Is a Public School the Right Choice for Your Child?

Is public school the right choice for your child? That is a question that a lot of parents are asking themselves nowadays. Parents are finding themselves looking for an alternative to public school given all the violence and bullying that is popping up in public schools, the funding cuts and the believe that teachers are focusing their teaching on what is going to be on a standardized test. There is some validity to these concerns; however the reports of violence and bullying are over emphasized in the news. Make sure that you are getting accurate information on the violence present in the schools located in your area and how your district handles bullying behavior because there are probably as many ways of dealing with bullies as there are districts in the United States. Don’t rely on the information reported on television or the information provided by the district. Get your information from parents and students already attending the school your child is zoned to attend. It is also important to understand that bullying occurs in charter and private schools as well.

I don’t believe that there is as much teaching to the test as is reported. If your child attends school in a state that has standardized testing each year, it is important to understand that these test were developed to ascertain whether your child has learned the concepts that they were to have learned in that year of schooling. Having said that, I have run into some teachers in the public school system in the twelve years that I was working there that I would classify as teaching to the test, but they are few and far between.

There are several benefits to choosing a public school over any other school choice. One that you may not have considered is the number of different classes that they can choose to take at the middle school and high school level. Depending upon their interests they may have the opportunity to take classes in photography, specialized art classes, woodworking, theater, mechanics, band, orchestra, and electronics to name just a few. Be sure to research what your district has to offer.

If your child has a special need such as a learning difficulty, speech or language delays, autism, low ability or emotional difficulties, the public school provides support that other types of schools cannot provide. Charter schools do provide some support for these difficulties but not to the extent that a public school provides them.

Public schools have access to many different types of technology that other types of schools cannot provide for their students. Most public schools have several computer labs which provide students access to programs like movie maker, Google map, and educational games that help support what the students are learning. In addition, they can share information and interact with students all over the world instantly. In our technology driven society, this type of access may be very important to your child’s future.

As you can see it is most important to do your research when picking out the right school for your child. Be sure to consider what your child’s needs are and which type of school best meets those needs.

Picking the Right School for Your Child

One of the most important decisions that parents have to make is what type of school to send their child to. The choices available today are numerous. There is public, private, magnet, charter, virtual and home-schooling options. Every month it seems that there are new options available, and all the options seem to have their benefits and their drawbacks. I will be exploring each of these options in a series of postings to assist you in making this important decision. I feel fairly confident that I can speak on the pros and cons of attending public school, and I will be seeking out the advice of other parents and educators who know more than I do about the other options that are available. In addition to the generalized information provided in these postings, I hope that you will do your research on the schools in your area by talking to parents and children who are already attending the school and finding out how the school is doing compared to other schools nearby. The statistics on schools can typically be accessed through the State’s Department of Education and most schools are more than willing to give you a tour of their facility. Do not take it as a bad sign if the tour is conducted when there are no students in the building, many schools have adopted this policy to ensure the safety of their current students.

It is very important to keep in mind the stregnths and weaknesses of your child when picking out the right school. Not every child fits into every school setting, and finding the school that is the best fit for your child may be the difference between academic success and failure. If you are not sure of how your child learns, Howard Gardner's books on Multiple Intelligences may be a good place to start.