going forward a lot of those private schools will have to draw students from beyond Williamson County because it will be hard for families there to justify the cost of tuition when the free alternative is so good.

[fiftyfifty]

If you HAD community schools, there would not be a need for private schools. When they took the schools out of the community to make sure that we were in "compliance", the private schools started were a necessity.

 

Except for Catholic schools which have been in existence for hundreds of years. The reason for Catholic schools has nothing to do whatsoever with social situations in one century or another. As long as schools exist, there will be Catholic schools. A Catholic school has more tasks then just simply educating a child. And I could not disagree more with the theory that private schools are hurting public schools. There are various reasons why adding private school students to public schools would not work, one reason is that the public schools can not handle the number of students that they have now, much less the addition of thousands of students from private schools. Private schools will be here always. I still find it interesting how the topic starter didn't seem to be talking about a sports issue in particular, but the posts following are a mixture of social issues and sports. As I have posted many times, no issue can be discussed on this issue without covering all factors and there are dozens, not just sports. If fifty private school parents were to be added to a school of lets say two thousand, your result would probably be just a longer list of frustrated parents that are wondering if their tax dollars are being spent in the best way. This suggestion about parents also suggests that there is a great difference between private and public school parents, this is largely false. Most private school parents only want what every parent wants, the best education and chance for their children to be successful in life. If anybody thinks differently, then go and sit down in the middle of a group of private school parents and you will see that their conversation is usually dominated by talk of their children. I have had many pleasant conversations with parents from various public schools and there is no fundamental difference at all other than where our children attend school. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[Baldcoach]

Larry,

 

I would submit you have the cart before the horse. Most of the small privates are Christian schools that started because of a deep dissatisfaction with the anti-Christian direction much of public education was headed in. Note that most small privates are in or near major metro areas where the public schools perform very poorly, are crime ridden, and have little or no community identity left as kids from all over are bussed in.

 

The small privates are in large part an attempt in the cities to get the small school sense of community and values that the smaller rural schools have by virtue of their location. That is one reason why even though the TSSAA has punished them repeatedly they still cling to DI. Believe it or not as much as many of the small publics dislike the small privates, the small privates are much more similar to rural publics than they are to the elite preps or the larger metro publics. Similar kids, similar values. If I lived in a rural county I would happily let my children attend a small public school. I don't, and neither do 3.5 million other Tennesseeans. For some of us, the financial burden of tuition is well worth the safety, academic performance, sense of family, and religious values that small privates offer. None of that is available in our metro system. If you live in a rural area with small schools count yourself blessed, you get much of what we have to pay for for free.

[Antwan]

Larry,

 

I would submit you have the cart before the horse. Most of the small privates are Christian schools that started because of a deep dissatisfaction with the anti-Christian direction much of public education was headed in. Note that most small privates are in or near major metro areas where the public schools perform very poorly, are crime ridden, and have little or no community identity left as kids from all over are bussed in.

 

The small privates are in large part an attempt in the cities to get the small school sense of community and values that the smaller rural schools have by virtue of their location. That is one reason why even though the TSSAA has punished them repeatedly they still cling to DI. Believe it or not as much as many of the small publics dislike the small privates, the small privates are much more similar to rural publics than they are to the elite preps or the larger metro publics. Similar kids, similar values. If I lived in a rural county I would happily let my children attend a small public school. I don't, and neither do 3.5 million other Tennesseeans. For some of us, the financial burden of tuition is well worth the safety, academic performance, sense of family, and religious values that small privates offer. None of that is available in our metro system. If you live in a rural area with small schools count yourself blessed, you get much of what we have to pay for for free.

 

 

I agree with much of what you said...but it is not free. It is just less. /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />