Which school setting is more beneficial, Public or Private?

Which school setting is more beneficial, Pubic or Private school?



I have always wondered if a private school would be more beneficial than a public school. When I was in middle school I had the opportunity to go to Austin Prep, a catholic private school in my town, but I decided I didn't want to go because I wanted to go to high school with my friends. My brother is two years below me in school and when the opportunity came up for him, he took it and attended Austin Prep. He is now a senior and it was really interesting to compare our two educational experiences. Looking back personally, I would 100% go to a private school if I could make my decisions all over again. I had a learning disability in high school and I really don't believe my public school did the best on working through that with me. Also, the work load was significantly smaller at my high school than my brothers work load at Austin Prep. I think that Austin Prep really can prepare kids for the work in college and they get a little more experience in that area, whereas I feel as though I wasn't as prepared for the work load in college because I wasn't doing 2-3 hours of homework a night. I was doing 1 at the very most.

After doing some research on this topic I found out some interesting pros and cons of both Public and Private schools.(http://nyteachers.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/public-vs-private-schools-what-school-best-serves-a-childs-educational-needs-by-jennifer-johnson-keisha-adamson-kogle/)
In public school teachers are more qualified for their subject area. They also spend more time studying the CORE Curriculum, English, Math, Social Studies and Science. Public schools tend to have more services for learning disabilities. Some negative aspects of a public school are that they tend to have larger class sizes than private schools. They then lack the amount of supplies and text books needed. A big disadvantage of a public school is that they are not all created equal.
On the other hand, Private schools have smaller class sizes and a smaller teacher to student ratio. The teachers can be more dedicated to the student and the parents of that student which is a huge reason why parents like private schools. In private schools there are lower incidence of drugs, violence etc. Students that attend a private school tend to perform higher on the National Assessment of Education Process. Also, there are many courses offered that are college focused and just generally gets the students ready for college experiences.
There are some drawbacks of Private schools though. These schools are much more costly than public schools. The teachers are not required to have any special certifications. The admissions process is very competitive, unlike public schools where everyone can attend. In private schools some schools do not have any special education programs and are not required to.
Ultimately, the decision of going to a private vs. a public school is up to the parents and how well they think their child will do in either setting. It depends on the student them self. I agree that it really depends on the student. I think that private schools definitely get you physically and mentally more prepared for college.