Public vs. Private School

There are many differences and some similarities in public and private schools. I have attended both a public and private school, and I preferred going to a public school rather than a private. There are many reasons why I enjoyed going to a public school rather than a private, and that is because they have so many differences. There are a few similarities though. Some of those differences and similarities would be how the school is funded, rules, class size, and transportation.

            The biggest difference between a public and private school is how they are funded. Public schools are most of the time funded by the state and the government. Private schools are funded by paying a tuition. The nicer the private school is the higher the tuition that you have to pay. Most of the time private schools are independent and aren’t interfered by the public. Private schools depend on their own funding, which comes from tuition, grants, and donations. Since public schools are funded by the government, it is free to go to and anybody can attend if you are in the school’s district. If you attend a private school, you can live wherever you want. 

            There are different rules you have to follow at private school. For example, most of the time you have to wear the school’s uniforms, keep your shirt tucked in, wear white socks, and a belt. On the other hand, at public schools you can just about wear anything you want to. It just can’t have profanity on it and girls can’t wear revealing clothing. My personal experience, I always felt that teachers at private schools are way more strict than public schools. For instance, my friend was on his phone and the teacher saw him and automatically took it from him with no warning or anything. They also told us not get on our phones at lunch, which I thought was absurd. While at a public school, it is way more laid back. I felt like at the private school, I attended, the administration was always trying to find a reason to start something. Other than the dress code rules, all the other rules are basically the same. For example, no bullying, plagiarism, using profanity, etc.

            Another difference is class size. Most public schools have way more people attending them than private schools. There are usually around 30 students to a classroom at a public school. While at a private school, there are around 15 students and sometimes less than that. The hallways at a public school are always packed when changing classrooms or when we were on break. One reason I liked public school more was because there were always new people to be friends with and not have to be stuck seeing the same people in every class. I also think that since there are so many more people in a public school, it helps you prepare for college because you are already used to seeing people you don’t know. While at a private school, you see the same 30 people that are in your grade everyday. People say that because the classrooms are smaller at a private school you get more help from the teacher. My grades were better at a public school though. You could also make the argument that private school is harder than public, but I just think it depends on the teacher. Since private schools have a smaller number of students most of the administration knows you by name, this could be a good or bad thing depending on the situation.

            A big difference between public and private schools is transportation. Public schools are required to have bus transportation to take students to and from school. Whereas at a private school someone has to drop you off and pick you up from school if you are not old enough to drive. An obvious similarity is that, if you are old enough, you can drive yourself to and from school and have you own parking spot. Since public schools have rules on how far you can live from the school, private school students have to travel farther than public school students.

            There are many differences between public and private schools. At the end of the day there are obviously going to be similarities because it is school, and you are there to learn. I personally didn’t enjoy going to a private school for many reasons. One of them being because of how small my class was. The only thing I really enjoyed, at the private school I attended, was the food was much better than public school food. I enjoyed going to a public school much more because there was more of a variety of people and it was more laid back.