I have never been to a public school; my state's public schools aren't really all that great, so my parents decided that they'd send me to private. There are a lot of advantages to private schools that most people don't seem to understand, and a lot of stereotypes that I would like to debunk.

A lot of people I have talked to seem to get the idea that private schools are exclusively for wealthy, snobby WASP types who snub out anyone different. This is entirely untrue. Many schools I know of offer significant scholarships to good students who can't completely afford the cost of the school. Additionally, I have never seen any racial discrimination of any sort in my school, which is mostly white- all the rumors that anyone who isn't a WASP in a WASP-y school (at least in this part of the country) won't fit in are ridiculous. All of the not-white students in my school are very intelligent, very athletic, and very popular.

Another advantage of private schools is the atmosphere of safety. I've never felt threatened by a violent atmosphere in any private school which I've attended. The quality of discussion is also better than that of public, at least it is on honors programs; or so I've heard. My mother who is training for her teacher certification had to observe the activities of the honors classes in an inner-city high school, and from what she described they were very different from my own personal experience. There's a lot of individual attention to the students because most private schools are small (with class sizes of no greater than 20, usually, and I've never heard of a private school with a graduating class of over 300) and the students know each other well.

A lot of people are hesitant to go to private school because of the uniforms, but I think that for all their tackiness they do a lot of good. For one thing, there's never any stress about what to wear for the day- everyone looks like a loser, really. The clothing thing also breaks down some social barriers. Kids who would normally be classified into stereotypical cliques by their sense of style aren't ostracized because of what they're wearing. And due to the smallness of the school, it's difficult to form tight stereotypical cliques some schools have.

Blagh... anyway, that's my opinion. My private school experience has not been perfect, but there are a lot of myths and rumors that just aint true or are exaggerated. Private education has been a positive experience for me, and I'd definitely suggest it to anyone who is considering it.