Catholic School or Public School?

[hornedfrog]

We are planning on sending our kids to public schools for the first few years of their education (right now they are in private preschool, but will start public school at kindergargen). We will probably transition them to private (college prep, but non-religious) in junior high and keep there there through high school.

That was exactly how I grew up and I think it was the best of both worlds for me. My private high school offered so much more than the public schools did (and we lived in a pretty affluent area with decent public schools). My high school was well-connected to many leading colleges and by graduating from there with a decent GPA there were a lot more doors opened to you. There was also the expectation that you would go to college...I graduated in a class of 29 and all 29 of us have a bachelors degree at a minimum (and by far the majority of us have degrees beyond that). We all do diverse things, so it wasn't really a brainwashing type experience. I am a telecom engineer. Others are social workers, teachers, CFO's...one is a chef who graduated from the CIA. However, the ones who grew up going all 13 years in private school tended to not have a very good perception of how things are 'in the real world'. Some of them were quite unbearable in their snobbishness. It was enough to make me decide that I wouldn't send my kids to a school like that for all of their educational years. Afterall, for most of us, success isn't just about what we know, it has a lot to do with 'getting along' and people skills and the workforce is made up of all types!

We wore uniforms and in no way did they stifle individuality or self-expression. We just found different ways to be individuals. In terms of dress, that meant choice of shoes, earrings (the dress code just said that they must be smaller than a quarter), hair accessories, purses, bookbags, etc. If a kid said that they couldn't express themselves because of a uniform, I'd tell them that they just aren't trying hard enough to think outside the box a little! We also had 'dress down' days where we could wear regular clothes. There was so much self-expression on those days, it was like a costume party!

 

[aprilgail2]

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.

I think the Catholic schools have changed a lot over the years. I know my best friend was taked out of public school in 2nd grade and put into catholic school for a year. After that year it took her years of therapy to get over what the nuns do to those kids in the classrooms (wacking with rulers, humiliation etc)....Her therapist told her parents to get her out of catholic school and put her back into public school! I am sure that they are not allowed to do that as drastic as they did years ago in the catholic schools though.
You hear horror stories about publie and private schools, I know my friends daughters went in grade school and Junior high but in high school she pulled them out and put them in public school because there were to many drugs in the private school. Her daughter was also harrassed and made fun of on a daily basis in catholic grade school and they did nothing to stop it for her. So no matter where you send them to school if its not a good school, public or private, it really doesn't matter!
Oh and the best one, my friend had 3 daughters in catholic school many years ago, she was getting divorced because of an abusive husband and they told her that if she got divorced then the kids couldn't go to catholic school there! I guess they would rather have her stay with the abusive husband!!!

 

[Crankyshank]

I'm a product of Catholic schools and I had a great education, and I even was able to express my individuality despite having uniforms. I think anyone that says one can't be an individual and wear a school uniform is woefully misinformed and has no personal experience with school uniforms.

In my district we have great elementary schools, so-so middle schools, and a good high school. I'd like my kids to go to Catholic Kindergarten and then public school but DH is opposed to Catholic school being a non Catholic. So we'll public school and if we are still in the same house when our future child is in middle school and the school hasn't improved, I guess we'll explore our options then. If DH is still opposed to Catholic school, then most likely the Quaker school.

 

[Planogirl]

We moved to this area for the public schools and I'm fine with them. I would hate to pay high taxes like we do and then still have to pay for private school!

 

[JunieJay]

DH and I both went to Catholic school K-12, so when it came time to send our kids to school we had no hesitation, they would be going to Catholic school just like we did.

We quickly found out that for our kids, public school was by far the better of the two. The Catholic school where our kids were attending has very limited resources -- if your child is not average on the scale, forget about getting anything extra. Nothing for the gifted child, nothing for the child with developmental needs. Since we have one of each, public school made the most sense. We pulled the oldest out in 1st grade and the youngest has always been in public school. We have never regretted out decision.

 

[Kath2003]

I went to a regular public school.
Personally I think this is the right choice, because, even if the schools have identical facilities and resources, it allows children to mix with people from a variety of financial and cultural backgrounds. It is more like the "real world".
Religious schools are designed to promote ONE viewpoint - fair enough, that is their purpose. But it doesn't facilitate debate well.

If I married someone religious, since I am not, I would send my kids to a public school and have them learn about their father's chosen religion in another place (Sunday School or whatever).

Also, 99% of schools in the UK, public, private, religious or not, you have to wear a uniform. Uniforms do not supress individuality - they just ensure that kids aren't picked on as much for not having the latest clothes etc. They level the playing field. They make kids feel like they belong to a school, it gives them a sense of pride. It also gives them a sense of "dressing for the workplace" - when you have your uniform on, it's time to go to school and study.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Private schools here - in the public schools it appears that most of the attention and focus goes to kids who would not be accepted into a top notch private school - behavioral issues, iep issues, learning disabled etc.

Focus on the best education possible seems to be the motto of these elite schools - 99.9% go on to secondary education, excellent parental involvement. The extra activities my school offered were exceptional - we had a senior trip to Europe. Every sport, language, was offered.

But it is not cheap, in this area basic private schools are around $7,000 a year and go up to $20,000 easily. But I cannot see a better investment than education.

 

[helenabear]

I had the pleasure of attending both Catholic and public schools. After my experience here, I will never send a child to Catholic schooling in this area. The public schools are far superior and offer so much more for the children. I didn't have the best experience at my Catholic school either so that will always be there as well. But in all honesty, there is no way I would have had the opportunities with classes and other activities that I had in my public school had I stayed in private.

 

[castleview]

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?

No! Because learning a trade IS knowledge; not necessarily training. Keep in mind, these are elective courses. They aren't in shop all day.

 

[mer1015]

DH and I have sent DD(12) to Catholic School since pre-k 4 (now in 7th grade). We made our decision based on the best education we could give her and in our area (just outside of Baltimore) it was Catholic School. But the way people debate this issue has always bothered me. We made our decision based on the best we could do for our daughter and if it would have been public or other private we would have done that. There are so many factors you have to look at for the area you are in and your family's circumstance. I also am not saying that all public schools in our area are bad that's what i mean by looking at differnt factors such as location, programs, values (that you want your child to learn). I am very happy with the education she has recieved and plan to continue Catholic school until graduation for her.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I just remembered something. There is a private Christian school in my area where some of my acquaintances have sent their kids. It's pretty highly regarded, but these acquaintances say they really spend the majority of the school day studying the Bible. They get very little classroom instruction on regular school subjects and learn most of it through homework. They are spending so much time on homework each day that they have very little time for playing with friends, or for other organized activities like sports, scouts, music, etc.

Some of these parents love it this way, others have hated it and pulled their kids out of the school.

I'm not saying all religious schools are like this, I have no idea. I'm also not saying it's good or bad, just that it's one thing for parents to consider when choosing a school.

Good luck on your decision, Kim.

 

[kpm76]

Check out your local Catholic schools faith based curriculum before you decide this....I thought the same thing, when I visited the school, with lacking facilities, I asked to see exactly what religion was taught. It was the exact same text used in the sunday school class on Sunday. So I said, "what other religion are they getting, that I can't get by going public?" The answer was, they say the Our Father in the morning." For $4,000 a year, and a horrible reading program,I will say the Our Father with my kids at the breakfast table before they leave for school.

I think you make a good point, but I also think it depends on what your expectations are in terms of what a Catholic education means. If you're just looking for religious ed classes, then you're probably right, save the 4k. What I really love about a Catholic school environment goes beyond the religion classes. It's the Crucifix in the classroom as a constant reminder of our faith, saying grace at lunchtime so we are reminded that there are those that will not have food for lunch, First Friday Mass and the list goes on. It's the whole package, not just the religious ed class.

DH and I were both Catholic school educated and we have taught religious education at our church. One thing to consider regarding CCD classes is that the group meets once a week, typically after school or on a weekend. Our experience has been that the kids do not want to be there, for the most part. Granted we taught 8th grade, but they are either tired from a long school day or they are upset with giving up weekend time. Even if the text books are the same as the Catholic school, the education and ultimately what the child takes away from the experience is different.

As stated before though, not all Catholic schools are great. Some are grossly underfunded, lack resources and quality teachers. Like everything else, you have to do your homework and ultimately you have to make a decision that works best for you and your family.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I haven't read all of the posts, so forgive me if I'm being repetitive. Do you have any other private school options in the area? Would you consider homeschooling? I'm just wondering why it has to be Catholic school or public school only DH and I are definitely going private with our kids. We think that we're going the Montessori route (K-6 anyways), but we are also considering a Catholic school and 2 Episcopal (sp?) schools. It looks like your child is probably an infant still, so take your time and research all the schools available. You never know what will resonate with you.

 

[cybrkitn]

Oops. I checked "other private school" rather than Catholic school.

Public school education is getting way out of hand with what is being taught. The system is presenting the evolution theory as "fact" rather than "theory", historical facts are being left out purposefully because of the Christian references, just to name a few.

We chose to send our DS4 to Lutheran school (our church has a school) where the Bible is taught every day. The evolution theory is taught as just that - a theory. The kids are taught the creation of the world according to God's Word in Genesis. Plus, DS is in Sunday school and the lesson coinsides with what he is being taught in school (first year in Pre-school). So it's reinforced and he retains what he is learning.

We felt God directing us to send our son there, plus we feel we are fulfilling one of the promises we made when we had him baptized at 4 months old. Both DH and I had a rough time in public school and we didn't want our son to go through the problems we had. Especially since I heard on the radio about 2-3 years ago that a middle school kid in our district brought a knife to school.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Our kids go to a Catholic school for many reasons but mainly for the religious education.

 

[Christine]

I haven't read all of the posts, so forgive me if I'm being repetitive. Do you have any other private school options in the area? Would you consider homeschooling? I'm just wondering why it has to be Catholic school or public school only DH and I are definitely going private with our kids. We think that we're going the Montessori route (K-6 anyways), but we are also considering a Catholic school and 2 Episcopal (sp?) schools. It looks like your child is probably an infant still, so take your time and research all the schools available. You never know what will resonate with you.

In our area, there are some other types of private schools but they are either "too" religious (moreso than the Catholic school) or too expensive. I am Episcopalian and send my kids to Catholic school. I do not make enough money to send my kids to the Episcopal schools. They are VERY prep and VERY expensive. I don't think my kids could fit in there.

 

[ZPT1022]

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.

I think that's great. I grew up in CT- a state known for it's quality of education, and in a town within that state with great schools. I just don't think that they taught us (DH went to the same school and feels the same way) to be prepared for the real world. The only focus was on going to college, so that they could boast that 97% of their students went to college. While that's all fine and good there was really no thought on future planning beyond "you need to go to college". Not very many people joined the military or went to a trade school or sought out an apprenticeship program, which are all valid options in my opinion. The focus was too much on enjoying high school, which you should, but to an extent, and not too much thought on the future. I agree, let kids be kids and enjoy it, but they should realize that real life is coming up soon too. Our school never offered courses on budgeting or smart use of credit or any other "real world" kind of stuff. I guess I'd just like to see a more well rounded, balanced point of view presented to my kids, but then DH and I are more prepared to offer that to them than I think our parents thought they needed to for us. Oh, and my school did offer lots of "extras" just the guidance counselors were useless. No one said to anyone "Well Gee, you took CAD classes and art classes, ever think of going into architecture?" or something like that, it was all focused on enjoying the present and being well rounded enough to go to a good college. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just not everything. Did that make any sense?

 

[cybrkitn]

Check out your local Catholic schools faith based curriculum before you decide this....I thought the same thing, when I visited the school, with lacking facilities, I asked to see exactly what religion was taught. It was the exact same text used in the sunday school class on Sunday. So I said, "what other religion are they getting, that I can't get by going public?" The answer was, they say the Our Father in the morning." For $4,000 a year, and a horrible reading program,I will say the Our Father with my kids at the breakfast table before they leave for school.

Was the Catholic school teaching the Bible in their classes? If so, then that is one major thing that you cannot get in any public school. I understand your reasoning with the reading program. Reading is important.

A study was done (can't remember the name of it or where to find it) and it was found that Christian schools have better testing scores than public schools because God is still in the equation. Since God was taken out in the 1960's, test scores in the public schools have gone down tremendously.

 

[Pigeon]

Since God was taken out in the 1960's, test scores in the public schools have gone down tremendously.

 

[The_Horned_King]

I think Public is by far the better option.

Catholic school have far to many rules and restrict learning on many choldren. that said if you are liveing in inner city B-more then a private may be the best, but public in the burbs should be fine.

That said also check into your state laws!! I can not state this enough!
In the state of ohio and most ofther states the private school are not held to the same standards that public schools are. their are state and federal requirements that private schools simply choose to ignore 90% of the time as they are not watched over claosely.

Another point is check into the teachers....more often then not catholic school teachers are either Old Nuns, or young teachers trying to break into the biz. You find your more experienced teachers in public schools as public schools always pay more.

If diverisity is also a point of interest to you...YOU WILL NOT HAVE diversity at many private schools. Espically if it's at one of a higher cost.

Thats said why pay for something that you can already get for free(not counting taxes)??? Espically when the teachers are usually better trained.

Just my opinion.