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Some differences are: First of all, tuition. Private school can cost A LOT of money. Public school is free. Secondly, private schools usually have smaller class sizes and more teachers. The buildings and facilities are usually nicer, too, since they get money from the tuitions. Thirdly, private schools do not have to teach from a "set" curriculum. Public schools usually cover more basic stuff, and private schools can teach what they want. Public school kids tend to end up taking many more standardized tests. And lastly, your kid can just go to a public school without a real application process. For a private school, they must have a interview, the parents must have an interview, the family gets a tour of the school, the school needs to know lots of information like the child's grades from previous years, if the child is older, they might even need teacher recommendations, etc.

Private schools are better in my opinion. I went to private school and now my kids do. I like it better for two reasons. First of all, the class size. When you're in a class with 30 kids and 1 teacher, it can be hard to get your voice heard. And secondly, we looked at our local public school when deciding if our oldest son would go to a public or a private school, and the public school could not compare to the private school in terms of design and cleanliness. BUT, some public schools are known as being quite academically challenging, and if we couldn't afford private school, we'd try to find a public school like that for our kids.

The tuition...its A TON. They say it takes 250,000 dollars to raise one kid...well, I'll have five soon and that's a lot of years of tuition...the tuition for all five kids from ages 0-18 will be WAY, WAY more than $250,000...*wince*. But it's worth it, in my book. I love their schools.

That really depends on the kid.

:)

I went to private school as child, and my children have gone to both private and public school. I don't think that one is better than the other. It really depends on the family, the child, the learning style and many more factors. So, it's not which is better, but which is better for that child or family. Private school tuition is 'worth it' in many ways, because you're paying for what may often be an enriched curriculum, better facilities, and teachers with more advanced credentials (many private schools have teachers with Masters and PhD degrees whereas public school teachers have Bachelors Degrees).

I don't think that a school can affect whether a child is 'smarter' or not. They are who they are, and each child has their own unique capabilities. The ideal situation is to find a school that finds those talents and helps the child to be the best they can be-whether it's in the arts, sports, math or english.

Here is a good explanation of the difference between public & private schools: http://www.ourkids.net/private-schools-versus-publ...

Ok so I may be 13 but i've been to both, and I would know. At public schools they are a lot bigger and this means one thing. Less attention. If you are struggling, they might not help you as much as a private school. One other pro, it's free. It really depends on you're district. In private school you get a lot of attention because there are not as many kids. One con, SOME kids are very spoiled and entitled. Try looking at some Catholic schools because the church donates so much it is cheaper. Go to private school early because it will be more competitive to get in in high school. Do what is right for your kids!!

I went to private school until 5th grade and then public school until I graduated.

In private school, I learned a lot more and was ahead of public school kids. We only had about 10 kids in each grade so we all got a LOT of attention. But, the kids in the school were not diverse, they were all white, upper class, religious kids and I was in class with the same kids every year. We also had to wear uniforms, girls had to wear skirts passed the knee and boys had to wear blazers and ties (and could not have hair longer than about 3 inches). Of course, not all private schools are small and not all have strict dress codes, that really depends on where you go, but one thing I did not like about private school was that it is near impossible to find a non-religious one and me and my sister were not Christian and I didn't agree or like what I was taught, though my parents were very Christian so we had to go.

In public school, teachers are very bad at teaching and will pass kids who don't understand the course just so they won't "get in trouble" with the head counsel or furious parents. I don't think I learned much of anything useful in my years of public school and with 3000 kids in my school, it's easy for issues to be ignored. I did love the socialization and the diversity though, it made me less socially awkward like I was in private school, which helps me with dealing with people in the real world, and I loved being able to freely express my beliefs and wear what I was comfortable in.