... Especially IB World schools. This is because many private schools share similar characteristics with universities. The most obvious example is the rigorous academic environment at IB private schools. Many first-year students entering university from the public education system are overwhelmed by the increased workload and thus witness a drastic grade drop; Maclean's has a fantastic article about this phenomenon. In addition to being unprepared for a university workload, public school students often receive inflated averages at high school which provides an unrealistic assessment of their skill to their detriment. University professors mark much more strictly because they are holding their students to a much higher standard; as evidenced by a real life scenario, in which a grade 12 public high school teacher gave an A+ letter grade to an English essay and an English professor evaluating the same paper assigned a B- letter grade instead. This disparity in grading systems makes the transition from grade 12 to first year much more difficult for students and demonstrates a severe lack of preparation.

Alarmingly, in addition to unrealistic grade assignments in public high schools, Ontario university professors in the sciences are reporting massive knowledge inconsistencies amongst their incoming first-year students. That is to say, in first-year science classes there is a huge diversity in background knowledge of core concepts with many students being insufficiently prepared for undergraduate chemistry and physics courses (which is reflected in their grades).

This is because Ontario has a huge spectrum of high school types and localized learning is leaving students unprepared for, and unaware of, university expectations. That is why I cannot stress how important IB private schools are for offering an international standardized education. This is the greatest solution for preparing students for university, by equipping them with all of the necessary tools to survive first-year courses. Private school students perform better on standardized tests than public school students, and by receiving a rigorous and advanced education they are less likely to experience a grade drop or learning gap when they enter university.

To all my readers, I hope you have a fantastic long weekend! And please let me know, what was your experience like making the switch from high school to university?


Private schools reduce the need for afterschool private tutoring. The ultimate benefits of this are a reduced education cost (depending on the external private tutoring company) and the elimination of a disjointed education experience (a tutor often complicates a child's learning experience because there is no coordination between school teacher and tutor).

In Canada, supplemental private tutoring is growing exponentially. Many parents are sending their children to afterschool tutoring sessions because the large classroom setting in public schools is overlooking struggling students. Private tutors also individualize students through their one-on-one tutelage. Many critics are pointing out this flaw in Ontario's public education system that is resulting in swarms of families having to supplement their child's education on their own time with their own money.

But instead of paying for a private tutor, why not just enrol your child in a private school instead? The guaranteed small classes eliminate the need for hiring a private tutor because no child is overlooked and the teacher has more time to mentor each student. Private schools also eliminate the disjointed learning experience that an independent tutor engenders, because a child will be receiving sufficient attention and education from one reliable source. Especially at an IB World school like St. Jude's Academy, you also know the exact qualifications of your child's mentor; whereas at independent tutoring companies you often do not know the education background of your child's assigned private tutor.

Also thank you for the almost 3,000 G+ views! If you haven't checked out my Google Plus profile yet, you can click here.




Bullying. It has become so commonplace in our society that it feels like an inescapable reality of school life. It is a parent's greatest fear, and too often it can feel like you are helplessly stuck on the sidelines, only able to hope that it does not happen to your child. Bullying is not okay: it is harmful and corrodes the purpose of school, which is to get an education. There does not seem to be a concrete solution for public schools to deal with this alarming issue. Often bullies only get a "talking to" and are rarely suspended, which only cultivates the fear that makes victims reluctant to ask for help from their teachers.

I do not profess to know a permanent solution to this troubling issue, but I do know one thing: Studies by the National Center for Education Statistics show that bullying is less prevalent in private schools than in public schools. A 2015 HILDA survey revealed that twice as many parents of public school students reported their children had been bullied compared to private school parents. Of course there are many different degrees of bullying, so that one definition does not fit all, but it is logical to assume that in at least some capacity, private schools do offer a solution to the problem.

The first way private schools are contributing to a workable solution is choice: if your child is being bullied at a public school and the school administration is unable to offer an acceptable solution, the existence of private schools allows you to enrol your child at a different school and thus escape the bullying.

But once at private school, how can you feel rest assured that your child will remain safe? One answer is small class sizes. Because private schools guarantee small classes, the teachers will be able to supervise students more effectively, and any whiff of bullying will not go undetected like it often does in public schools. Greater and more effective teacher supervision has been proven to be a strong deterrent against bullying, nipping the problem right in the bud.

Another reason why private schools have less bullying—and if they do, are more effective at dealing with it—is the nature of the school administration. Because private schools are independent, they possess more freedom and authority to deal with the perpetrators instead of having to adhere to a lot of bureaucratic red tape. If a case of bullying is proven to exist and has occurred on more than one occasion despite formal warnings, private schools have the ability to expel problem students; they don't expect the victims to solve their own problems by switching schools. Private schools have zero tolerance for bullying, because they have a greater responsibility to students' families (who are paying for their school experience after all).

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that one day public administrations can come up with a permanent solution for dealing with school bullying.

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Where: Ontario, Canada

Who: A passionate Vice Principal and IB coordinator

Why: I love blogging about education in my spare time!

St. Jude's Academy is an IB School

St. Jude's Academy is an IB School

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