What’s the Difference Between Public and Private Schooling?

Georgia Whalley

There are many differences between the public schooling system and the private schooling system. People, especially parents, should try to educate themselves on the separate ways of schooling when deciding where to send a student.

Private schooling requires tuition, and tuition can be very expensive, some can be tens of thousands of dollars. Depending on where you live, it can get more expensive due to districts and competition in the area. After tuition, you have to consider the possible religious beliefs of a school. Some schools can have aspects of faith and teach classes based on faith-based learning, while others don’t involve religion at all. Private schools, being funded by tuition rather than the government, can have religion as big part of schools, even adding extra classes about the faith.

It is common for private schools to have longer days to incorporate both regular schooling curriculum as well as extra courses not provided in public schools. Private schools can have very lengthy application processes, as they don’t have to accept every student. An application can be anything from previous schooling to testing. Because of the ability to deny applications, the classes tend to be smaller and for a lot of students, this can be an easier environment to work in.

Public schooling can be vastly different based on the area the school is located. Some public schools struggle with funding, having to cut unnecessary spending such as extracurriculars. This leads to some schools, in poorer areas, to stop funding programs involving music, theatre, art and sports. Public school is also required to accept every student, no application process necessary.

A lot of public schools are overcrowded which can cause a lot of confusion. The lack of one-on-one time can be frustrating for both students and teachers. Classrooms sometimes have very old textbooks or supplies that need replacing, but funding can’t cover everything.

Public schools give their students more freedom to be involved, instead of the strict schedule you regularly find in private schools. They can have clubs, sports and other activities. Public schools give students a chance to fundraise money, and feel like they’ve contributed to their education and school.