HJ, I am sure you are right, but I would like to see him present some facts. For instance, here is a fact: Many public schools are union free. Therefore, you cannot dismiss all public schools based on your ignorant bias against the teachers' unions.
I believe that you can find an exemplary school of each designation, it all depends on the area that you are in. I spent my high school years at a Prep School in Chicago, So I am going to have to say Private Schools. Now I understand that this makes my opinion slightly bias but hear me out. The Prep School that I attended was one of the best schools in the nation for High Schools, not to say that there weren't lazy and stupid people that attended, but if everyone took advantage of the opportunities that was given to them then there should not be any complaints about the level of education there. Now there are several very prominent public high schools in the surround area but in my opinion the private schools have a very strong and proud alumni network. Chicago itself as a very "Who sent you?" kind of town, so where you decide to go for high school can have a major affect on your options post-grad.
I don't like public schools because of the Teachers Union. A union is designed to benefit the members, not the company that hires its members. Unless a teacher starts raping kids you can't fire them. The only thing teachers are graded on is attendance (unless that has recently changed).
Where are you getting this information? Please cite your sources.
I can't speak of the problems/lack of in the U.S but this is a huge problem in Canada. I have never seen or even heard of a teacher being fired for poor performance. In my high school we had a particularly bad chemistry teacher and just about the entire class complained about her, directly and through our parents, to the higher ups in the school. She was never removed. Every friend I had in different high schools had similar stories. Right now one of my cousins is going to a high school where the math teacher misses on average 1 class a week. He continuously claims that he is "under the weather" but by all accounts hes a fairly healthy individual and he never shows up to class in poor health. He just seems to catch the flu and magically recover the next day. He had been reprimanded by the principle and showed up for a whole month straight then slipped back into the missing days habit. This has been going on for two years. The only way to get a good education (in math and science at least) in a public school is to bus yourself/move to a richer area. Usually the good teachers end up in the schools with more parent donations.
Also, where you go does matter. At the very least I know the University of Waterloo keeps a record of what school every student comes from, their entry grades, and their success rates. This affects the selection process for taking on new students. Now selection is complicated, volunteer experience, sports, rewards, references, etc.. they all help. Going to the right school won't guarantee anything, but it helps.
I've done all 3, and I have to say that no matter what I will always love private schools, and then after that homeschooling. I detest public schools, I've had nothing but horrible experiences with them.
Comments
For instance, here is a fact: Many public schools are union free. Therefore, you cannot dismiss all public schools based on your ignorant bias against the teachers' unions.
Also, where you go does matter. At the very least I know the University of Waterloo keeps a record of what school every student comes from, their entry grades, and their success rates. This affects the selection process for taking on new students. Now selection is complicated, volunteer experience, sports, rewards, references, etc.. they all help. Going to the right school won't guarantee anything, but it helps.