Public vs Private School

Traditional Public Schools vs. Public Charter School Comparison Essay

Shauntia Gray

COM 155

November 7, 2013

Linda Hutchings

Although parents and families have different sets of beliefs, morals and values, they all have one thing in common, they want the best for their children in terms of health, life and especially education. In order to provide their child with the best education possible, beginning in grade school, many families have foregone the traditional public school route and have chosen a more personal and innovative option, public charter schools. A public charter school is a tuition-free, alternative education system where a school receives public funding yet operates privately. According to the Journal of Housing and Community Development, “Charter schools have helped revitalize communities by providing much needed community services, keeping families in urban neighborhoods, and transforming old buildings into spectacular new schools.” Public charter and public schools share some same qualities, however, public charter schools are the better choice because they allow more freedom in learning.

Public charter schools pride themselves in challenging their students as well as their faculty and staff. They integrate arts and hands on learning in lesson planning as opposed to traditional public schools that rely heavy on reading and writing. Instructors are encouraged to develop lesson plans that appeal to students’ artistic abilities and interests, such as painting, singing, or dancing, while also promoting self-expression. “Its teaching approach is designed to work with both advanced and struggling students, and intended to foster abstract skills like creativity, depth of thought, and problem solving, rather than focusing on remediation and basic reading and math skills.” They also have more freedom in their teaching pace which allows them to spend more time in a particular area that the students may not catch on as quickly to while breezing...