Thread: Does private school teacher feel happier than public school

I used to teach at a private school. I LOVED my job. Now I teach at a public school, and, well, um... not loving it so much.

The pros of a private school are basically that you spend more time teaching and less time disciplining. That's not to say that private school kids never misbehave, but if kids at my old school behaved the way my public school students behave on a daily basis, they were thrown out of school and not invited to return. In addition, the private school I taught at had a fairly tough entrence exam, so we didn't have the kinds of discipline problems that come from students misbehaving out of a simple lack of academic interest or ability. Finally, since parents are paying to send their kids to school, the parents who send their kids to private school tend to be educated and involved - all of which adds up to good students. I was teaching the kids who were the most fun to teach, no doubt, because they liked learning and came from backgrounds that supported education.

The problem with private schools is basically the fact that private schools are less democratic. I think the work of public schools is important - all children, bright or not, well-mannered or not, deserve an education.

On a less idealistic level, the other problem with private school is money. Private schools generally pay significanly less than public schools do.

Well Magic, I teach in a parochial school. What Mrs. D said, holds true for me and not. I would say I do spend less time on paperwork, but not discipline. It may be the principal, who doesn't back the teachers.

Having been an exclusive sub for 2 years in public school middle school, I will say the support services were necessary and available. There are none, zero, zip in parochial schools. ISS would involve the office, not happening, so there are no repercussions to 'writing kids up.' The kids that need IEP's, well it's up to the teachers, only 2 besides myself are capable of implementing.

On the positive side, we are able to teach to our classes, not 'one size fits all.' I call my curriculum and am able to adjust for how rigorous or modified it needs to be. I am able to make it so that kids are able to succeed and be challenged.

I teach in a parochial school. This is what I find in my school as opposed to the public schools in my area:

PROS:
fewer discipline problems
smaller classes
majority of parents are supportive'
Although we follow all state guidelines and take the state tests, we do not have the stress involved with high stakes testing
More freedom in determining how to teach as long as we meet or excede expectations
Can share my faith

CONS
significantly lower pay
Very little state or federal funding
Often expected to "fix" what the public schools couldn't (parochial/private is NOT synonomous with "miracle workers")

SAME
Wide range of abilities in each class
We have a half time SPED teacher
Follow all state requirements as far as certification
Give all state tests

The above is MY experience iand does not reflect the experience of all private school teachers

The private schools in my area pay exactly the same as public schools. They had to-- they were losing their teachers. They also offer similiar benefits. I know this isn't true in all places, but is worth checking out. I attended privates schools as a student and my son attends a private Montessori school. I'd be interested in teaching in a private school just to experience an alternative to the public-cookie cutter-one size fits all-teach to the test education system. I'd like to teach in a school with an interesting philosophy.

I've heard from my former teachers that teaching in a private school can be more emotionally draining. You know the kids better, plus at my school we had 2 week long camping trips, plus lots of other staff-student activities. Some teachers prefer the distance between the students/staff at a larger school.

I taught in the international schools (private American schools abroad) for eight years and loved it. After coming back to the states, I found that I couldn't readjust to teaching in the public schools.

I went from having kids who were on or above grade level from two parent upper middle class families of professionals who supported their schools to having children who were below grade level. Most of my students came from broken homes. Their parent or guardian was sometimes unemployed and less than enthusiastic about supporting me as a classroom teacher.

"So you gotta problem with the way my child behaves? What's that to me? You're the teacher. Deal with it!"

After three years I gave up. I'm now working as the opening shift manager (5AM to 3:15 PM) of a popular restaurant chain. The pay is roughly equivalent to what I made as a teacher - but I don't take paperwork home with me and my days off are my days off.

I thought about teaching in the private schools here in the states - but in general, the salary and benefits cannot compare with what I made as a public school teacher. By the time I thought about switching over the private schools, I was so sick of teaching to the tests and dealing with kids who didn't care about learning that I really didn't put a lot of effort into looking for a job in the private schools.

It has now been six years since I left the field of education and I have no regrets about leaving the public schools.

This is not to say that I look down about teachers who continue to work in our nation's schools. Far from it. I respect my former colleagues for their hard work and dedication.

I taught in the public schools for a total of 9 years. My public school experience includes a five year stint at an inner city school in Austin.

I'm sorry to say that my overseas experience ruined me. I loved making the transition from an inner city public school to an overseas private school. The children in my overseas classroom loved to learn. Their parents were frequently eager to help their child learn and grow. It was easy to go from an inner city school to a private school where creativity and strong academic progress was prized.

It was much harder to go back.

When I reached the point that I realized that my work as a teacher was simply no longer any fun, I opted out.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Recently I think about teaching in a private school a lot. However I heard that in private schools parents are very demanding. Is that the case?

I have done both (currently at a private school) and it is my experience that the parents are much more involved, but I dont think demanding is the word I would use. There are demanding parents in any system. Most families that attend our school sacrifice for their kids to be a part, so they do tend to want to make sure they are getting what they are supposed to be getting.

Although each system has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, I still prefer to teach in the private school setting.

On the whole, I think parents of children in private schools are more involved with the education of their children. Since they're also paying tuition, I think they're looking for a reasonable "return" on their investment.

This is not to say that all parents of children in private schools will always be supportive. This is also not to say that parents of children enrolled in public schools are not supportive.

I've had parents who paid $7500 or more in tuition for their child tell me that it's not "their job" to make sure their children do their homework or study for their tests.

I've also had parents of children in public school ask me what they can do to help their kids develop better reading skills.

There are all types of people in this world. While working in the public schools, I once had parents demand an accounting of the grades their child had received on his last report card. They literally wanted to review every graded assignment in my grade book with regards to date and time while cross indexing this with my lesson plans to make sure that the assignments were "appropriate" to the lesson being taught.

I offered to give the parents a chronological list of their child's grades but declined to give them access to my lesson plans. Since it was 6:45 PM on a Friday night and the parents had popped by as I was headed out towards the parking lot, I also offered to schedule an appointment to discuss this at another time.

The father told me that he was a "tax paying citizen" and reminded me that I was a "public servant." The mother sniffed and literally said, "Well ... I NEVER!" They subsequently stormed off to the office which surprise-surprise was closed for the day.

(sigh)

I went to a privates school when I was in high school. The best teachers ended up teaching at the public school for more money, or went into private business. Only the nuns or those who were single stayed on.

"Alternative" schools in my region are an interesting story. If you teach for the state and have an M.A., you are making close to $40,000. If you teach at the privatefacility, you ear earning $25,000.

Schools are different by region, the only private ones that have comparable pay in my state are in Omaha or Lincoln. Outside of those areas, private teachers are poorly compensated and have little rights in regards to "due process" and education association representation.