Catholic School or Public School?

[LiLIrishChick63]

in all honesty i really think that it depends on the school. because Catholic schools can be just as bad as public schools.

i went to a Catholic school for 7 years and i hated it. the teachers had their "favorites" and they would ignore the other students. you would get introuble for some pretty stupid things (ex: rolling your eyes.....is a sin, and you would have to have some kind of punishment for it). i always had a problem in math and science class and the teachers never bothered to help me i'd ask for help, and they'd say "oh Suzie Sue over there needs my help more" ........aka "the one who's parents are richer than yours"

when i attended public school it was completly different. the teachers actually seemed to care about me. i got a lot of individual attention from them and after school help. i never really saw anyone treated differently.

of course, you're going to have a bad teacher here and there no matter where you go. i had one in the public school(ironically, she was Catholic and because i had blue hair and wore black, i was a satinist and deserved to go to hell) also.

you should probably really look into the schools before you send your kids anywhere. just because a Catholic school has lesser students or is "private" doesn't mean that it will be any better than a public school. i think i turned out pretty good since i went to a public school. and my sister went to a public school her whole life, and she came out pretty good too.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

Really???? Isn't it the ultimate goal of growing up to be come productive members of society? Sorry, school IS aimed at preparing everyone for the workforce, that is just life.

that's what i thought. isn't that why you take SAT's in high school and get bombarded by people from the Army calling you left and right and college fairs going on every week?

 

[freckles and boo]

Again with the incorrect assumptions.

What I said was that the purpose of education is to give the kids some kind of erudition, or at least have them end up smarter than rocks. Training them for jobs is vocational type stuff.

There were people saying the point of going to school is to get them prepared to work, and there is a difference. Lots of folks who'll never work a day in their lives go to school, too. The purpose of education is NOT to prepare people to work, it is to give them knowledge.

OK?

I agree with this in theory. Ideally, education is the process by which we learn HOW to learn. In reality, we gain specific knowledge that in many, many cases is applicable to our future jobs and careers. If a high school graduate goes on to college, he or she will eventually have to declare a major and take classes in a specific area. Someone who majors in accounting will learn the basic skills of an accountant. Someone who majors in chemistry will learn the basic skills of a chemist. For those who don't anticipate going directly to college, in is in their best interest to gain some specific knowledge in high school so that they are immediately able to earn a living and contribute to society. Vocational education is very, very important and (as you said) has no bearing on intelligence. It is the responsibility of schools to educate, but what that means beyond basic "erudition" varies from person to person. For a college bound student it is important to be able to write a decent essay. For someone who is going straight into the workforce, other skills may be necessary. Public schools usually do a much better job when it comes to serving the range of students. It is their responsibility to do so.

 

[M 'n C]

I considered a non religous private school but I just cant get past the uniform bit, I want her to be an individual, not just one of 500 kids all dressed and looking the same.

I found this statement a little funny because a lot of school districts in Louisiana are moving to uniforms in public schools. I guess that movement hasn't made it up north quite yet.

I went to a catholic school from K-12 and I enjoyed it. There wasn't much of a choice back home. Pretty much the only choice in my town was a private school. There wasn't a good school district in the whole city - suburbs included. Even then it is true you had to watch which private school you went too because not all of them were equal. My elementary/middle school was behind most of the other schools in the area. We didn't find out until I hit high school and everyone was skipping algebra (took it in 8th grade) and flying through their foreign language classes while I struggled (already took it).

Not sure what I will do with my kids when I have them and the time comes. I think there are quite a few good districts in the Houston area and I think tuition at catholic schools are quite high here compared to back home so they might just end up at a public school but I think it will be my job to ensure they are receiving the right education by being involved at home and watching their homework, test grades, and reading abilities - not the schools job because there are just too many kids for the teachers to watch and keep up with.

 

[ZPT1022]

So a public high school shouldn't prepare kids to go into medicine, teaching, environmental science, nutrition, rock science, horticulture or any other subject is that correct? By offering a full range of courses you are imparting knowledge on a broad base for all students which is the idea of going to school in the first place. If some of those courses include mechanical drawing, auto shop or calculus, what is the difference? We do not have vocational high schools in Minnesota, where are the kids that want to learn those types of skills supposed to learn them? They are still required to take English, math, social science, science, etc like everyone else but often having subjects that interest them keeps them in school!

Playing along with this, because I do enjoy playing devil's advocate- do you realize that in other parts of the world, France being a good example since I am familiar with their culture- high schoolers pick a "track" that they want to be on, and while stile getting all their general education taken care of, they will focus more intensely on the courses within their track, and the track is related to future career path. For example, if I wanted to become a doctor, I would take the science track and focus more intently on that. I actually think it's a good idea to make kids stop and think about where their strengths lie and think about the future. While my high school was good and offered lots of choices, there was no emphasis put on the future aside from getting into college. No thinking of what you want to DO with that education or anything. I just know that for my kids, DH and I want to see them put a little more into it and actually be somewhat prepared for adulthood and not just bounce around from school to school and never use those degrees because that would mean having to grow up, like so many of our classmates have done.

 

[golfgal]

I would not send her to Catholic school simply because I don't believe religion has anyplace in school. I considered a non religous private school but I just cant get past the uniform bit, I want her to be an individual, not just one of 500 kids all dressed and looking the same. Our public schools are good so it is really not an issue at all anyway.

I always love when people bring up the uniform issue and tie it to individualism. If you have spent any time in any high school 99% of the kids in ALL high schools wear a 'uniform' although just not a formal uniform. In our area the girls all wear the low ride jeans, tight t-shirt and a certain kind of tennis shoe. Yup, they are as individual as all their friends. You find VERY few individual dressers in high school. If you look at their friends, they are wearing the same thing as their friends. Most high school kids don't WANT to be an individual, they want to be part of a group. What you wear has very little to do with being an individual, sorry.

 

[golfgal]

Playing along with this, because I do enjoy playing devil's advocate- do you realize that in other parts of the world, France being a good example since I am familiar with their culture- high schoolers pick a "track" that they want to be on, and while stile getting all their general education taken care of, they will focus more intensely on the courses within their track, and the track is related to future career path. For example, if I wanted to become a doctor, I would take the science track and focus more intently on that. I actually think it's a good idea to make kids stop and think about where their strengths lie and think about the future. While my high school was good and offered lots of choices, there was no emphasis put on the future aside from getting into college. No thinking of what you want to DO with that education or anything. I just know that for my kids, DH and I want to see them put a little more into it and actually be somewhat prepared for adulthood and not just bounce around from school to school and never use those degrees because that would mean having to grow up, like so many of our classmates have done.

While schools don't necessarily track here, you can take coursework with an emphasis on your interests. In MN as a 9-10th grader you don't have a lot of choice for electives but jr/sr's do and the can tailor their schedules to match their interests. I know when I was in high school I really enjoyed science and took extra science classes as electives. My boyfriend at the time wanted to be an architect and took a lot of art, mechanical drawing type classes, etc. MN also has the option for jr/sr's to take college level course for free and they double count for high school credit and college credits. There are a lot of kids that graduate from high school with enough college credits to be a junior in college.

 

[aprilgail2]

I found this statement a little funny because a lot of school districts in Louisiana are moving to uniforms in public schools. I guess that movement hasn't made it up north quite yet.

No it has not thank goodness. The principal discussed it at a PTA meeting but I was one of the people that stood up against it. We have a couple kids in the school (mine included) that have sensory issues and my daughters happens to be a lot with clothes. She can not wear anything with buttons, snaps, zippers or ties, no "hard" pants like jeans or dockers no shirts with a collar or nothing snug on her wrists, and no skirts, dresses skorts etc, only short sleeve.s Sweaters are out of the questions, she freaks with those (they itch they itch!). So unless the dress code was sweat pants or leggins with a short sleeve shirt she would be in big trouble LOL. Right now the battle is a winter coat, she cant handle the feeling of a winter coat so she is choosing to freeze in just a zipper up sweatshirt.
My neice is in high school and they may dress in "groups" but not all alike. She dressed like the goth kids, then there are the skaters, the preps, the geeks, the druggies and a bunch of other type groups, no way do all the girls dress alike. My neice wears the big army type pants with zippers and chains, wouldn't be caught dead in low riders.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We are presently homeschooling.

the order of my choices were:

Homeschooling
Catholic School
Public School



Hubby was on the public school kick for a little bit. He was in the "it was good enough for me" club. Things change, circumstances change--and if that is the ONLY reason he had for public school, I was open to other exploring other options.

I liked the idea of Catholic School for a religious centered education. But at $300 per month for one child--that costs can be prohibitive in the budget.

Hubby had a relative who home schools and I knew a few who homeschool in my area. The decision to home school for us cannot be packaged up pretty in a box and tied neat with a bow.

For us: It is less expensive than parochial school, less time consuming than traditional school, allows us schedule flexibility, allows us more family time, allows us to follow our childrens interests in learning versus sticking to to a syllabus created for a class of 20-30 students of varying abilities, allows her to see more of the real world than be in the confines of a classroom all day (we do many many field trips that would otherwise be limited to one or two per year depending on which school). We have an awesome homeschooling group where DD gets some classroom time. They offer everything from newborns to highschoolers including a prom and graduation.

We use a syllabus from a Catholic school for our skeleton structure (the engineering hubby found it actually). I sub out the math and reading (she is way past where they are at, by her choice) and supplement with things that would interest her.

For us it worked---something I had thought about since my oldest was a baby. Hubby voluntarily attended a homeschooling convention he found to learn more about it. He needs facts and figures and evidence that something is a good choice since what he grew up with worked fine. He's a status quo--if it ain't broke don't fix it kind of guy (he graduated Valedictorian).

What I grew up with worked fine as well...but I would have preferred something better. I went to public school-10 of them. But I longed ever since I was a child to go to Catholic School. Very strange since I wasn't even Catholic at the time.

What you do for your kids only works if you and the dad are on the same page. If not, that may bleed into the family dynamic. You cannot make the other do something for the kids that they don't want to do...but you can find evidence to support your position and present it. The hopefully the other parent will present their opinons and evidence of what they want and then between the two of you working out a solution that is mutually agreeable for the family.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

in all honesty i really think that it depends on the school. because Catholic schools can be just as bad as public schools.

Believe it or not--the school at our church..had a bullying problem for a year or two. I was a bit shocked when I heard from someone whose child was a victim yet it was being ignored.


Also--kids can still learn cuss words and I am sure other things at a Catholic school. My daughter's God mother was upset when her girls came home with some interesting things to say.

They have a nun in charge now that the parents call "Sister git 'er done" b/c she came in like gangbusters to clean up the place, make it more efficient, and make the place more "holy" than it was. (We are "Holy Name of Jesus" parish).

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I think that is a great reason to send them to a Catholic School. I can never understand why people that aren't Catholic send their children to a Catholic school. JMO.

My brother and sister went to Catholic school when we lived in New Orleans.

My mother walked into the Public School to register him when we moved there, and in getting all the information about the school was told that children do not ever speak at lunch. Not one single word and if they did they would get a detention. I'm sure she had other issues as well but she had a HUGE problem with that.

The catholic school offered a military discount and she could send them pretty cheap. So she sent them. My sister was baptized catholic so that wasn't an issue. My brother wasn't even baptized.

She wanted them in a safe environment where they could learn AND be kids and it was VERY strange that the Catholic school was LESS strict than the public school.

Sometimes it just is an educational choice.

 

[barkley]

our kids started out in private school (christian) for the most part because the school housed the pre-schools/daycare they had attended, and since dh and i both worked ft, we wanted them in a place where the daycare they would need before/after school would be provided in-house and with people they were familiar with.

we ended up leaving that school for specific reasons, but a large factor was our view that the school had become too focused on the marketing of their 'image' such that kids were being taught to the tests (the school loved to publicize how well their students did compared to other schools-the kids did realy well on standardized tests, not so well in non test atmospheres). we also grew weary of the issues with kids who had behavioural problems. round these parts the public schools can kick a kid out for certain causes-and the parents generaly choose to enroll them in privates over finding another school district willing to take them in. the religious schools love to be able to say they can 'turn around' any kid and will take horrendous cases in. the other kids suffer as a result of verbal/physical abuse, class disruptions-administration, when parents voice concerns or complain, pull the 'it's our christian duty to help this child card' and will unfortunatly let issues that should be addressed (and have been addressed to the point of district wide expulsion of these kids) go on and on. NOT ALL private schools have higher behavioural standards for their students-and even those that do will often 'pick and choose' which students are subject to which rules (this can esp. be the case when you have extensive familial relationships between staff and students-mom's the principal with 3 sisters who are teachers under her supervision-as well as the teachers that deal with mom/principal's kids. those kids are often subject to a whole different set of rules for their conduct-if they are subject to the rules at all).

we ended up moving our kids to a very small christian school-while it teaches religion, it is more bible study and not specifics on the church that parents it (something i appreciate because while i like the kids learning about the christian religion-i don't want them forced to participate in religious services during the school hours). one thing that greatly appealed to us about this particular school was their position on our son. ds has adhd and it's presented some learning difficulties that we knew from preschool needed to be accommodated in certain ways. when we looked at public school we were told that he would have to go in, be reccognized as having problems (read-fail in a traditional classroom setting ) and then be referred for evaluation and a possible iep-minimum six months to get to the evaluation point. with this school they listened to what we felt needed accommodating, were honest in what they could/could not do-but willing to try from day one. as a result ds has been very successful and enjoys school (something i don't hear allot of adhd son's parents able to say).

there are good and bad private schools just as there are good and bad public. i think you have to research and find out why the people that send their kids there do (don't rely on the glossy brochures and the websites), and also find out why people who don't (have disenrolled) make that choice. the very reason someone disenrolled could be the reason you want your child there-the reason someone has their child enrolled could be the absolute reason you want your kid as far from there as possible.

shop around.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Catholic school for now. We'll reevaluate things when DS gets a few years older but in the lower grades, our public school district is really overcrowded. DW and I were both Catholic school products, so that partially weighed in our decision.

 

[Christine]

A non-Catholic here who has both kids in Catholic school. *Some* of our public schools are not so good, so I have chosen the Catholic school because the are consistent in their discipline and with their curriculum. Honeslty, especially with my DD, I got sick of the way the public schools kept experimenting with different curriculums every few years. The SOLs in VA were the last straw for me. My God, talk about teaching to the test. It was INSANE in high school.

Having said all that, I do agree that there are some good things that the public schools offer that aren't in the Catholic schools but I feel that the other benefits of the Catholic schools outweigh what me might be losing.

 

[Pigeon]

We live in a district with fabulous public schools. We couldn't be happier with them.

I went to Catholic schools and had a horrible time. We had nuns who were genuinely psychotic. My brother has scars all over his back from beatings delivered by the "Christian" Brothers.

I have a relative who sends her kids to Catholic school. From what I see, they pay tuition to have her child receive a sub-standard eduction. No thanks! On the bright side, there are so few nuns left that her kids at least don't have to deal with that craziness.

 

[kdibattista]

I guess I should clarify a bit. DH and I are both practicing Catholics. I went to Catholic School for 12 years and he went to public school so I think we are both just going for what we know. I don't have any problems with the public school system here... it seems pretty good but I will certainly research thoroughly when the time comes.

I understand that this is a deeply personal decision and there are many factors that come into play. I was looking for what your reasons are for the education you chose. I appreciate everyone's comments and want to assure everyone that being conceited is not one of the reasons I am leaning towards Catholic school

 

[disneyjunkie]

I found this statement a little funny because a lot of school districts in Louisiana are moving to uniforms in public schools. I guess that movement hasn't made it up north quite yet.

Many of our pubic schools have uniform policies.

The only schools that seem to be able to enforce it are the schools that parents fight to get their kids into. Most of these schools (elementary, middle and high school) require their students to pass entrance exams, interviews...

Students who don't wear the uniforms can be asked to leave the school.

The other schools encourage students to wear uniforms but can't enforce because they can't turn the students away.

 

[my4kids]

I always love when people bring up the uniform issue and tie it to individualism. If you have spent any time in any high school 99% of the kids in ALL high schools wear a 'uniform' although just not a formal uniform. In our area the girls all wear the low ride jeans, tight t-shirt and a certain kind of tennis shoe. Yup, they are as individual as all their friends. You find VERY few individual dressers in high school. If you look at their friends, they are wearing the same thing as their friends. Most high school kids don't WANT to be an individual, they want to be part of a group. What you wear has very little to do with being an individual, sorry.

- Actually by taking the fashion factor out, and replacing it with uniforms, kids that can't afford what ever the latest style is are able to show their individuality and develop their character better. Students are encouraged to focus on a persons true individuality and not the clothes (which aren't even skin deep- and have nothing to do with a person themself) I am all for uniforms in public schools and wish they would start it in my district.....being a tween is hard enough, but my daughter has so much pressure on top of it to look cool every day....this morning she was in tears because I made her wear a hat, and it wasn't cool enough.

 

[U2_rocks!]

I went to a great private (non-Catholic) school, and I am sending my kids there too. The current headmistress was my teacher in J4 (10 - 11 years old) and she was absolutely my favourite! I love that the school has been around so long and is still a good school, some of the teachers have been there over 30 years. It is familiar and dear to my heart. The school fosters such a great community spirit, the parents do a lot of charity work, the after school activities are varied. And there is a wonderful learning support department, where all types of learning issues are addressed in a way that doesn't create a stigma among those kids who need to use the services. In fact, kids who don't need learning support are very often jealous of those who do b/c they get to go and have fun in another classroom for a couple hours a day! DH has dyslexia, and I wanted a school that could recognize and deal with it if it surfaced in any of my kids - the public schools here just don't have that ability, you have to seek help outside of school. DH was never treated for his, and has always struggled with reading.

We could have made do with the free public schools instead of this expensive private one I suppose - but I really wanted my kids to have the same school experience that I did. I KNOW they couldn't fare better at the public schools.

OP: make a list of all the KEY things you want from a school. Then make a list of all the key pros and cons of the public and the Catholic schools you are considering. You will likely not find a school that 100% fits your ideal - but making lists and carefully evaluating them will help point out a school that fits a majority of your important needs. You have to look at: teachers, school's reputation, parent involvement, rules and policies, extra-curricular activities, learning support available, class sizes, community spirit etc. Decide which are the things that are most important to you, then see which school will best fit the bill.

Good luck!

 

[U2_rocks!]

- Actually by taking the fashion factor out, and replacing it with uniforms, kids that can't afford what ever the latest style is are able to show their individuality and develop their character better. Students are encouraged to focus on a persons true individuality and not the clothes (which aren't even skin deep- and have nothing to do with a person themself) I am all for uniforms in public schools and wish they would start it in my district.....being a tween is hard enough, but my daughter has so much pressure on top of it to look cool every day....this morning she was in tears because I made her wear a hat, and it wasn't cool enough.

All schools here wear uniforms, and always have. I wore one all my life, so will my kids. At least I never had to worry about fashion until I started going out as a teen to places outside of school. And there was never any decision about what to wear that day - took a lot of hassle out of the morning, once the uniforms were clean and ready.

Still, uniforms aren't perfect. You have to make sure you always have a clean one, for example. And if you have a less then perfect body (baby fat etc.) some uniforms make it difficult to flatter that (I'm talking high school now). I know - I had baby fat and my uniform was a tunic with a belt at the waist. It was pretty clear which girls had the nice, small waists and which ones didn't! Some girls used to make their belts dangerously tight so their waists would look smaller - teachers were always making girls let out their belts. Kids will always find ways to distinguish themselves, uniform or not.