Private V Public Schools in Australia

[ali]

My daughter did an internship from Uni at an independent school here and they were the hosts of the Perth heat of a world scholars debate. My daughter was an adjudicator at the event and her observations during the down time were that the worst behaved pupils were actually from one of the more prestigious private schools.

[KLO]

My son goes to a public primary school. I work in a non-denominational, co-ed private school. If I had the money I would move him here in a heartbeat. Resources are better. Teachers and school leaders are so much more accountable. When I met with my son's public school principal yesterday to express my concerns over the fact that the year 1 teacher doesn't follow the curriculum or teach maths, I asked her if next year my child could be put into a class with a modern teacher who meets his needs and challenges him. Her response, "if only I had a magic wand". WHAT??? It shouldn't be an unrealistic wish for kids to be educated in line with modern teaching best practise, but unfortunately in the state system they can't sack teachers and there's minimal accountability. It's a sad truth. I know this won't be a popular opinion, and I totally support the theory of public education (and also don't want to send my kids to religious school, like the much more affordable Catholic system), but there are definitely FLAWS in the state education system.

[Tina2]

I am interested to see what happens next year when the new "coding and robotics" is supposed to be introduced to every state primary along with an asian language.

 

Kids are not coping now, teachers cant fit in everything the kids are supposed to learn, some schools are already cutting out PE so as to fit other things in. Where are all these new teachers going to come from ?? What will happen at private schools where parent struggle to pay fees, if all the private schools dont also introduce Coding and Robotics into primary ? Will they move there children over to state education ? If so how will state schools that are already bursting at the seams cope ?

 

Interesting times ahead.

[starlight7]

To my mind the biggest flaw in the state school system, apart from the lack of facilities and equipment in many, is that they fail to get rid of the really bad teachers and they fail to get rid of the really disruptive pupils . If you are lucky your local school will have neither but if not- well they can both drag the level down a lot. My husband coached a young girl who had an appalling maths teacher at the local state school who taught them more or less nothing in Year 11 and every one knew it- but nothing was ever done despite numerous loud and written complaints. Just wouldn't happen in the private system.

[HappyHeart]

To my mind the biggest flaw in the state school system, apart from the lack of facilities and equipment in many, is that they fail to get rid of the really bad teachers and they fail to get rid of the really disruptive pupils . If you are lucky your local school will have neither but if not- well they can both drag the level down a lot. My husband coached a young girl who had an appalling maths teacher at the local state school who taught them more or less nothing in Year 11 and every one knew it- but nothing was ever done despite numerous loud and written complaints. Just wouldn't happen in the private system.

 

That happened to my daughter (with Maths) at the local 'good' public school. The teacher was truly appalling and had no strategies to help or advice to offer at parent evening. Next year she got a great teacher and grades went up but by then she'd already been placed down a set and damage was done, disinterest consolidated.

[Sammy1]

I am interested to see what happens next year when the new "coding and robotics" is supposed to be introduced to every state primary along with an asian language.

 

Kids are not coping now, teachers cant fit in everything the kids are supposed to learn, some schools are already cutting out PE so as to fit other things in. Where are all these new teachers going to come from ?? What will happen at private schools where parent struggle to pay fees, if all the private schools dont also introduce Coding and Robotics into primary ? Will they move there children over to state education ? If so how will state schools that are already bursting at the seams cope ?

 

Interesting times ahead.

 

There won't be new teachers as such (despite the fact there are thousands of teachers nationwide without jobs). The school budgets are set in stone depending on the number of students, the number with special needs and the number who are Indigenous.

Teachers just have to get on with it and teach it 'all'. If a school has a a number of Indigenous students then they automatically receive a boost in funding, if there are students from low SES backgrounds, then again funding is increased. The really funny thing is that the 'low SES' students in Perth, often come from mining families that are very wealthy, but the background info they fill in when they enroll their child determines what SES they get put into! It is a flawed system.

 

Not many people realise how different the private schools are in terms of funding compared to the UK. Private Australian schools receive a HUGE amount of funding from the government, really a very contentious issue. Private schools are in the perfect position to offer the courses as they receive both fees from parents and funds from the government!

 

There are specialists in primary school and they teach subject areas such as art, music, science, LOTE and phys ed. Coding and robotics can very easily be introduced into primary school, it may well be that the science specialist will take that role on as well. There are many links between high schools also, that encourage the students to visit and complete studies there.

 

However, classroom teachers really do have enough already to do and are under immense pressure to be all things to all people.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Sammy1

[mariewellu]

My two boys started out in state schools as we were on a 457, we was not so happy with the school there was a lot of poor teachers who didn't want to be there. My eldest moved up to high school, we we happy with the school as they did have strict rules but the students were very disruptive, once we got PR we moved both boys into private! Best thing we ever did they are coming on leaps and bounds with not bad behaviour tolerated. They do get a good amount of home work but they either stay behind and study in the library or get it done as soon as they get home to enable them free time in the evening.

[Gough Whitlam]

My children went to both private and grammar schools in the UK. They were all very good however I have a feeling that government schools in the UK have improved out of sight in recent years. Perhaps others might have a view on this? In London I am sure they have improved out of sight. I wonder if UK government schools are not on a par, if not better than Australian government schools?

[fish.01]

My two boys started out in state schools as we were on a 457, we was not so happy with the school there was a lot of poor teachers who didn't want to be there. My eldest moved up to high school, we we happy with the school as they did have strict rules but the students were very disruptive, once we got PR we moved both boys into private! Best thing we ever did they are coming on leaps and bounds with not bad behaviour tolerated. They do get a good amount of home work but they either stay behind and study in the library or get it done as soon as they get home to enable them free time in the evening.

 

Yes, unfortunately hard to know for sure as this anecdote could have been the other way around as while on average private may rank higher, there is still a great mix throughout the rankings with many private below many govt schools.

[Sustain]

Yes it is difficult to have to send your child/children to an under performing school but some of us have no choice really. With lots of support in the home environment children can do well even if attending a so called bad school however it's not ideal and given a choice we would not have done so.

 

Yes agree with the home environment and this extends to all schools good and bad. Its better to back up the teachers hard work with reinforcement at home.

 

Even within a bad school or a posh private school you can run the risk of a bad teacher

 

Our experiences:

Public - teacher very lazy and gave the kids sweets to keep them under control

Private - unfortunate teacher sickness in another class disrupted their learning over 2 terms

[Skani]

Yes, unfortunately hard to know for sure as this anecdote could have been the other way around as while on average private may rank higher, there is still a great mix throughout the rankings with many private below many govt schools.

 

Yes, I noticed the school rankings published in New South Wales recently showed the top 7 schools as government high schools.

 

Government schools are obliged by law to educate all children, so it is much more difficult for them to get rid of disruptive students.

Also, the modern trend to integrate special needs children into mainstream schools has placed extra stress on many government schools. While it may be a very noble ideal, the reality is that most governments don't provide the necessary funding and resources to do this properly....and this places an unfair burden on teachers not receiving adequate support.