As Vietnamese, we put a lot of emphasis on education.  Every Vietnamese family wants the best schooling for their children.  There is a growing controversy in the US regarding education in private schools vs. public schools. What is the difference?  Is the high tuition cost at schools like Bellarmine, Presentation, Harker, Challenger, etc. worth it? 

Private schools have a great deal to offer and are able to implement more programs and hire better teachers due to the fact that they have more money in their school systems garnered by student tuitions. Should every child go to private school? Probably not, but your child might benefit if he seems to be getting lost in the shuffle of public schools.

Private schools can offer a smaller student to teacher ratio than public school; they are more  focused on courses and are more intent on honing their students to go to college. Public schools often have the philosophy that each student is different and college isn’t for everyone, and students are not pushed in that direction, though they may choose to strive for it on their own. simply because of the fact that there are less students in these schools. The majority of students attend local public schools. As the public schools become more and more crowded, many families are choosing the smaller private schools to gain more one on one attention for their children from the teachers. Private schools may offer more AP courses.  

Many public schools (such as Leland HS, Mission Hills HS, etc.) which are located in affluent areas can be just as focused and have just as much money as private schools.  Both Leland and Mission Hills offer many AP courses.

The schools that are located in the city areas show the most differences from the private schools. It is necessary to judge for yourself, and look carefully at the public schools and your child. If your child is one that seems to need more attention from teachers or is floundering in a class that is too large, you may want to consider private school simply for the attention that he or she needs.

Private schools also generally have lower incidences of drugs, violence and drop outs, most likely due to the increased level of dedication of parents who send their child to private schools to have every advantage. 

Though private schools can be quite costly, there is more and more legislation moving towards school vouchers where families could take the tax dollars that would be directed toward a public school education and use it for private school tuition.

It should be noted that not all students that went to private schools become successful, and not all students that went to public schools fail. Is success dependent on the school, or is it dependent on the students?

Do you think private schools are that much better than public schools?  Do you think private school is just a big hype and a waste of money?  Bạn nghĩ sao?  Trường công hay trường tư.  Let's hear it!