Public School Teacher on Why He’s Sending His Daughter to Private School

Thesis, along with its sister site The Houston School Survey, features both public and private schools. We know that both have their advantages and disadvantages, and when it comes to school choice, every family has different needs.

Last week, The Atlantic published a truly unique op-ed on the pros and cons of both public and private schools. The author, Michael Godsey, is a lifelong public school teacher who decided to send his daughter to a private school. His perspective on the classroom culture of disengagement in public schools is but one of the thought-provoking insights shared in the article, which is well worth a read.

It’s worth noting, of course, that not all public schools suffer equally from the lack of “student buy-in” that Godsey points to – at magnet schools, where students have chosen to study a specific field or study in a specific way, they may be more invested in their education. And conversely, student engagement is not necessarily a feature of all private school classrooms. But on the whole, a classroom culture of interest in learning will be beneficial to students, and any school which can offer such a culture is well-equipped to educate its students.