A response to “Why Private Schools Are Better”

I would like to congratulate the writer of this article for convincing us that Private schools have better facilities than State schools. Who knew that they were actually buying things with the money your parents paid them? Thanks for squashing the rumours that they just put it all in a big pile, cackled, and tried not to spill port.

Private school education isn’t a massive waste of money. Who knew?

I would, however, like to argue that you might have missed the point slightly. It’s not that people are worried your parents could be getting more for their money; all the benefits you describe sound lovely. But I think some people might argue that because certain children get such a boost for no real reason, it’s slightly unfair. I’m not saying you haven’t earned having rich parents (it must have taken a lot of hard work) I’m just saying some people might see it differently.

Unfair that kids’ parents can pay for better grades? Or simply a case of c’est la vie?

And, to be fair, you do say yourself that being able to pay for a better education is “unfair”. And while I respect the “that’s life” argument that you employ so elegantly in response, it may be worth noting that not everyone will be so easily convinced.  Maybe you could try something more sophisticated: along the lines of “because I said so” or “finders keepers”?

And I will say, in defense of state schools, that it isn’t all bad. While I’d like to spend my childhood in an environment that has the same attitude towards mixing genders as prison, growing up with friends who vary in sex does have it’s advantages.

Not exactly the healthiest environment

It has also been suggested that Private schools don’t prepare students for the real world with quite the same efficacy of state schools. Who knew that having constant access to stables and squash courts isn’t perfectly representative of real life?

Surprisingly enough, this is not an accurate representation of a state school student

But you’re right; people who go to private schools do get better grades. And this is either because those enrolled in private schools happen to be of a higher intelligence than the rest of the population, or it’s because of the smaller classes and better facilities you describe. I can only hope that a read of your article goes some way to clarifying which is the case.