I've worked in some primary/secondary schools in Poland (and Turkey), state and private institutions, and additionally had an opportunity to visit a lot more (another job), and if I had kids and were faced with this 'which education' dilemma about any two countries...
The general education system functioning in a given country doesn't have to be a major factor. First, I would try and consult local teachers whose recommendation I felt I could trust – and it would be a long chat.
I don't want to say I wouldn't trust a parent's opinion, but parents can be happy with a school for many reasons, and most of these reasons may tell me nothing about the school:
- teachers are really doing a god job and parents can appreciate that, even if their child is not a top achiever; parents are aware of problems that arise at school/in class – that's the only convincing recommendation
- they have the kind of child who would be doing well (academically) in any conditions – self-motivated, curious, smart, talented; and what if mine wasn't?
- their child is well-behaved, maybe even extremely shy and quiet, which means parents are never going to hear about any trouble caused by their offspring, which in turn will make them think that it's a wonderful school; OK, and if mine was a bit wild...
- a child causes some problems, parents are not interested in dealing with the situation themselves, but they also succeed in pressuring the principal/teachers and making them ignore this problem - parents are happy because they have it 'their way'
(typical of private schools, especially after the crisis – private schools have never been extremely popular in Poland, most Poles, even if they complain about education and schools, don't consider them so bad that it would be necessary to send their child to a private school, especially that they are not associated with good quality, actually quite the opposite - that's stereotyping, but quite a lot of these private schools were set up when economy was booming, now schools don't want to lose the customers that they have, there are fewer enrollments, and more children leave anyways as their parents can't afford it any more);
- parents are unaware of the problems that exist in their child's class (not caused by their child but probably influencing his/her schooling) because the school doesn't want to risk losing customers (private schools)
- kids come back home from school around 6pm or later, because they participate in extra activities at school or a school bus takes them to various places in town (swimming pool, cinema), which means that parents have more time for themselves, and less time for ... – these parents are sometimes happy that school is doing the parenting, while they can do something else, they are very often the ones who don't want to hear, not to mention deal with problems if any arise (private schools)
A flawed education system wouldn't totally discourage me because I've noticed that even in countries where the ministry of education imposes weird syllabuses, exams, demands on students/teachers, it's always possible to find institutions where teachers/principals have their students' best interest in mind – and it's not limited to doing well at exams and following the syllabuses.
I could complain a lot about education in Poland (generally, everything could be better, starting with school-leaving exams), but I feel like focusing on the positives:)
Lots of things have changed since I graduated in 1990s.
1) Schools adapt to the modern times:
- foreign languages are taught from the very beginning (special program launched around 2006 by the ministry to introduce English in grade 1; not sure about kindergartens)
- there is a new subject that I didn't have at school and I'm really jealous – how to set up and run own business (and related topics: taxes, offices, marketing, etc.)
- more and more technology at schools
- more and more teachers are aware of modern methodology, most kids are not taught the same way that we were - but I'm afraid universities are most resistant to these novelties
At the same time, I'm happy that students continue to be taught all these things/skills that can't be monetized straightaway, but which certainly enrich them, and in some cases not only in some spiritual elusive way. Someone mentioned studying poetry as useless, but a copywriter-to-be might benefit from it.
2)Teachers take advantage of new opportunities, such as:
- student exchanges (mostly within Europe, but our school also had an exchange program with Brazil)
- projects made possible with EU funding - more extra-curricular activities, or extra classes for students with special needs, especially weaker ones; but also refurbishment and construction projects (e.g. Orlik 2012 – football pitches)
Another important thing – it's not just schools in big cities that benefit.
If I had to choose a school without consulting a teacher who works there, I would like to see these new opportunities being exploited by the teachers/students.
Some schools specialize in some form of activities, not necessarily officially, they might just have some enthusiastic teachers who organize drama groups, sports competitions, sports clubs – it's good to ask what they are proud of and what talented staff they have.
Private schools have this impressive extra-curricular offer by default, sometimes value for money seems great (look at how many languages they can learn, how many hours a week, plus other activities - how much would you have to pay for all these somewhere else, including transportation costs?) but there might be lots of hidden issues, not to mention the obvious problems (it's paid, kids compete for gadgets, and they don't learn how to communicate with people from outside of their social group/class).
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