Catholic School vs State School

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I’ve seen similar to this in my public high school in the USA.
 
catholic03,

First of all… I admire your courage, knowledge, and outstanding commitment to be Catholic in a hostile culture. Just reading your account of the situation gives me hope for our future.

I was in a situation sort of like yours in 2001, but I was (then) an Evangelical Protestant at a very secular college. As such, I did not have the knowledge of apologetics and philosophy necessary to defend what I believed. Basically, I had no choice but to leave. Today, as a well-informed Catholic, I sometimes wish I could go back in time to then—and be in exactly your position, to stand my ground and to fight.

But with that said, I don’t think there is a certain answer either way. This is something you will need to discern… the kind of tough question that calls for a Holy Hour (or more), for entrustment to Our Lady, and for taking advice from a good confessor as well as your parents. But then, you will need to make a prudential judgment, and then be confident even when you are tempted to reconsider.

Here are some things to consider:
  • Do you think you can make a realistic difference for the souls of your peers by staying? A good example is a very powerful thing, but only if the person you’re setting the example for is actually willing to consider it. God does not require you to do the impossible. You are not required to stay on the RMS Titanic to convince the captain that the engineers were wrong about it being unsinkable, if in your judgment, the captain does not want to listen. (Nor do you need to feel guilty when you find out it hit the iceberg.)
  • How sure are the honors you’ve accumulated so far? I hate to say it but depending on how the laws, rules, due process, etc. work, the “reward” for your labors may be to be bullied, targeted and stripped of achievements you have legitimately earned. If there is a substantial risk of this, I would give little or no weight to what you would lose by leaving.
  • Can you contribute to and make a difference in the Catholic school? It may well be possible that you could assume leadership in that school and make a bigger difference overall.
For what it is worth, my wife and I are choosing a Catholic school for our young daughter, and specifically one that she can stay in for both primary and secondary. We live in a strongly Catholic part of the USA, but even here, the secular culture becomes worse not just every year but every month. The public/state schools simply cannot be trusted not to undermine the faith and morals of even young children. It is therefore critical that she have a stable group of committed Catholic friends to set a good example for her. If you were here, I’m sure you would be one of them.

I will keep you in my prayers. Remember what Mary said to St. Bernadette and especially to St. Catherine: have confidence.
 
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signit said:
But, sooner or later, unless that person goes into the religious life or works for the Catholic Church or a Catholic organization, they’re going to come face to face with the real world. There’s going to be the LGBT employee with the rainbow flag; there are going to be others of varying beliefs. And you’re going to have to get along with them.
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The problem is NOT the LGBT or secular people themselves, or in coexisting with them. Charity and kindness towards them is required of us just as for anyone else. The problem is when they (or anyone) abuse the levers of power, like the anti-Catholics who came before them, in order to indoctrinate or discriminate.

Also, in the work world, the OP will have much more control over his/her situation. In school, the hostile folks are both bullies and the adults holding the grade book. When the bullies and graders demand the OP participate in X, the bullies can be ignored but the graders can coerce and possibly damage or ruin the OP’s future career and educational protects. In the workplace, there are stronger protections (though not ironclad) against such behavior by superiors, and the OP has the ability to seek other employment as well as the ability to start an independent business.

A Catholic school isn’t a bubble to protect us from “them”, it’s a cocoon to prepare the butterfly to fly with and lead “them.”
 
One more reason to homeschool. If you go to the state-run public school prisons, that’s what you get.
 
catholic03 said:
I attend a state school. This school is said to be one of the best in the country and has extremely high academic results
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“State” schools for High Schools are rare, they are usually a sort of specialty magnet type school (performing arts, Math and Science, etc.)
catholic03 said:
I have to cope with people I know calling me, priests and other clergy unbelievably offensive things.
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This sort of bullying needs to be reported to your school counselor. Every public school in the US has a strict anti-bullying policy.
catholic03 said:
I risk getting into trouble everyday for talking about the Catholic Church.
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What things are you saying that could get you in trouble? If you speak charity, with respect, and follow what the Catechism teaches, you cannot get in trouble. The Catechism is clear about how you interact with those who have the great cross of homosexuality "They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. " Make this your mantra.

You will not escape people with different views, you will not escape people with different politics, by going to a Catholic school.
catholic03 said:
r should I stay at my current school and accept persecution?
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Your school has rules against persecution. If you stay, be joyful and an outstanding example of kindness.
 
Lemuel said:
One more reason to homeschool. If you go to the state-run public school prisons, that’s what you get.
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I’m also the product of a “well-run prison”… but that was the 90s. A LOT has changed in the past 20 or more years (yes, it has been that long a time). Consider the societal change from, say, the 1950s to the 1970s. Consider that. Add it to your memories of the 80s and 90s. Now add the LGBT and abortion movements along with the drug culture and social media to the equation. Consider that picture for a while.

I was a confirmation catechist in 2010. So almost ten years ago and only ten years since my graduation from high/secondary school. The kids were 15-17, all from state/public schools. Nearly all of them knew nothing about the Trinity, the Sacraments, apologetics or even the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. Some of them thought that marijuana was harmless. Another was obsessed with a supermodel to the point of comparing that model’s beauty to that of God. One of them was a brilliant Catholic who tried in vain to influence her peers for the better.

That was 10 years ago!
 
Home schooling costs hardly anything. It’s the best and most affordable education there is. Also, consider the percs:

No common core
No standardized testing
No vaccinations
No bullying
No peer pressure
No having to buy your kids clothes so that they blend in
No sex
No drugs
Sex education the way you choose
No unnecessary classes
School starts at 9 and is over at noon
No eating garbage
No need to bag lunches
No school buses
No bowing to authority
Choosing your line of education
Kids have guns and gun safety instruction
No homework

The list goes on and on. There’s no comparison between home school and state prisons.
 
It isn’t as much about the Catholic school being a bubble, because most people realize that they aren’t. It’s more about dealing with the “problem” of having gay people and their advocates by trying to escape to a place the believe those people won’t exist that raises the concern of not being able to function in the real world.
 
Allegra said:
It’s more about dealing with the “problem” of having gay people and their advocates by trying to escape to a place the believe those people won’t exist that raises the concern of not being able to function in the real world.
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Actually, that is a pretty astute and spot on criticism of Rod Dreher’s “The Benedict Option”, which is essentially escaping to a distant place where they can pretend that LGBT people simply don’t exist.
 
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Oh, thank you. Another reason to homeschool. No uniforms. No dress code.

My kids go to school in anything they want. The only dress code they have is that they have to be dressed.
 
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Allegra said:
It isn’t as much about the Catholic school being a bubble, because most people realize that they aren’t. It’s more about dealing with the “problem” of having gay people and their advocates by trying to escape to a place the believe those people won’t exist that raises the concern of not being able to function in the real world.
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I don’t think it’s about escaping to a place where the problems don’t exist. But rather giving parents and pastors time to properly teach the faith and help the students learn how to give a reasonable defense of their faith before having them face the “real world.”
 
I’ve never read that book, so I’m not sure what you’re taking about. However, gay people and people who believe differently than we do exist in the real world. In order to function in society, you have to learn to disagree with others respectfully, bring up matters of contention at appropriate times, discern when you really are being mistreated, and stand up for yourself. You don’t learn that from running away.
 
I am also a product of the prison schools. That was back in the 60s and 70s. Home schooling was illegal back then. But at least the environment was a little healthier. In my little town sex, drugs and alcohol were quite fringe. I partook of none of that and my friends did the same.
 
That makes sense if we are talking to a parent who is concerned about their child’s spiritual development and learning the true teachings of the church. That’s not the case here. This young man doesn’t seem to be in danger of losing his faith. He seems to be quite secure in at least this concept that homosexual acts are sinful. He is frustrated because he feels like he can’t convince others of his faith and he would be more comfortable amongst those he presumes will already believe as he does.
 
Allegra said:
That makes sense if we are talking to a parent who is concerned about their child’s spiritual development and learning the true teachings of the church. That’s not the case here. This young man doesn’t seem to be in danger of losing his faith. He seems to be quite secure in at least this concept that homosexual acts are sinful. He is frustrated because he feels like he can’t convince others of his faith and he would be more comfortable amongst those he presumes will already believe as he does.
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Yes, but he also says he’s being attacked for his Catholic Faith.

At work, HR departments are not going to put up with employees harassing someone about their faith.

At schools, bullying is a major problem.

If this kid was being bullied about anything else, how many people would tell him not to change schools and stick it out because of the “real world”?

But when a child is bullied about being Catholic, people want to say “stick it out so you know what the real world is like.”

I don’t like it.

By the way, I thought the “real world” was one where Jesus Christ is King?!? Why do we allow the secularist, pagans, and atheists to claim the title “real world?”

The Catholic Church is the real world. The Church knows the true realities of the universe and all of creation better than anyone else.

Jesus Christ is King of the Real World.

Amen!
 
Lolz, we went through this once before, you really need to stop calling public schools prisons.

It makes you look really I’ll informed…just say’n
 
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