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One issue of particular interest to me is the differences between working in public and private schools. I have spent equal time of my short career in the public and private sectors and I have learned some very interesting traits about each school system. One specific detail I will examine in this summary is my new understanding of teachers unions and my growing understanding of teachers’ rights in the various school settings.
What I have seen and learned in my time at public schools has always been very organized and logical within the school houses and/or districts. I have always had an easy time trying to get straight answers and find good information from my colleagues and administrators. In public schools I think teachers benefit from having a strong infrastructure and the accountability to the state with standards for students and teachers. For the most part I understand the hierarchy in public schools and it is fairly clear who reports to whom. Also, when working, teachers’ expectations are usually made clear and because of that clarity expectations and outcomes, I notice public school teachers have a good amount of job satisfaction.
Conversely at the private schools, some are less organized than others but I find them less organized than public schools in my experience. I have found it more difficult to get answers about my questions in a private school. In private schools there is less strength in the infrastructure even though it may seem like there is more administration than necessary. Sometimes in private schools the hierarchical structure is more complex because lots of people have control over lots of things. Also, although teachers’ expectations are made clear, the freedom for teachers in the private schools leads to less accountability.
Teachers unions seem to only help those in the public schools so private school teachers are left to defend themselves. I found that because of private school teachers having to protect themselves alone, they are at more risk of losing their jobs. There is a 9.8% private school teacher firing rate (national) compared to 0.34% experienced (3+ years) teacher firing rate and 1.62% junior (less than 3 years) teacher firing rate. ¬¬1 In the private schools, teachers don’t have a mechanism to protect themselves in the same way that public school teachers do. Even if the teachers’ complaints and arguments are valid, the teachers don’t have a forum for discussion without fear of losing their job for speaking out. Teachers in public school get that through their unions even if there is occasionally corruption within the union.
I think this issue is worthwhile to discuss further and learn more about in my future. At this present time the number of teachers I know in either sector is limited so my sources were limited also but I look forward to learning more. I am still not sure which one of the school systems I prefer yet but I do think it is important to weigh the differences between the two.
1. http://teachersunionexposed.com/state.cfm?state=WA
2. http://www.educationsector.org/research/research_show.htm?doc_id=683708

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