Public vs Private Schools

Should you enroll your child in a public or private elementary school?  Let’s investigate our nation’s schools, the US schools, to help you with your decision.  Enrolling your child will, of course, cost you.  However, the real question before us at this time is the cost you will have to pay worth it. 


If your children attend a private school, their classes will be smaller than those of a public school.  The facilities of private schools are also much nicer.  However, private schools also have additional advantages. 

Advantages a Private School Offers

·      

    Private schools have a lower student to teacher ratio.  A lower student to teacher ratio means your child will get more attention than he or she would receive in a public school.  

·      Students have fewer problems with discipline in a private school.  One reason for this is that students attending a private school usually have a strong desire to learn.  In addition, a private school frequently has a code of conduct.  Knowing a consistent code of conduct guarantees that the student will always behave properly.

·      Parent involvement is always welcome in private schools.  In preschool and the early elementary grades, parent involvement in the form of suggestions for the classroom is taken very seriously.  After all, if parents don’t like the way classes are run, they will bring their children to another school.

   

·      Teachers in private schools don’t have to be certified.  If they aren’t certified, are they required to be college graduates?  No, they aren’t.  Are they trained to teach students that learn differently?  No, they aren’t. 

·      Private schools don’t have to teach students to prepare for government tests.  Therefore, your child’s teacher won’t be required to teach him or her what is on the test.  Instead, your child will be given experiences that will prepare him or her to think independently instead.

·      The academic standards are higher in private schools than those of public schools.

·      Culture including both the arts and music has a greater emphasis in private schools.

·      Options to board are offered at some private schools.

U.S. Department of Education Predictions 

In spite of the above advantages of private schools, the predictions are that by 2021 there will be fewer students enrolled in private schools.  Over the past 15 years, 12 percent of students in Kindergarten to grade 12 has reduced to 10 percent.  Furthermore, the prediction of the U.S. Department of Education is that the Kindergarten to grade 12 student enrollments in private schools will decrease further to 9 percent by 2021. 

In Conclusion

Let’s look at the facts.  The National Center for Education Statistics reports that as many as 50 million students are currently enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. 

Private schools offer so much more to their students.  The classes of private schools are smaller assuring you that your child will have more individualized attention.  In private schools, you may believe your child will be offered more cultural courses in art and music.

However, the biggest advantage of public schools is that they are totally free.  In addition, some public schools such as charter schools also offer some of the same advantages as private schools.  They are exempt from the regulations usually required of public schools and their curriculum is more varied as well.  All of this is possible without their charging tuition. 

If high academic standards are what you seek for your children, perhaps you should consider magnet schools, but they do charge competitive admissions like private schools.  The class sizes of magnet schools are larger than those of private schools.  Likewise, their curriculums are lacking flexibility.  They must also follow the rules and regulations required by the bureaucratic red tape demanded by the government.

However, remember public schools are totally free since they don’t charge any tuition.  Also, public schools offer special education programs for students with learning disabilities, and the teachers in public schools are state-certified.  Remember, in spite of the advantages of private schools, the enrollment of students attending them is predicted to decline.

Should your children attend private or public schools?  The choice is yours.  It may depend on your income.  You may prefer they are educated with students with a more diverse background.

Things You Can Do When Your Child Has a Meltdown

Observe, Observe, Observe

Is your child having a meltdown or is he or she having a tantrum?  The two may look the same, but there are differences.  When your child is upset, you don’t know which it is.  Look for clues and observe your child, and you’ll know whether it is a meltdown or a tantrum.

What is a tantrum?  

Does your child want or need something?  If so, he or she is having a

tantrum.  The child is demonstrating to get the item he or she wants.  

This type of behavior is common for toddlers and preschoolers. 

Because they lack the language to express themselves, they  

demonstrate.  Once they have developed their language, their tantrums

become less often.

However, some children get frustrated easily beyond the toddler stage. 

It is difficult for them to control their emotions.  There are many

reasons they will demonstrate with a tantrum.  Perhaps, he or she is

angry because you’re giving his or her sister more attention.  If he or

she can’t score in a baseball game, he or she may demonstrate with a

tantrum. 

Toddlers can control their emotions if they want to.  Sometimes, a child

may suddenly stop demonstrating long enough to check that he or she

has your attention.

The child’s tantrum may stop if one of the following happens.  When

the child realizes he’s not going to get his or her way, the tantrum may

suddenly stop.  Two other possibilities might be that the child gets what

he was demonstrating about or he or she may realize that acting out

won’t get him or her what he or she wants.

What is a Meltdown?  

The little girl above is in a classroom, but she’s suffering from sensory

overload.  In other words, she’s suffering from sensory overload.  When

a child has too much information from their senses, sights such as a

bright light, loud sound such as loud music, various textures around

them, or sour tastes, they will be overwhelmed by his or her senses.  A

meltdown is surely going to occur.  The cause of a meltdown of a small

child is usually a sensory overload. 

A meltdown may be confused with a tantrum.  A tantrum of a toddler is

caused by the toddler wanting something.  Whereas, a meltdown may

appear to be a tantrum, but it isn’t.  The toddler just can’t deal with too

much sensory input, and the result is a meltdown.

Special Needs Children

“Why?”, you might ask yourself.  Why does my child have so many

meltdowns?  If you understand your child’s special needs, you most

likely know the answer.  A special needs child’s life is more difficult than

that of the average child.  Understanding his or her special needs will

help.

·      Autism:  Autism causes a child to learn differently.  Sometimes, an autistic child can’t communicate due to his or her language difficulty.  An autistic child finds it hard to interact with people.  Often, an autistic child will react with a meltdown due to his or her not being able to communicate his or her feelings.

·      Asperger’s Syndrome: Asperger’s syndrome is a form of autism.  However, a child diagnosed having Asperger’s syndrome has difficulty with social skills, but he or she is said to be high functioning in intelligence.  He or she may perform some behaviors over and over again due to his or her having an obsessive focus.  He or she may also find writing and talking difficult.

·      Dyslexia: Dyslexia is a learning disability.  Children suffering with this learning disability have problems with language and communication.  Most parents don’t recognize this problem until the child enters school.

·      Tourette’s Syndrome: Tourette’s syndrome hinders a child’s ability to communicate.  It is difficult for a child to communicate because his or her nervous system causes sudden little movements called tics.  The child can’t control the tics. 

Notice all these conditions make it difficult for a child to communicate.  Therefore, it’s easy to understand that any of the above conditions would make communication difficult for a child.  No wonder, a child must become frustrated when he or she can’t communicate.  Not being able to communicate problems certainly must make a child’s life unbearable.