Private or state?

[sunshine75]

Not for the kids - been done soooo many times- but for me to work in.

Always thought of myself as a bit of a lefty and quite anti the principle of private education. Maybe I was young and idealistic or maybe I just had the pleasure of working in a really nice state school.

Anyway, I'm now working in a bog standard comp and really miss the challenge of really bright Oxbridge bound kids. Don't get me wrong, I can cope with working with less able kids but I sometimes feel a little bored.

Anyway - would I regret/despise myself if I crossed over to the dark side and applied for jobs in private schools? What are the benefits for staff? Are there any negatives?

More importantly would my 'socialist' dad ever speak to me again?

Pay and conditions generally better in state....
Why is your bog standard comp not trying to get kids into top uni's?
That is a failing in the teaching leadership not the kids

So you are failing to inspire children to apply for top unis? Not one child in your secondary has this possibility - tssk - think you are not looking very hard!

Benefits for staff working in independent schools (in no priority order): well behaved, motivated students; average class size of 15-20; salaries 3%-20% above maintained sector; great lunches, for free; wonderful facilities; stimulating extra-curricular programme - great for staff as well as students; freedom from mindless bureaucracy; ability to set your own curriculum and choose resources that can be paid for; extremely generous INSET (go on whatever you like, as often as you like, if you can show it benefits the students); being parts of something successful; freedom from the cynacism, negativity and unionisation of some staffrooms - working instead with colleagues who love teaching, support the school and respect the leadership and management... etc etc

I'm sure I could spot them but...... my new head of dept takes all of the A Level for herself and leaves the KS3 anf bottom sets to everyone else!!

longer holidays!!!

There are average performers at independent schools too.

Neither - go international - life is one big holiday :)

DH has regularly commented that private school staffrooms are incredibly bitchy.
He is also permanently stunned by how rude about the parents the teachers are.

I suspect a lot of the economic freedoms at private schools are being pinched hard at the moment as rolls are falling

And as an ex private school kid "well behaved, motivated students" YEAH RIGHT.

Not to mention how rude and patronising private school parents are about the teachers - the richer the school, the more you get treated like a servant. Not nice.

My mum is a retired school teacher and taught in both sectors and as much as she loved teaching ALL kids she much preferred the private sector. She says that in private schools the kids wanted to learn but in the state sector she had to teach. A subtle difference. I guess it depends on what you want to get out of teaching. Also with private schools there is the expectation that teachers will get involved in extra currucular activities (and there are usually far more at private schools) whereas in the state sector it is much more optional.

When did she retire?
I suspect a lot has changed.
It certainly has over the 12 years DH has been doing his thing.