Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Project #2 (Myth- Draft 2)

Do private schools provide an overall better education than public schools? One may only speak on behalf of their own opinion or belief. Most opinions, thoughts and beliefs are originated by myths of one’s culture. Traditional myths are what mold our impressions, judgments and ideas. A common widespread myth is that private schools provide a more desirable education than public. There are both positive and negative aspects to both sides, but the cultural myth overpowers most personal ideas. Ones personal ideas are easily manipulated by today’s societal myths.

Is a degree in teaching what makes a qualified teacher? Some would argue that a teaching degree is just a small percentage of what makes up a great effective instructor. It is safe to assume that we have all had both a teacher that has encouraged us to want to learn and a teacher that just focused on adhering to the curriculum in a mediocre manner. Therefore, since a degree in teaching is all that is required to overtake a classroom, either a private or public school could be lucky and benefit from a more beneficial schoolteacher. Experience and schooling does not always ensure that a teacher has the appropriate variables to make learning more desirable. It is possible that a passionate teacher could overcome the obstacles found in both private and public schools such as class ratios, student behavior and school funding.

It is thought that the less number of students in a classroom could result in more individual educational attention. Private schools tend to have a low student to teacher ratio which may be one reason why private schools are considered to provide a better education. Some may argue that class ratio size should not matter if the teacher is successfully teaching the material. The less students enrolled in a school could help offer more educational opportunities and activities. A well populated public school could offer a child the ability to interact and socialize with children of different incomes and backgrounds, which signifys a larger portion of society than the typical upper class portion that is usually found in private schools due to the tuition fees.

It is possible that the student behavior of a private school is often thought to be better because of the upper class enrollment. Although, it is quite clear most private schooled children deal with the same issues as students in public schools. One common belief of a private school is that the use of more strict rules and obligations could help prepare the students for their future interaction with society and the workplace, but who’s to say that these strict rules and obligations are effective? Kids are kids; some children will need disciplinary action whether in a private or public school. One could say that the disciplinary actions that are presented in private and public schools will happen regardless whether the students are paying for enrollment or not. Positive control over the students conduct may come down to the teachers effectiveness to handle the disciplinary situations at hand.

Although private schools have more funding due to paid tuitions, it cannot be said that it would guarantee a better education. In some instances a well kept landscape and an immaculate school facility could impact some perception of the educational value of the school. Funding could be used for a diverse number of reasons. Some facilities may use their funding money to maintain a sophisticated look to their school, while another school may put forth their funding money toward more educational purposes such as materials or books. Even though a private school may be expected to provide many materialistic educational resources, a public school may need to be creative with their limited material supply of resources to provide an enhanced effective learning experience.

The myth that private schools provide a better education may be a myth within a myth. The underlying issue dealing with private vs. public schools revolves around an extremely familiar myth in our society today that something expensive is suppose to entail a greater value. Is money the reason why most people find private schools more appealing? Do parents send their children to private schools because they want their children to be associated with a more sophisticated higher class school? Or, are parents honestly finding that children are becoming well educated only in private schools? These are all questions associated toward the myth of private schools providing a better education. The only known constant that can make a difference between schools education is the effectiveness of the teachers. Most would say that a teacher has the ability to thoroughly teach the mandated curriculum or has the ability to thoroughly teach the curriculum by going above and beyond the schools requirements to make a difference in each child’s learning experience. Are these profound inspiring touching teachers found only in private schools?

1 comment:

dr.mason said...

You've got an interesting draft here that does address a belief that many hold without possibly knowing exactly why they beleive it to be true. You do an excellent job of asking good questions and engaging in the kind of inquiry that college requires.

One thing I think you need to do is let the reader know what the organization of your esay is going to be. Starting off with the question about what makes a teacher qualified is a bit jarring, since it doesn't seem immediately related to the private/public school question. This seems like something that could be put near the end of the essay in order to show that the question is not simply public/private, but the quality of the teachers and students in the school.

The rest of your essay seems to be organized around possible reasons that people might favor private schools over public, each of which you cast some doubt on. This is a good strategy, but I think it would work better if it was clear to the reader that this is what you're trying to do--considering possible reasons people could favor private schools, and questioning the validity of each.

The weakest part right now is your introduction. this is, quite honestly, typical of drafts, both studdtn and professional. It's hard to introduce what you're about to say unless you've already said it. Perhaps you could focus some attention on why considering this question is important.

I actually want to use your example of a "myth within a myth" in class to explain a concept called "warrants." You're right that our beleifs are often justified by other beliefs. In many ways, every belief we hold is really a chain of beliefs. This is also a reason why it is hard to change people's minds. Our belief systems are not solitary ideas but a network of interconected beliefs.

It is unlikely for someone who has paid for a private school education to hold a belief that wouldn't lead them to favor private schools (because they've paid good money for it, etc.). Getting these people to admit that private schools aren't as good would entail the madmitting that they've wasted their money. In other words, changing one belief often means changing several. You can see also why it is so hard to determine why people hold certain beliefs.

I look forward to your revised draft.