« Disconnected observations |
Main
| A note of thanks to my readers »
April 6, 2005
Tell us something we don't know
As an academic of many years' experience, I could have told you a long time ago that students from public schools do much better at university than private school graduates. But now, there's research that's been released to prove the fact. There's not much to answer why this is so - other than the usual intepretation that state school kids learn survival skills - but as an academic, trained as a secondary school teacher, I'd say the reason is much richer than that.
Firstly, the quality of teaching at private schools differs not a jot from that which is delivered at state schools. There are an awfully large number of bad teachers in both systems, and the whole premise of discipline at private schools influencing quality of teaching is a load of dingoes kidneys.
This all comes down to a misinterpretation of the word "discipline". For private school advocates, "discipline" actually means teacher-oriented control. But that's not discipline. It's authoritarianism. Children do need discipline at school, but that is a skill they learn individually, and it refers to their ability to concentrate and to commit themselves to a course of study, or a project at hand. It's behaviour modification, but it comes from within.
Good teaching doesn't need authoritarianism. Good teaching simply means communicating difficult concepts in an accessible fashion, showing passion for your subject matter and genuine interest in the development of your students. Many teachers may think they are interested in their students' development, but they are more often interested in how they appear to the students than in the students themselves. A good rule of thumb is to find the teacher that goes to the effort of learning their students' names quickly and responds to their queries with sympathy: there you will find a good teacher. Any teacher that thinks that threatening students with detention is a good way of getting them to learn, or shows complete disregard for whether students attend or listen to classes is, without exception, a bad teacher.
Secondly, private school teachers are encouraged to artificially inflate grades at HSC level. This isn't myth. It's a plain fact. Private school students do well in HSC scoring because they are trained to respond in a predictable and consistent way in examinations, and their internal work is simply graded with a higher mark than it would normally deserve in the public system.
I'm not kidding. I've seen this as an academic. What's worse is that when I was teaching first year university students, I found I had to undo all the bad teaching on essay writing done at secondary level and retrain them to write critical analysis essays from scratch. And as usual, it was the public school students who were more open to changes in style and to thinking differently about the way in which they approached writing and analysis than the private school students, who were more likely to be committed to the writing style they had ingrained into them through poor curriculum and worse teaching at secondary level.
Frankly, if your child learns martial arts, classical ballet, studies the arts, and/or if your child rises to an elite level in any sport, they are getting the discipline they will later need in life to dedicate themselves to whatever profession it is they pursue. The only advantages private school can offer is better facilities and a broader range of curriculum offerings. And when it comes down to it, unless they are also taught to adapt their thinking and styles in a less regimented fashion than private schools tend to do, they are likely to suffer in their tertiary years.
Posted by jj at April 6, 2005 4:20 PM
Comments. Please PREVIEW your comment before submitting. This helps the server to save your entry.
I'm sorry Jo, but my mother for one was on the State Board that reviewed every schools marking - including private and public to ensure that the grading system was even - private and public. Systems are in place that ensure that the marks are not inflated - yes in some cases it could happen but your comment that it happens in all 'private schools' is very sterotypical and I do not appreciate it! Come on, some private schools could do it to and yes some public schools but not all. From a person who did not get a very good TE score and went to a Private school and then had to go through other methods to finally get into uni where I then succeeded (winning the school award for my masters) I find some of your comments false and bias based on your history of a state school. Let's stay with the research actually done and whether it is generalisable.
Posted by: Liz at April 7, 2005 11:28 AM
Liz,
the research published *was* generalised across 12,000 students in both private and public schools around the country. This study has shown conclusively that public school students do better than their private school counterparts.
And while there have been intermittent studies undertaken around the country to ensure consistency of grading (such as the one your mother was involved in), these have generally been so widely publicised to teachers involved that for the items being assessed, much more "fair" grades were offered to be reviewed. Indeed, when there was a movement in the Victorian system to have randomised and regular reviews of grading systems - in the style of a random breath test - this was so strongly resisted by the teachers' union that there was industrial action against the proposal.
Regardless of any existing systems to ensure consistency of marking, it is undeniable that there are massive discrepancies in the quality of secondary education among states, between higher and lower socio-economic brackets, and between the private and public systems. This is demonstrated by abysmal levels of literacy and general achievement at first year university level across the nation, and in terms of levels of achievement realised at the conclusion of university studies. That is what this study revealed, and reflects the opinions of those of us who have worked in both secondary and tertiary sectors. Furthermore, my comments were not made with bias to my own schooling; with a brother who attended a private school and my own decision to attend public school (so that I could continue my dance training) these comments were made entirely from the perspective of a trained secondary school teacher, who teaches tertiary students. It's as simple as that.
Posted by: jj at April 7, 2005 1:45 PM
Can't comment on the grading, don't have enough information, won't even try.
When I hit first year, most of my closer friends were from private schools (well, one in particular). We discussed the differences between private and public schools (having said all that, I have to admit I DID attend the "Clayton's" GPS school, so maybe I don't know what a "real" public school was like... assuming there's any difference).
Anyway, the one comment that STILL sticks in my mind, FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, was that the (particular) private school students were supported. All the way. And basically forgot how to walk on their own afterwards. When they came to university, with no private school tutors, teachers and supporters to hold their hands when they had to do their OWN unsupported study...
... well. I'd point out that, with regards to Jo's comment about arts/ballet/sport/so on, that statement probably [sh|c]ould be expanded to being a having of the self-motivation (sometimes disguised as interest) to enjoy what you studied, thereby learning to study better. Sure, okay, my "extra" was instrumental music, but I particularly enjoyed my (computing) maths and physics too. Come to think of it, in my early years I probably enjoyed them more than the instrumentals.
Evening, all.
Posted by: P at April 7, 2005 8:55 PM
I see no where in the research where it comments on inflated marks.
Also where are these 12,000 students from - which State - which universities. How many from State and Private School? Which areas are they from - are the all middle class students or is there a real difference in social economic classes?
Yes there is a difference in schools - I have no problem with it. I do have a problem with people saying that all private schools get inflated marks. Having inflated marks and being trained on how to take an exam are two different things.
I am not going to sit here are say all private schools are the same and neither are all public schools. There are advantages and disadvantages of both systems. I suppose we are going to differ on this opinion.
Posted by: Liz at April 8, 2005 12:11 PM
Post a comment
Please PREVIEW posts before submitting. This helps my host server to save your comments.