With the activity on Tuesday I was very surprised how alike we all were....except me. I am the only one with such a different schooling background. I was surprised that I was the only one who had experienced a Private school. I know that in all of our classes we are learning to teach in public school and essentially be the best teacher we can, and I want to teach in a public school, but I feel that Private schooling is looked down on, as well as homeschooling. With that said...of course I felt judged, but at the same time I am proud of the diverse schooling opportunities that I was apart of. I want to know what everyone thinks about private school. I think that the Private school I attended is rare amongst private institutions. We had many kids there on scholarships and a lot of faculty kids (like me). There were several students that were at least in the lower half of middle class income attending there. I feel that most responses are going to automatically be the negative side of Private schooling, so stop and think and write some positives too.

Natalie, I also went to private school. I did not go to a regular private school, but a christian private school, but still in very many ways very much like several other nonchristian private schools. I also want to begin teaching in a public school, but also agree that many people often look down on private schooling. I also agree that many people think that private school kids are spoiled, that we don't have a real experience in schools, etc. I think this may be the case with some, however, not all. I also had diverse opportunities in private school but was still taught the fundamentals of working hard, becoming successful by hard work, etc. I feel that there are definite pros to private school, but at the same time, I feel that there are pros to public schooling as well. I am not saying that one is better than the other, but that they both have pros and cons depending on the student.

In my opinion private schools fit some students and are a misfit for others. It all depends on the learner's needs. Of course financial needs could be a concern for anyone attending a private school, but there are plenty of methods to obtain those needs. One other way that a student can attend these elite private schools are athletics. There are schools around the country that are well known for their athletics and recruit these athletes and give scholarships.

I agree Cory Private schools are a good fit for some students and not for others. I also think financial need can be overcome if a private school is where a student needs to be and cost is a concern. As far as education goes I think it's what you make of it were you are. I don't have a problem with public or private as long as the student benefits.

Exactly Lloyd, public or private if the student benefits from the environment they are in, then it's a success.

I think a lot of people are just scared of the unknown, and seeing how most of our class went to public school, we all seem a little skeptical of private school. Whether this is true or not, it at least comes off this way in class. I know from my own experiences, many of my friends and fellow teammates were recruited to play sports at private schools or their parents wanted them there for college scouts. Unfortunately, the only other reason anyone I know has chosen to go to private school is because they were no longer welcome in our public school for misbehavior. I have never had anyone close to me choose to go to a private school for academic reasons. I'm not saying this doesn't happen; I'm just saying that in my experience, it has only been for athletic reasons or behavioral issues. Maybe this has to do with the area I am from. But to continue with Natalie's question, I am also curious about the positive things people have to say about private school. What are some reasons students should choose private over public schools?

I would think that parents choose private schools over public because there may be more structure to them. Structure as in maybe less disruptions that public schools have i.e. fights, crowds, and some temptations such as drugs. A student may choose a private school because of scouting whereas in the public high school he/she may be attending they know they will not get any attention. This was a case I knew about that personally happened. 10th grade, a guy transferred to a private school because our school got no love from college scouts. I really don't see the big fuss in private and public. If you want to and can afford it go to private. If you can't, public is just fine. I had several friends that went to private and we never really discussed why they went there but it didn't infringe on our friendships. In some ways I feel like its just variety and people can make choices.

Some public schools are very well structured in my opinion; however, some public schools aren't. I suppose it depends on the school district the family falls into that causes the parent to consider a private school over a public one due to organization and structure. I feel like there are some benefits to both types of schools, but they vary with the students.

I will say that I have never personally known anyone who went to an accredited private school, but I had a lot of friends from my church that went to unaccredited private schools. I remember always being impressed with some of the things that those students were learning and it seemed to me that their learning was put more into their hands. I would also say, that for those students, the private school that they attended was in their best interest and they did much better there than they had in a traditional public school. The only downside to those friends I had was that they didn't take classes that a lot of college bound students take, and some didn't get into the colleges that they had hoped for, and some got to college and were just unprepared. I think that these are most likely isolated situations, but it makes me question what goes on in private schools. I think that there are probably a lot of private schools that provide equal or better education than public schools.

I come from a very unique situation in that my brother and I are the only children on my mother’s side of the family that did not go to a private school. There are a few reasons my uncles and aunts decided to enroll their children in private school, the number one reason being that they thought the public school was not good enough for their children. I can honestly say that is the truth because my aunts have tried to talk my mom into enrolling my brother in the private school so that he will be able to learn more and not have to deal with students and teachers that don’t care about education. This really offended me because I got a great education from a public school and I am going to teach in a public school. Now I know that not all parents place their children in private school for that reason, but SOME do. I just thought it was a little funny when my cousin tried to get into Appalachian and was wait-listed and I got in and also got a good scholarship. So sometimes a private school education doesn’t always pay off. Let’s just say my aunt didn’t think this was comical.