Sunday, November 27, 2011

From Harlow Unger's `How To Pick A Perfect Private School'--Part 2:

In his 1999 book, How To Pick A Perfect Private School, Harlow Unger wrote the following about the U.S. private school educational system:

“Of the…school children in America,…nearly 11.2% attend private schools…Of the more than 111,000 schools in America, just over 26,000, or about 23.5% are private. The vast majority of these, however, are operated by religious organizations and churches. Only 1,500 private schools are `independent’ or unaffiliated with any church or state agency…

“…According to the U.S. Department of Education, private schools spend $36.54 per pupil for library facilities—more than double the…$17.58 spent per pupil in public schools…”

Friday, November 25, 2011

From Harlow Unger's `How To Pick A Perfect Private School'--Part 1:

In his 1999 book, How To Pick A Perfect Private School, Harlow Unger indicated how the U.S. power elite's private school system differs from the U.S. public school system:

"Instead of about 25 students per teacher, as in public schools, private schools assign only about a dozen students to each teacher (9.8 in independent schools that are unaffiliated with any church or government agency), thus guaranteeing the individual attention each child needs to thrive intellectually...

"Unlike private schools, public schools are required by law to accept all children in the school district, and a teacher has no choice but to admit them into the classroom...Private schools try not to admit...unruly children...The handful that slip through are summarily expelled as soon as they begin to disrupt school routine...Private-school teachers are thus free to devote all their time to teaching instead of dealing with disciplinary problems..."