Poll: Public School Or Catholic School

[DisneyMama2H&O]

We are Catholic and our DS5 is going into a Public Kindergarten. I am a public school teacher and I stressed over this decision for the first 5 years of his life. We live in a very good school district and our elementary school is a very good school. I really wanted to send DS to Catholic School (he went there for Pre School for 2 years) but the cost just wasn't in the cards for us. I asked everyone for advice. I found out that the current Catholic School Kinder class had 35 students in it with 1 teacher & 1 aide. His Preschool teacher also thought that DS would do better in a public school because the catholic school class was large and very structured. We decided to go with our Public School. We will rethink our current plan though as middle school approaches. I would agree with Christine that the middle schools in our area are not quite as up to par as our elementary schools and high schools.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

I would take a good public school over a Catholic school any day of the week.

Because? You don't like Catholics, or religion or religious people in general?

 

[JudicialTyranny]

Our public schools are pretty good academically, but I still send my kids to Catholic school. It's more than just a religion class once a week (which is what you get with CCD). It's the whole package.

That being said, I'm not squeezing the budget to do it, but that's not to say I couldn't find a way to spend or save the 6,000 (for 3 kids). I think that's the best place to spend it. But I may not be walking in your shoes budgetwise.

Honestly, one big reason I don't send them to public school is that I have problems with the political agenda of the teacher's union. I went to both Catholic and public schools. In the public schools, the union's agenda seeps into the classroom and cirriculum - I've seen it first hand.

 

[smartestnumber5]

My parents sent me to a Catholic school until 8th grade. I think they decided to do it mostly because my father had had bad experiences (don't know the details) with the local public school when he was a teen. Must have been some bad experiences, though, for him to be able to convince my mother. She had gone to Catholic school when it was still completely taught by nuns and she went through a period where she vomited everyday because of anxiety. Apparently she was always afraid she'd get hit with a ruler if she did something wrong, and even worse they kept telling the kids that if they didn't protect their hearts from evil the devil would get inside of them. Scared the heck out of her.

The Catholic school was fine for me, but it didn't work well at all for my younger brother. Eventually my parents switched both of us to public school because of their issues with him and money. It was only then that we realized how much better the public school was than the Catholic school. The Catholic school's idea of a "gifted" program was that those of us who scored high enough on standardized tests got to miss a regular class once every two weeks or so and play on a computer (1 of the 2 in the whole school!). The public school, on the other hand, had a breakdown of different levels of classes for almost every subject (except home ec, typing class, etc.) and I was placed in all honors classes in every subject. In the Catholic school the best they would do was send the kids who were best at math into the next grade's math class (i.e. the top 7th graders just went to the 8th grade math class).

There were other issues with the Catholic school as well that made it hard for my parents (and me). There was always all of this moving around of teachers in the middle of the year that happened to my class in particular so we never had a stable teacher (and unlike the public school where kids changed classes and had a different teacher for each subject, we had just one or two teachers for all subjects...how could one person be qualified to teach 8th graders every subject?!) There was also the problem of my parents having to undo what I was taught in religion class. For example, the school was telling me birth control wasn't allowed, while my parents thought the Catholic Church was crazy for taking a stance against birth control.

The Catholic schools did, however, seem to have less students with behavioral problems and fewer kids being held back a year. But from witnessing the number of such kids who started out in Catholic school and ended up in public school, my parents concluded that this was probably because private schools have an easier time expelling students than public schools do.

Anyway, given that experience I'd be suspicious of Catholic schools (perhaps even private schools in general). But the big determinant of the decision would be the religion. I doubt I could take sending my kid to a religious school when I would then have to undo all that religious teaching at home. For those of you whose children attend religious schools which are not the religion you practice (if you practice any) how do you do it?

 

[Christine]

We are Catholic and our DS5 is going into a Public Kindergarten. I am a public school teacher and I stressed over this decision for the first 5 years of his life. We live in a very good school district and our elementary school is a very good school. I really wanted to send DS to Catholic School (he went there for Pre School for 2 years) but the cost just wasn't in the cards for us. I asked everyone for advice. I found out that the current Catholic School Kinder class had 35 students in it with 1 teacher & 1 aide. His Preschool teacher also thought that DS would do better in a public school because the catholic school class was large and very structured. We decided to go with our Public School. We will rethink our current plan though as middle school approaches. I would agree with Christine that the middle schools in our area are not quite as up to par as our elementary schools and high schools.

Hello neighbor!! I just realized from looking at your profile that you are close to me!

I wanted to add a statement about class size.

In our area, the Catholic schools have a much larger class size than the public school. Each class my DD/DS are in have about 32 kids per teacher. When we did public elementary, the class sizes ranged from about 17-24 students.

I will say that despite the larger class size, the Catholic school STILL did a better job at educating than the public schools and there is one reason for this: CONTROL. I found that in the higher grades (probably starting in 4th/5th grade) when the kids started acting up, the public school teachers were less able to maintain control in the classroom most likely due to their fear of parental backlash. In the Catholic school, the teachers do not have this fear. You and your children WILL go along with the rules. So, for the most part, that class of 32 kids is very quiet and very disciplined. We did not find this to be the case always in our public school class of 20.

Now, I do agree, and some of the Catholic teachers have even said it--the 'rules' and discipline in the classroom can be most difficult on the boys. They have such a hard time sitting still. The public school classes seem to let them move around a bit more. I don't know if this is good or bad. Before my son went to private school, he could hardly sit properly at a school desk (he has ADHD). He was constantly fidgeting, sitting with his legs strewn out in the aisle, laying on his desk and moving around all the time. The public school never corrected his behavior at all. He wasn't really bothering anyone but he was also not sitting still. When he got to Catholic School in 4th grade, they got they behavior under control rather quickly. He still "motors" his legs, taps his finger, etc. but his "sitting" skills are much improved because formality is a part of that classroom. And for us, it is a good thing.

 

[Sparx]

I've always went to public school. There wasn't a private school in the area that I really wanted to go to. I've been to good public schools and bad public schools. There is no blanket rule for them.

Issues can go unnoticed longer, because some teachers dont care, but parents and students can notice those issues also.

There are good teachers and bad teachers with everyschool, and I've had more than my fair share of both.

it is really just a personal preference.

 

[BuckNaked]

We prefer Catholic school to public school, even though we're in a very good district now (started in Catholic school because the public school system where we lived at the time was horrendous).

 

[Bob Slydell]

We chose our Catholic school over the public school for DS for now. Our decision for Kindergarden was easy -- our Catholic school does full day K while our public school does a 2 full and 1 half day school and we'd prefer DS to go full day to Kindergarden. We're going to send him there for a couple years and see how it's going before deciding to keep him there or send him to the public school, which is a pretty good school system.

 

[slo]

I sent my DD to a Catholic school in our town for kindergarten and we were very set to send her there for other grades. But we were so unimpressed with the school, that we sent her to public school for 1st grade.

This is not to say that all Catholic schools are bad at all. It's just the one in our town was not worth the money at all!!!

 

[froglady]

Your poll doesn't list other.

My children have always attended private, church sponsored (but not fundamentalist or Catholic) schools. There are also a non-religious private schools in the area.

With the exception of the magnet schools, I've been unimpressed with the public schools in general around here. The magnet schools aren't really very good until MS, and by that time, my children had an established group of friends who were mostly continuing on to private MS/HS. The magnet schools also have a lottery system for transfers, and the "winners" are not announced in a timely manner...long after private school contracts would be signed, and paid. Getting into a "better" school would probably mean leaving the state altogether. We knew BEFORE we had children that they would be in private school.

 

[Buckalew11]

. For those of you whose children attend religious schools which are not the religion you practice (if you practice any) how do you do it?

This isn't my case but, I doubt I would ever send my child to a school that had religion that I disagreed with and felt I had to undo when they came home. Public schools would have to very bad and dangerous for me to do this.
I know there are people who aren't Catholic whe send their kids to Catholic school because of their public schools. But I have never heard them talking about having to undo what is being taught.

 

[Marie17]

Catholic school - definitely.

Oldest son went to public elementary - then to Catholic school for middle. We moved and then only public school was available. I didn't want to drive over an hour each way to get him into a Catholic school - so he went to public. He begged all the time that he wish he didn't have to go to public. He loved the smaller class size and his teachers. Now we've moved again and he's in a magnet school for high school - which he loves because the classes offered are challenging for him.

Catholic school tuition also varies from state to state - so for some areas it is very expenses and for others it's no more than daycare.

 

[Christine]

This isn't my case but, I doubt I would ever send my child to a school that had religion that I disagreed with and felt I had to undo when they came home. Public schools would have to very bad and dangerous for me to do this.
I know there are people who aren't Catholic whe send their kids to Catholic school because of their public schools. But I have never heard them talking about having to undo what is being taught.

I haven't had to undo anything. I find that the majority of the Catholic "doctrine" taught in the schools are morals and religious history. None of which I have a problem with. I have had one or two incidents of them being a little bit too gung ho in the area of pro-life but it is easily handled at home. My husband and I are fairly non-religious but I have no problem at all with my children being exposed to the Catholic teachings.

 

[Pigeon]

Because? You don't like Catholics, or religion or religious people in general?

No, based on personal observation. I went to a Catholic elementary school and to a public high school. All 5 of my siblings went to Catholic high schools.

My well-to-do suburban Catholic elementary school was Dickensian. We had religion and English nearly all day, with little math, science, music or art. I was mathematically and scientifically inclined, and could have done so much better in public school. We had huge classes and largely incompetent teachers.

The public high school I attended had so much more to offer than did the Catholic schools my siblings attended. I had much better teachers and much more opportunity.

I have 19 nieces and nephews. Some go to Catholic schools and some to good public schools. The kids in the public schools get a much better education. The one positive thing I can say about the Catholic schools today is that at least there aren't too many nuns left.

I'm an educator as is my husband, and I think good public schools have much, much more to offer.

 

[golfgal]

Our kids have attended both public and Catholic schools (well, DS14 has and the twins will start public school this year). The problem with asking something like this is that you can't compare one person's experience with another's unless they are attending the exact same schools.

DS14 went to public kindergarten. The school was great, his teacher was wonderful, we loved the school we did miss things like Christmas and Easter in school. We moved that summer and having lived in the town we were moving to before (and having taught in those schools) we knew we wanted to send our kids to the Catholic school, it was just better then the public schools at the time. DS14 had a horrible experience there, mainly with some of the other kids and frankly, the administration didn't do anything about it. We pulled him out of there half way through 6th grade. He moved to the public schools, which had gotten new administration and was MUCH better. He did a LOT better there and they were more proactive about bullies (which is what his problem was at the Catholic school). The kids in the public school were MUCH nicer (in his grade).

The twins stayed at the Catholic school. Their class was great and didn't have the issues that they had in DS's class (every teacher's nightmare class where as the twins' class was every teacher's dream class).

We have now moved again and didn't consider the Catholic school because the public schools are the best in the state and one of the top in the nation. DS11 also needs more of a challenge then the Catholic school can provide. Their curriculum is advanced but he needs more then that. As for class sizes, in our old Catholic school the twins had 25 in their class and DS14 had 28 in his class (there were 3 sections of DS14's grade and 2 sections of the twins grade--big classes). In their new school they will have about the same class size. In Minnesota generally there isn't much difference between the quality of the public schools and the private schools. There are exceptions of course but if you aren't in the inner city schools, you are going to get at least a good if not great education in the public schools (for the larger towns anyway).

What you need to do is sit down, look at the data, test scores, talk to parents of all ages and find out what they think about the schools. Our old Catholic school had WONDERFUL elementary teachers but the middle school teachers weren't great (5th and 6th grade teachers mostly). Make your decision based on that information.

 

[Christine]

No, based on personal observation. I went to a Catholic elementary school and to a public high school. All 5 of my siblings went to Catholic high schools.

My well-to-do suburban Catholic elementary school was Dickensian. We had religion and English nearly all day, with little math, science, music or art. I was mathematically and scientifically inclined, and could have done so much better in public school. We had huge classes and largely incompetent teachers.

The public high school I attended had so much more to offer than did the Catholic schools my siblings attended. I had much better teachers and much more opportunity.

I have 19 nieces and nephews. Some go to Catholic schools and some to good public schools. The kids in the public schools get a much better education. The one positive thing I can say about the Catholic schools today is that at least there aren't too many nuns left.

I'm an educator as is my husband, and I think good public schools have much, much more to offer.

As a public school/Catholic school *hybrid* parent (meaning I'm doing a bit of both here and there), I will agree with you to some extent.

All things being equal--that the public and Catholic schools are equivalent--I think it then comes down to the child as to where the better place is. In my area (just outside of Washington, DC), our Catholic High Schools are well-funded, competitive, and score as well if not better than their public school counterparts. Fairfax County VA and the surrounding area of Arlington, VA is home to one of the best public school systems in the country. Within this area are 3 Catholic High Schools that have waiting lists because they are good. They are every bit as good as this high-ranked public school system. So, you wonder, why would a parent fork over the money for Catholic School? As I said, it comes down to the child.

I truly believe that if you have a "superstar" child or someone who is truly genius in specific subjects, a good public school high school is where you want to be. The public schools seem to bend over backwards for the high achievers. They get in all the good classes with all the good teachers (AP and Honors) with all the serious students. Alternatively, the public school systems usually offer really good programs for kids who have problems and need special assistance.

It's the great "middle" that has a problem. And the great middle is where my daughter is. And it seems to be a wasteland. Her classes are a mixture of some good students and some serious troublemakers. The teachers she had seemed burned out, disgusted with the "problem kids" they had to deal with (somehow those "problems" probably aren't in the Honors classes), and not overly concerned with the work my DD handed in.

As I've said in about 200 other threads, we are moving my DD out of public school and back into private. Last year, my DD took Spanish II in the 9th grade. She passed the course with an overall high-B. When we went to apply at the parochial school, we were informed that *most* 10th graders at the parochial school were in Spanish II. But since my DD already has passed it, especially with a B, they woud put her in Spanish III, but they wanted her to take a placement exam. They believed that their Spanish III was very rigorous and they did not want her to be behind in the class--apparently they have experienced this with kids coming out of the public school.

So, she took the test. She feels that she "bombed" it. Could hardly complete it. Her advisor and I both asked "Well, how the heck did you get a B in Spanish II." She said that all she was required to do was turn in her homework and she would automatically get a 100% whether the homework was right or wrong (it was never checked). She also tested well because they were allowed to use "cheat cards" during the exam--a 3 x 5 card with terms printed on front and back. That's how she got a B. Needless to say, the private school did not allow for this kind of nonsense. Now, this is just *one* of many examples I could give you. So, my DD will be "auditing" Spanish II again this year, so she can get up to speed with where she needs to be.

Now, that I've rambled: my point was that I think the public schools can be wonderful for the "right" children. If you are in that group you can get a very good education. If you don't get in that track, I think it's a bit harder.

 

[maleficent1959]

Another Pensacolian here. One Catholic family we are very good friends with chose to send their girls to Catholic school and live on a tight budget. The other Catholic family we are good friends with chose public school rather than go the tight budget route.

No offense to the the Pensacolians on this thread, but we did not consider non-denominational Christian schools. We looked at the Episcopal Day School, Creative Learning Academy and the Montessori school. Suffice it to say that we were not convinced that their curriculums warranted such a high price tag. Nor did we appreciate the "exclusive" (read: snobby) attitude the teachers and administration displayed.

The public schools here are a mixed bag, and yes, many are bad. But there are some very good elementary schools. We and our friends are lucky to be at two of those schools. To us, the private schools did not meet the needs of our child. While the public schools are not perfect, whatever we feel he doesn't get at school we can teach at home. We probably would have done that anyway.

 

[ElizaB39]

I am Catholic, and my kids started out at a parochial school. Bottom line, the parochial school did not measure up to the public school education wise. It had nothing to do with finances. My kids also are much happier at public school, guess we just didn't fit the "mold".

 

[BuckNaked]

I'm an educator as is my husband, and I think good public schools have much, much more to offer.

The problem is, there don't seem to be that many good public schools.

 

[disykat]

The problem is, there don't seem to be that many good public schools.

While that might be your opinion, or the case in your area - in my area the public schools are better than many of the private schools.

When I first got out of college, I substitute taught in a city district, a suburb, and a private school. I would list the private school last if I was choosing an elementary school for my child and basing it on anything other than religious affiliation. The teachers weren't anything special, the curriculum was very outdated, and there were no special programs to speak of. I subbed in the junior high one day and apologized to one advanced student because I was unable to help him with his math. He told me his regular teacher couldn't either. He was pretty much on his own.