Private schools create a climate for serious teaching with the following:
- thin management structure
- small class sizes
- small schools
- ideal teaching conditions
A private school is its own independent entity. It's not part of a large administrative group of schools like a school district. So you don't have to go up or down through layers of bureaucracy to deal with issues. Private schools are autonomous units of manageable size. The organization chart typically has the following upward path: Staff->Department Head->Head of School->Board. You will find additional layers in larger schools, but even there it's a pretty thin structure. The advantages are obvious: responsiveness to issues, clear communication channels. You don't need a union to help you deal with issues when you have easy access to administrators.
Small Class Sizes
This issue goes to the heart of what we teachers are all about. Small class sizes allow us to teach effectively, to give our students the individual attention which they deserve, and to accomplish the goals which have been entrusted to us. Private schools typically have class sizes of from 10-12 students. Parochial schools generally have larger class sizes, but even they are smaller than those in comparable public schools. Contrast this with your public schools which range from 25-30 or more students per class. At that class size you become a traffic cop, not a teacher. Union mandated class size is not an issue in private schools.
Small Schools
Most private schools have 300-400 students. The largest independent schools top out at only 1100 or so students. Compare that with public schools with 2,000-4,000 students and you can understand why students in private schools are not just numbers. Teachers can get to know all their students as well as others throughout the school community. Community is what private schools are all about.
Ideal Teaching Conditions
Teachers want to be creative. They want to teach their subject. They want to light the fires of enthusiasm for learning within their young charges. Because private schools adhere to the spirit, but not to the letter of state mandated curricula, there is great flexibility in the choice of texts and of teaching methodologies. You don't need a union agreeing to the adoption of this text or that methodology for use in the classroom.
Common Goals
Private school students are there because their parents want them to have the best possible education. Parents are paying serious money for that service. Consequently everybody expects the very best results. If you are passionate about your subject, you feel the same way. Only the best will do.
