2) In urban and semi-urban communities, it is easier and less stressful to work in an environment where students and families toe the line or get kicked out.
This could be a myth (look at this information about
Kansas). Private schools can't operate without revenue, and can't just expel students for any reason. If you have evidence for overall lower expulsion rates at public schools, I'd be interested in seeing it.
Except for in very unusual cases, no one would have dreamed of holding the professor responsible for my grades. Yet in a public school, lack of effort, engagement or preparedness is laid squarely at the feet of the classroom teacher.
You can hold a professor responsible for poor learning if s/he lacks knowledge about the subject s/he's teaching. That NSF paper, the SAT & GRE, the Praxis I, and other test scores show pretty clearly that many teachers in public schools lack knowledge (especially in mathematics).
Private schools aren't tax payer funded, so only the people who use the specific schools care about what happens there.
This is a pretty sweeping statement with nothing to back it up.
Test scores provide ammunition to use against public school teachers but are not reported for private schools unless the private school chooses to be part of the testing. Private schools who are struggling in any way are highly unlikely to make that public. Why would they?
Here's a comparison between SAT scores in
public and
private schools in northern California. The scores are higher at the private schools. So, no ammunition against the private schools there.
I found this information in 2-3 minutes. There has to be more out there. When I make a claim about something, I try to support it with evidence as best as I can.
I doubt very much that people who choose private school teaching over public school teaching are doing it because they don't want good pay and benefits or union protection.
1. Evidence please.
2. Much of what I've written here concerns the
harm that union policies do. Specifically, pay raises are based strictly on seniority. Doing a great job at work is not a factor in pay raises. An environment that refuses to reward talent is toxic to many (or most) talented people. When possible, talented people who aren't recognized tend to leave the public schools, be they students or teachers.
With respect, all of the points you've made in this thread have been based on your own experience (making them anecdotal) or on your opinions. I've been trying very hard to support what I say with evidence.
It bothers me that honest criticism of schools and teachers is characterized as "bashing." It seems to me that this accusation is a way of deflecting attention from valid criticisms.
Criticism is necessary in any system. People criticize the government, politicians, civil servants, Microsoft, airline pilots, McDonald's etc. etc. all the time. Those critics are aren't accused of "bashing" with the frequency that critics of education policies are accused of it (e.g. "teacher bashing" turned up 5.4 million Google results; everything else was in the thousands).
I think that teachers (and school boards and administrators) need to ask, very honestly, why people criticize them. Yet I'm cynical about the prospects of this ever happening.
