Christina Cimmino
cmc737@cabrini.edu
Going to a public high school was probably the best experience I could have ever had. Pearl River High School, in Pearl River, NY, was a place where I met the best of friends and got an amazing education by having small classes and extremely dedicated teachers.
There was never a time where I was scared to ask for extra help or meet a teacher before or after school. They were always willing to help and teachers went above and beyond to make sure that every student succeeded, which is most likely why there is a 97% rate of students who go to college after high school.
The thought of going to a private or catholic high school scares me. I don’t feel as if I could deal with the structure and the dress codes that most of those schools have. I’m glad I was able to feel like my own person and still be able to succeed.
Kaitlin Barr
kmb738@cabrini.edu
Catholic school to me is all I know; having said that, I would not change having gone to Catholic school for fourteen years, for anything in the world. I had about forty kids in my graduating class and I knew every single one of them very well. Our families were great friends, and still are.
No matter which Catholic school you went to, you always have a mutual love and respect for anyone else who went through everything you did. From talking about nuns, or sex talks from old priests, laughter is always a common reaction in a room where a bunch of people who went to Catholic school are hanging out.
Jen Davis
jed724@cabrini.edu
I am from Cheshire, Conn. and attended public school for 12 consecutive years. The education I received from public school is superior to any Private or Catholic, whether a Primary and/or Secondary institution.
When I say education, many immediately refer to literacy, the results of my SAT scores or perhaps my ability to complete an assignment. Public schooling prepared me for college by strongly enforcing education, athletics, and by simply allowing me to find myself through involvement within the school.
Cheshire Public Schools provide a public school system unlike any other. I do not believe I would have received the same education from any other private or Catholic school.
Jackie Turchi
jtt723@cabrini.edu
I attended St. Maria Goretti Catholic High School for Girls located in the heart of South Philadelphia.
Going to an all-girl Catholic institution I feel I have been able to better myself in many different ways. Educationally, I have been able to learn how to use advanced technology, learn different languages, participate in community service and was taught many subjects by the best teachers Philadelphia has to offer.
Socially, I have met many diverse girls who have made a great impact on my life. My freshman year of high school I walked in not knowing that by the time I was a senior I would walk out belonging to a family.
Vickie Papageorge
vp724@cabrini.edu
Public schools account for 90 percent of the students in America. That’s a lot. It has been argued that public schools do not have the advanced academic reputation that private schools have and they seem to be stereotyped and pushed into a category that qualifies them as good enough but not as rigid and goal oriented as the private schools. I beg to differ on this subject.
Attending public school (Sun Valley High School) for my entire academic career, I never felt inferior to the kids who were attending O’Hara and were paying tuition every year. I always felt that it was my job to do well in school despite where I am and who was teaching me. I had a goal and that was to succeed.
Cabrini accepts students from public and private schools every year. The students who had been spending money on tuition to private schools are at the same school I am attending and we are all collaborating together with no differences being made evident.
Jillian Smith
jks724@cabrini.edu
Public schools are able to express a student’s uniqueness more than a Catholic/private school.
My high school, Triton Regional High School, in Runnemede, NJ, was selected as the best public high school in South Jersey, by the number of votes sent in by the community. It was a great place to learn and make friends and express individuality.
At a Catholic/private school, you really can’t do that with those ugly, stiff uniforms that show no uniqueness or personality at all. At a public school, we were able to express our individuality in our clothing, such as jeans, tee shirts, shoes and even jewelry. Also, public schools don’t require a religion class or having to go to Mass. We were able to spend that time having elective classes that were fun, and what we wanted to do, not what the school forced us to do. Public will always be better than Catholic/private. End of Story.
John Fennell
jf737@cabrini.edu
I spent ten years at Episcopal Academy, six months at Upper Merion Area High School and three years at Church Farm a boarding school. It was my last stop at Church Farm, affectionately known as the Farm, that I received the best education. By education I do not just mean what was learned in the confines of a classroom, but the skills needed to negotiated life.
When student and faculty live within close proximity to one another everyday formality is not forgotten but more like suspended often. Being able to talk with a professor in an informal manner often times helps to grasp concepts you can not get in a class setting.
Kasey Minnick
km735@cabrini.edu
I’m sure all you facebook users heard of the group called, “Ha! I went to a public school.” Yeah, I’m one of those people in that group. I’m a 2005 graduate of Weatherly Area High School in PA and graduated with a whopping 62 kids.
I grew-up in a sports-driven town and if you were to ask any athlete in our school who our rivals were, they would reply, “All those Catholic schools.” I know I can speak for all of us when I say we didn’t like them too much.
A small, public school like us had to work for the wins with this kids we had, but then you have the “special treated” Catholic schools who can recruit kids from the surrounding areas. There was actually a school that we played against that drove to NY to pick-up kids to come play basketball for them. Let me tell you how fair that is.
Don’t get me wrong. I love some kids that went to Catholic schools, but if I could repeat my education over, put me in a public school any day!
Megan Pellegrino
mrp727@cabrini.edu
Private schools are definitely better than public schools. The main reason is the classroom environment is smaller than that of a public school. When the number of students is smaller, the teacher has a greater opportunity to pay attention to each individual student, instead of one large class as a whole.
Private school classrooms will always remain smaller. Therefore as the applications arrive into the schools, the admissions has every right to chose the better students, leaving the misbehaved or those who would bring the class down to have to find another option. This leads to only the best applicants to be at the private school.
The better the students, the faster the classes can move, leaving the students to be able to learn greater than the amount that the average student will learn. Private schools lead to a personal experience of education, instead of just being a number like one would be at a public school.
Elizabeth Kerstetter
elk722@cabrini.edu
I thought about why public school is better than private school for awhile, and then I realized it does not matter!
We are all here together at Cabrini right? We are all going to end up with a degree from Cabrini College. So in my opinion, those who went to private school will have spent over $40,000 more than I did for my degree!
Public school is obviously good enough to get us all into the same college as kids who went to private school. So why spend the extra money when public school does the job?
As long as the public school in the area is up to par and meets state standards and regulations, it is definitely the way to go.
