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Debates about the value of public schools versus private ones are
constantly appear in the media and the society. However, diversity of opinions
are subjective, as each individual perceives the value of education whether
private or public differently. In my secondary school history, I had both
public and private schooling experiences and encountered some differences that
could affect personal and academic development of schoolchildren.
There were significant differences
in teachers and teaching approaches in public and private secondary schools. In
my private school teachers were more positive, open for dialogue and tried to design
interesting lessons in order to engage students and provide more comprehensive overview
and deeper understanding of the subject. Contrary, in my public school teachers
were very captious and strict, and we had little discussion and opportunity to
express our own ideas and thoughts. However, teachers in public school were
more experience and from my subjective point of view better qualified, than
those who taught in private school.
The obvious reason is
approach a difference is possibly hidden in the material side of the issue, as salaries
of public and private schools’ teachers are incomparable. Probably there were
some other reasons concerning professionalism, general attitude towards
teaching and personal characteristics, but what I encountered is that teachers
in private schools are more apprehensive about their positions, and try to do
their best to educate and engage students in the learning process.
As the focus of schools
were different (math&physics vs. humanities) it is hard to compare the
curriculum. The same time, I was quite surprised that public school offered
more additional courses than private one, where initially more electives should
be offered. I had “The history of art” and “Political science” lessons in public
school, while in private I had only specific focus oriented subjects.
To sum up, it should be
mentioned that there is no common opinion regarding the values of public and
private schools. From my experience, I am proponent of private type of
schooling, as it provided me with the opportunity to study in friendly and
supportive environment, focus on subjects that I really liked and develop not
only academically, but also personally. However, I cannot generalize my
experience to other Kazakhstani public and private schools, as each school is
unique and possesses its own advantages and disadvantages. Also, in the recent
years the emergence of alternative types of schooling such as international
schools and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools can provide diversity of choices
for Kazakhstani schoolchildren.
