Private Schools vs.Public Schools

Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital is present in our everyday education.  One aspect of our education system that especially highlights the presence of class-based cultural capital is private schools. Private schools are based around the very idea that only a specific group of people will be able to attend and obtain the education they provide. By charging people money for a ‘better’ education private schools are excluding any classes that would not be able to afford the charges. Although class is not specifically determined by the amount of wealth a person possesses, private schools are able to deter the majority of the lower and some of the middle class from obtaining this education by making tuition unreasonable for those classes.

            The fact that private school education is considered, by many, as better than  public school education is interesting (although not necessarily true). Is this saying that children who are taught at private schools are smarter and will have a better future than those who attend public school? Is it also saying that the public school education is not at a high enough standard for all students to be taught at? If this is the case, should the public school system adjust their curriculum? In my opinion, even if the public school system was the same as the private school system there were still be a class divide due to the value systems of each class. Even if the curriculum is equal, the fact that the parents who send their kids to private school typically have more money means that the school probably gets more funding.

           

            The private school which my mother’s side of the family attended had a lot of students who came from very rich families. Because of this, the school was always equipped with state of the art equipment and learning tools which aided their students in doing better academically than those students who attended the local public school. The facilities were also better, and the extra-curricular activities were also a main focus of the school. Private school students (at this school) were required to participate in an extra-curricular activity, while the public school provided it as an option but did not make it mandatory. The opportunities that the private school students have are clearly not equal to what the public students receive. 

            One aspect of the private school system that I found especially interesting was the finishing schools. Finishing schools are private schools directed towards young women that focus on their education and etiquette. They are a product of both class and gender based cultural capital. My Aunt Barbara actually attended a finishing school in Switzerland for her final year of school. Although these schools do provide an education to their students, the main focus of the schools is to prepare young ladies to be women and how to act properly in this role. There is a gender spereation in these schools and prepare ladies for their roles while other school provide men with their roles. Take a look at this essay about gender seperation in finishing schools. This was a common path which upper class families chose for their daughters, setting them apart from both the lower class and male expectations.

            This kind of class segregation also ends up happening in universities. Here's an article that discusses class in university that can also be applied to the private school class debate.        

             In both of these examples I am looking at the academic side of the argument. I am stating that private schools typically have more to offer their students to help them succeed academically. This is not to say that this is what everyone wants. As we discussed in class, the values from each class are very different. While the upper class tends to focus on education to lead to success, the lower class (and some of the middle class) tends to be more focused on working. Often this work does not require education past a particular level. However, even with this being true, in our society we are pressured to complete our education and strive academically and we are still divided by private school education and public school education.