Quoting ARLO J BENSINGER JR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > [Platt] > But private education has for the most part done a better job than public > schools... > > [Arlo] > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/15/education/15report.html?ex=1310616000&en=abe9690ed35b306f&ei=5088 > > WASHINGTON, July 14 â The Education Department reported on Friday that > children in public schools generally performed as well or better in reading > and > mathematics than comparable children in private schools. The exception was in > eighth-grade reading, where the private school counterparts fared better. > > The report, which compared fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores in > 2003 from nearly 7,000 public schools and more than 530 private schools, found > that fourth graders attending public school did significantly better in math > than comparable fourth graders in private schools. Additionally, it found that > students in conservative Christian schools lagged significantly behind their > counterparts in public schools on eighth-grade math. > > Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, the union for > millions of teachers, said the findings showed that public schools were "doing > an outstanding job" and that if the results had been favorable to private > schools, "there would have been press conferences and glowing statements about > private schools." > > "The administration has been giving public schools a beating since the > beginning" to advance its political agenda, Mr. Weaver said, of promoting > charter schools and taxpayer-financed vouchers for private schools as > alternatives to failing traditional public schools.
An encouraging report, but nevertheless rather narrow in scope, measuring just 4th and 8th graders in reading and math. From a broader perspective, private schools offer a number of educational advantages, described on the Private School Review website. Listed advantages are: A higher bar Student teacher ratio Potentially more funds A push toward college Community service and sense of values Discipline and safety Of particular interest to both Arlo and me is art eduction. In this respect: "Private schools have the ability to create their own curriculum. Although, they must ultimately prepare students with the same basic course as any other school, private schools also have the option to add various elements to their programs. Private school administrators often develop programs that emphasize the Arts, perhaps more so than local public schooling options. Schools may choose to produce elaborate plays and musicals, giving students unique opportunities to explore their talents and express themselves. Government regulations on public schools prevent them from spending more than a certain percentage of school funds on the Arts. Private schools, however, are not subject to the same regulations, and they have more freedom to develop and expand these programs as they wish. Some private schools may even offer filmmaking or video production courses which are opportunities normally reserved for college students." This and other benefits of private schools can be found at: http://www.privateschoolreview.com/why-private-schools.php ------------------------------------------------- This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/ moq_discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
