Bishop Sheen had a perception of private Catholic school so what is yours ?

[pnewton]

I accept someone’s above comment that the quote is probably useless out of context, he could have just been trying to be funny.

If it is a true quote, that would be my thought. He often used hyperbole. I truly do not think he would discourage Catholic education seeing how he was a true son of the Church.

 

[tafan]

What is the purpose if this thread? Seems to be a thread started to give people a good place to bash catholic schools.

 

[MarkInOregon]

You make some good points here, Mark.

Sometimes though, I wonder if we don’t trust our kids enough. Is protecting them means separating them instead of sharing the faith, talents, and virtues we claim to pass on to our children.

Years back I was speaking with a mom who had to make the decision out of financial lack to take her older son out of school at the end of 5th grade so she could afford to keep her younger son in. Both her kids were with her and the 5th grader just happened to have a black eye. Because I had told her I left parochial school after 6th she asked me if she thought her son would be alright. I told her he would be fine.

I don’t think sending your children to a parochial school shows a lack of trust in them. I don’t understand why you would equate sending them to parochial school with our not sharing our faith, talents and virtues with them. I see the parochial school as an extension of doing that. Young children need to be protected and taught the faith until they have the necessary background and resources to understand and make the faith their own. They need to have the ability to ask questions and challenge what they are taught in an encouraging environment–not one that is hostile to their faith and will encourage them in their questioning and rejection of the faith. When my children get public high school I want them to have a good understanding of their faith, and to know where to they can find answers to the difficult questions that come. I want their faith to have been nurtured by their environment in those early formative years as I think it will give them their best chance to remain faithful or to return to the faith should they drop away from it’s practice during college. I feel fortunate not to have experienced that yet, but I still have three children to go, so lets pray for continued faithfulness.

I see the church and parochial school community as an extended family. I see sending my children to parochial school as just one part of the practice of my faith along with mass, confession, Bible study and various other ministries. The parochial school and parish community reinforce the values of the Church and the practice of our faith. I don’t see this as a bad thing or as being over protective–I see it as equiping my children with the necessary foundation and tools to face a world and society that is increasingly hostile to Christians and their beliefs.

I think the more time we spend in our Christian communities–at mass, in fellowship, in prayer, in adoration, in study, in play, in ministry, etc. The stronger we become in our faith, we help and stregthen each other. We know when others are in need of assistance, of prayer, etc. It helps us to be strong enough to go out into the world without becoming of the world. As our society becomes increasinly secular and hostile to Christianity I think it will become increasingly important for us to recapture the community aspect that was present in the early Church.

Not everyone can send their children to parochial school due to cost, as there is only so much aid to go around, and that is sad (and is more a commentary on our giving to the church than on the cost of the education). However, the most important thing is the parents practice of the faith and living of the gospel–that is I think the most important thing–everything else builds on, assits with and reinforces that example.

The peace of Christ,
Mark

 

[CrossBro]

What is the purpose if this thread? Seems to be a thread started to give people a good place to bash catholic schools.

I don’t see anyone bashing Catholic Schools in this entire thread, do you ?

 

[Memaw]

I don’t see anyone bashing Catholic Schools in this entire thread, do you ?

Read post #8. God Bless, Memaw

 

[CrossBro]

Read post #8. God Bless, Memaw

The poster wrote that his/her kids get a better education in parochial school than they could get in public, the negative comment was the experience of being taught by the sisters. I don’t think relating how it was then to now is bashing the schools, more like pointing out why Bishop Sheen may have held his sentiment.

 

[tafan]

I don’t see anyone bashing Catholic Schools in this entire thread, do you ?

I can only interpret your OP as a negative comment on catholic schools, along with a desire for others to follow suit.
But yes, the responses are, for the most part, in a different light. If the thread has a different purpose that my interpretation, please say so.

 

[Memaw]

I went to parochial school, with Sisters as teachers. I believe they couldn’t do any other work so they “taught” school, and mostly beat the living tar out of us for minor things. Really shaped me though, in that I became a rebel agains authority. My kids now go to parochial school, all lay teachers, and get a radically better education than the public schools.

If the Nuns were as bad as you make them out to be, I doubt if many people would have kept their kids in a Catholic school. Maybe some were stricter than others but to “beat the tar out of students” is a little hard to swallow. In those days even public schools spanked kids when necessary. I know several boys,(small town, public school) who went to the principals office and got the strap more than once because of their bad behavior. If you were that naughty, I imagine you shaped yourself into being a rebel or you wouldn’t have been in trouble so much. I don’t believe Sisters became Nuns because they couldn’t do any other work. They joined teaching orders because they wanted to teach and had to go to college too, just like anyone else. Our older Nuns did an honorable job under difficult situations at times. Let’s give them our thanks and credit for what they did. God Bless, them all, even the “strict” ones. God Bless, Memaw

 

[mikekle]

I went to catholic school up until 8th grade, then I went to public school, so all thru high school, I hung out with friends from both schools and I also had many other friends that went to other local catholic schools, and I can honestly say, without a doubt, the kids who went to catholic schools partied alot harder than public school kids and tended to take things alot further, when public school kids were ready to call it a night and go home!

It was also common knowledge catholic school females were more promiscuous, Im assuming this was due to the extra rules and restrictions on catholic school kids versus public school kids, so when they did a chance to party and let go, it was usually alot more crazy. I do remember when I had my first sexual experience, and thru talking to friends, I found out many kids in my grade were also having their first experiences around that time too, this was generally around 7th or 8th grade, but this was back in the late 80s, so looking at how kids are growing up faster today, Id imagine it starts earlier.

I should clarify here, by ‘kids’, Im referring to people from 8th grade up to seniors in high school and I graduated in 1993, so this was awhile ago, I imagine in todays world though, kids are probably alot more wild then we were, hard to imagine! LOLI think alot it has to do with parents of catholic school kids, they usually end saying NO all the time to kids when they ask to go out with friends, concerts, parties, etc, and when they do get out, they take advantage of it, but surprisingly, the LEAST wild kids I knew, they had parents that always said yes to them, no matter what they asked for, or wanted to do, they essentially had total freedom, no curfew, etc. but with all this freedom, these kids ended up being the most reserved and avoided the wold parties alot of the time.

 

[laircy]

I am currently in a Catholic high school. It’s a good school but the religion classes seem kind of watered-down and it appears a lot of people end up losing their faith. And to be honest, it wasn’t my going to 13 years of Catholic school that made me love the faith, it was the Catholics on the Internet.
Apparently lots of terrible things go on with the people at my school, though… I don’t really notice it AT school but more on Facebook. I’ve never been to a public school, so I don’t know what it’s like.

 

[MarkInOregon]

Read post #8. God Bless, Memaw

Not sure I would put that post in the bashing Catholic schools category. The poster related his experience in a Catholic school as a child and it’s effect on him at that time. He ends by noting that his children are in a Catholic school. Is that really bashing?

The peace of Christ,
Mark

 

[tafan]

I remember last year one night at the dinner table, when my freshman son was explaining each of Aquinas’ 5 proof’s of God’s existence. I don’t think that is so watered down. My oldest son went to college to study engineering, his first math class was diff eq. He had all the calculus he needed in high school.
Our parish elementary school is probably 30-40 percent of families below the poverty line. It is a very good school. Every Friday morning after mass they have a beautiful exposition and benediction, with hymns all sung in Latin.

I could give dozens of anecdotes about the school.

 

[L_Marshall]

One of the best I’ve ever seen is the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Still River, Massachusetts, USA. It’s definitely on the conservative side, and the order that runs it has a strong devotion to the Tridentine liturgy. Daily Mass according to the 1962 Missal is celebrated for the students, and the entire curriculum revolves around the Church.

Here’s a video they prepared themselves about the school.

 

[phil19034]

The quality of all schools are dervived from the teachers AND students who attend them.

If you have good teachers, but delinquents attending; won’t make a good environment of a good kid.

If you have good kids and bad teachers, won’t make a good environment for the kids either.

The best schools are loaded with good kids and great teachers.

Now that’s not to say a good kid can’t excel with bad teachers or classmates. But when looking at a school itself, the student body and the faculty together create the culture.

Some Catholic schools are magnets for parents who want to straighten out their kids. If you send a good kid to a Catholic school with delinquents, it won’t help the good kid. But the school would still help the delinquent.

Other Catholic schools are magnets for the academically gifted, and then you have some which are magnets for the religious. The “religious magnet” schools are typically filled with kids who are very devout. The public and secular schools can be magnet schools too.

It’s a great disservice to lump all Catholic schools together, all public schools together, and all secular private schools together. All individual schools (whether Catholic Parochial, Catholic Private, secular private, or public) have their own individual strengths and weaknesses. I think as parents, our goal should be to find the school that best meets our child’s individual needs.

I’m a product of the public school system, but I still think there is nothing better than finding a Catholic school which is a right fit for you child. The “right fit” Catholic scholl cannot be beat. But never settle for any school which is a “wrong fit” for your child.

God Bless!

 

[Marie5890]

I tell my relatives and best friends, ‘If you want your children to fight for their faith, send them to public school. If you want them to lose their faith, send them to Catholic school.’ ~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

I think it’s important to keep Venerable Sheen’s comments in the time frame that he said then (I believe he passed away in '79).

The last ten years of his life his ministry was focused on priest retreats. He saw the massive leaving of the priesthood and consecrated life that happened in the 70’s.

I have the priviledge of being associated on the perifery of his cause and had the choice experience of hearing Fr Apostoli talk about Bishop Sheen (Sheen ordained Apostoli).

The latter part of Sheen’s life was full of suffering, esp of seeing the deterioration of so much within the church (Sheen was a participate in V2).

I doubt, in general, that Sheen was knocking Catholic education in general. But more so I bet he was calling out Catholic education in the time he actually said that.

Remember, he was born in 1895…He also had a Catholic education…

 

[Marie5890]

If he was talking about the late 60’s - 70’s and 80’s, I would probably agree with him, as I was raising my kids then, ( although I was fortunate enough to be in a Catholic Parish where the pastor kept things very Catholic and Patriotic too,) but things have improved so much in the past 20 years for Catholic schools, that we can’t say that today. And they are teaching things in the public schools today, I would never want my kids to be exposed to if I could possibly not. God Bless, Memaw

Late 60’s and 70’s. He died in '79

 

[Memaw]

Late 60’s and 70’s. He died in '79

I know when he died, but I was just saying that in those years things were worse in some Catholic schools than in public schools but not anymore. God bless, Memaw

 

[pnewton]

I could give dozens of anecdotes about the school.

As could I, and they definitely tell a different story than the promiscuous/party animal stereotype.

 

[Joe_5859]

I still see no citation which would corroborate that Sheen ever actually said this.

 

[TARRAT]

I think that going to a Catholic School that maybe only starts the day with prayer or starts a class with prayer is better than what students are exposed to in many public schools today.
A little good influence is better than no good influence at all. And generally speaking there is an ability to enforce some sort of discipline.