Here's something from a younger persons perspective.
I went to 2 public schools and 2 private schools I have public and private experience in both elementary and high school. Both private schools were Christian. One was Baptist, the other was non-denominational.
I despised both private schools. The teachers and faculty were nothing but unnecessarily strict, uptight, and mean. Work work work and no play was there philosophy. They didn't bother to make the curriculum fun or interesting (except for my history teacher who was an ex Special Forces soldier from Vietnam, he was awesome). They expected you to just figure out the stuff yourself, help was usually discouraged.
We were punished severly for one persons mistakes quite often, but rarely rewarded when the whole class did something good. The teachers were also very partial and did tend to like some students over others. They also made an effort to call out students in class and try to embarass them in front of their friends.
The teachers there often gossiped about us behind our backs. If you even hinted at breaking dress code, they literally just freaked out. One math teacher(who didn't last long) was sitting at the teachers table, the principal's assistant noticed a student without their shirt tucked in, and actually said these words... "Oh my God, her shirt isn't tucked in!". The math teacher said "so what, it's not that big of a deal, just tell her to tuck it in". Well, the rest of the faculty didn't take too kindly to her being so liberal I suppose.
My grades were quite bad at the private schools as well. Each year I came in excited, wanting to do well and achieve. But the faculty there just totally killed any and all motivation I had every single year. They made me despise them so much. This and many other things happened at BOTH private schools. One was Baptist, the other was non-denominational.
Both public schools I went to were fun. Keep in mind I live in Dallas, so the public schools tended to have not so many white people(I'm white). But not once did the students treat me badly. They looked like thugs and many people looked at them badly, but they treated me very kindly, and not once was I victim of any racial disgression.
The teachers were great. My physics teacher actually made me enjoy the class and learning (as opposed to my private school teacher who was a mean snob). The teachers were funny and fun to be in class with. They really wanted to help the students learn. I made straight A's in public school, my grades NEVER slipped, yet the curriculum was just as challenging.
There was no peer pressure from anyone at my public schools.
And since I'm a young one, I notice things about people children that their parents don't notice, or even think their child would do.
In most cases, the stricter a person is brought up in a religious atmosphere, the more they will rebel when they are teenagers, TRUST me parents, I've seen it MUCH more often than not. If you want specific examples, then PM me.
Here is my suggestion, and this is just my humble opinion. Send your kids to public school for most(if not all) of their lives. Let them get a grip on the real world and how to socialize in the real world. But you, as the parent, NEED to teach them what is right and wrong. You need to teach them about God. Give them the tools and knowledge necessary to go out and let them exercise these. It's better for them to realise that they may sometimes be alone in their beliefs in certain atmopheres. It is good for us to learn this at a young age.
. Anyone have any experiences (good or bad) with this? Thanks so much! I just want to make the best decision for my kids and am looking for any advice!
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. Again, thanks so much everyone for your replies. You've given me a lot to think about!
