A user of Perths Schools
Apr 8th 2003, 4:53 am
#1
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Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Perth Arse end of the planet
Posts: 7,037
A user of Perths Schools
Another happy parent in Perth.
Why I changed schools
I READ with great interest your report Private schools a hit (5/4). I am one of the parents who chose a private school this year and I was curious to see what reasons Susan Hewitt had uncovered. I found her report accurately reflected one aspect of the attraction of the private system, the superior level of behaviour management, but there are many other attractions.
My children attended a State primary school, the eldest for six years, until the end of last year. I rarely had a week go by that didn't include one conflict or another. There was bullying by students, sub-standard levels of education and an inability to teach outside of the mid-performing student range.
Not one of these issues was adequately addressed by the teachers, principal, district office or the various divisions of the Education Department that I contacted over the years. My children, who had the potential to be extremely high performers and well-behaved students, began a decline in attitude and behaviour that is all-too common in today's society.
It is easy for the schools to blame behaviour issues on the parents, but when they spend more time at school than at home, many parents feel (as I have) that they spend inordinate amounts of time trying to rectify the emotional damage sustained at school.
I had always planned to send the children to a private school for their high school years, but brought the plans forward when I moved to another suburb. I was fortunate to secure places for my three children to start at a private school at the beginning of this year and the difference is amazing.
Problems still occur, but the difference is in the management of those problems. They are not swept under the carpet. They are dealt with in mature and responsible ways that teach all involved valuable life skills. The change in our older boy's attitudes and behaviour, not to mention skills, is glaringly evident after only one term.
If public education is to keep pace, it needs to look at the reality of why a private education is so desirable now.
MICHELLE QUINSEE, Claremont.
Why I changed schools
I READ with great interest your report Private schools a hit (5/4). I am one of the parents who chose a private school this year and I was curious to see what reasons Susan Hewitt had uncovered. I found her report accurately reflected one aspect of the attraction of the private system, the superior level of behaviour management, but there are many other attractions.
My children attended a State primary school, the eldest for six years, until the end of last year. I rarely had a week go by that didn't include one conflict or another. There was bullying by students, sub-standard levels of education and an inability to teach outside of the mid-performing student range.
Not one of these issues was adequately addressed by the teachers, principal, district office or the various divisions of the Education Department that I contacted over the years. My children, who had the potential to be extremely high performers and well-behaved students, began a decline in attitude and behaviour that is all-too common in today's society.
It is easy for the schools to blame behaviour issues on the parents, but when they spend more time at school than at home, many parents feel (as I have) that they spend inordinate amounts of time trying to rectify the emotional damage sustained at school.
I had always planned to send the children to a private school for their high school years, but brought the plans forward when I moved to another suburb. I was fortunate to secure places for my three children to start at a private school at the beginning of this year and the difference is amazing.
Problems still occur, but the difference is in the management of those problems. They are not swept under the carpet. They are dealt with in mature and responsible ways that teach all involved valuable life skills. The change in our older boy's attitudes and behaviour, not to mention skills, is glaringly evident after only one term.
If public education is to keep pace, it needs to look at the reality of why a private education is so desirable now.
MICHELLE QUINSEE, Claremont.
