Private Education vs Public Education: A Perspective through Languages.

Nowadays, languages become an important factor in a world that is becoming increasingly globalized. While English remains a standard, learning a third language, becoming multilingual, becomes a skill that guarantees success for your children’s future. Not only because it makes adequate connections but also shows tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, it brings a sense of familiarity and respect; it makes travelling easier and it certainly provides an additional advantage when looking for a job, not to mention the proven cognitive benefits it provides in terms of creativity, organization and problem solving.  In addition, it has been proven that being multilingual has an impact on neuroplasticity, developing new paths of neural connectivity naturally providing increased cognitive skills, which ultimately leads to higher academic achievements.

Becoming a trilingual or a multilingual is a matter of time and stimuli. Achievements that start as soon as   we are born as we emulate the small world we are engaged in. The key seems to be immersed in an environment  in which the right catalyst, a native speaker, connects and is able to guide students through the learning process, this person will emulate the final jump into an adequate dialogue that leads to an assertive communication of that specific language.

Native speaker teachers and curriculums taught at school should prepare students for a smooth transition into other languages and subjects and some schools are guided by the CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) principle, an approach where students learn a subject and a second language at the same time.  For example, a math class can be taught in French and they will not only learn about math, but they will also gain applicable vocabulary and language skills. This is done mainly in private schools, where curricula standards are different and success is measured with different indicators as they focus more on the student itself and their own personal development. However, using a system of indicators that allow to provide a unique learning experience for all students seems to have a greater impact on assessment and real development of skills.

This is why for many families, finding the right school setting is not as easy as enrolling  them in any school. With today's information on learning differences and 21st century skills, not all schools can adequately meet the needs of all students. Determining whether a local school meets your child's needs or whether it's time to switch schools can be a challenging decision for parents.

There are several aspects of private education that often provide a vantage point over public schools particularly here in Warsaw; in this article, we will mention a few of these aspects to be taken into consideration when deciding where to enroll your child:

Teacher-student relationship: A student-teacher relationship is one of the biggest differences between public and private schools. Class sizes may vary from school to school but what is definitely a correlation between private versus public school is the availability of teachers in terms of individualizing teaching and learning and building a close relationship with the students. It does not only have to do with the number of students in a certain class, but rather with teacher’s skills to differentiate teaching and learning. It has been proven in many ways that in private schools, teachers are more aware of the importance of relationship with each student, teachers are more accessible and thus more  and it becomes much easier to develop an academic bond with the student. Correspondingly, private schools have a better a student to teacher relationship level and class development occurs at a faster paced manner. Students choosing multilingual and multicultural schools have a wider variety and choices from the very beginning of their school life. They can switch systems, languages and curricula and adapt to new environments quickly.

Teacher Accountability: We live in an age of accountability, namely the direct responsibility a person has for doing something. In this sense, private school teachers concentrate in making sure their students acquire, understand and are able to put into practice skills that will help develop their students’ paths in life, a task that is achieved through and exhaustive process that begins with the selection of each teacher. Constant evaluation with one goal in mind: improvement. When teachers are engaged and ready so are the students, after all, it is no easy task to educate the new generations.

Diversity: Warsaw private schools offer parents the ability to be more selective about the students with which their child spend their days as there are students from all over the world, teachers with different teaching approaches, unique accents, new languages, acceptance and tolerance of other cultures makes a diverse school a special place to be.

Curriculums: Even though schools have to follow the Polish curricula, private schools can offer and tailor a curriculum that suits their focus. Also, many private schools offer an array of extracurricular activities, international programs, international accreditations and other languages of learning.

Altogether, the aim of education should be to prepare students to face any given challenge in life at any level. Is the parents who decides and gives the right tools to their children to succeed in life. Being a trilingual or multilingual clearly provides with the ability to think abstractly, to approach problems from multiple angles, to provide solutions, to communicate clearly and effectively, to be self-reflective and all while understanding the vast opt our world has to offer through the pathway of self-confidence and strong self-esteem. Students well-being: It has been proven that unless there is a relationship between the teacher and the student, nothing can be learnt. This is why students well-being in the relationship with the teacher is crucial for any learning process.