Public vs. Parochial School Systems

In Cedar Rapids there are two main kinds of school systems, the public schools and the parochial schools. The dominant and most popular system is public. There are two main differences between the two: the cost and in parochial schools you are taught about a certain type of religion.

 I personally went to one of the in town private schools called Trinity Lutheran. When you attend private schools they tend to be a lot smaller in size and have a more one on one experience with the teachers. This usually results in a better learning environment for the students to excel in. In my case there were a constant number of around 18-20 people on my class with small amounts of people coming and going each school year. There were only about 9 students that had attended Trinity from kindergarten all the way to 8th grade.

 There are always pros and cons to each type of system. In the Lutheran schools there are smaller classes sizes, which means you are stuck with the same people all day every day for 9 years. That usually results in people getting into every ones business and knowing everything about each other. On the more positive side you become more of a family and are protected from the bad stuff happening in the outside world that isn't allowed to come out. The public school has different views when it comes to the educational system. All the students switch from period to period every 50 minutes and are with different teachers every time. A pro that comes from this is that they to get up and move around to pump the juices through them, so they aren't just sitting in the same seat for hours on end. If they stay put their butts might fall asleep and may find it hard to keep their focus. The students may find it hard to remember what classes they go to and could get lost in the bigger schools. Another pro that comes from public schools is that you aren't limited to a number of friends that you can choose from. You make some through sports and you meet a new set of kids in each class that can carry you through the day. A con in the public schools is that you can't talk about Christ and different religious aspects. I'm pretty sure you get into trouble if you start talking about religion or teach about it in the public classroom.

 A big issue that I kind of somewhat stupid is that the cost is so different from public to private schools. Why should it cost thousands of dollars for kids to be allowed to learn about the Bible? This criterion makes the students who attend the private schools known as the "rich" people.  We don't want to be known as that as it gives us a negative connotation (*miss A* I just used a diction word!).

 My overall experience in a private school was good, there were some ups and downs but that's part of life. I'm glad I attended Kennedy; it opened my eyes to what real life is like and had prepared me for college better than any other school. (537)