Dispelling myths about public/parochial schools

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I think we also need a forum for us parents who have found that the public or parochial school is the way for our family:)

I’ll start:

Myth: parents who send their children to public/Catholic school don’t want to spend time with their kids:

Fact: I love spending time with my kids but after praying about our decision with each of our children, God has lead us to a wonderful Catholic school that lets us be as involved as we want and each day we personally can see that we followed the plan God chose for us.

Myth: Parents who send their children to public/Catholic school think their way is the only way…

Fact: Far from it… this was a something that we prayed very hard over and waited on the Lord for his answer… there is no doubt in my mind that this is what God wants for my family… but I firmly believe that God has a plan for each individual family and I think it is so wonderful when parents home school or not listen to that plan.

Myth: Parents who send their children to public/Catholic school are passing judgement on homeschooling parents:

Fact: As far as for me and my family… nothing could be farther from the truth, in fact I have several very close friends who home school and I know that the decision was just as hard for them as mine was for me and I think that is what brings us together… we all share this amazing love for our kids and wanting the best for our family and knowing our kids enough that we know what they need at this moment in their lives and my kids have very close friends who are home schooled and we agree all kids face the same issues weather home schooled or not… in the end… they are kids and what is so great they can offer support and advice to each other and that is so neat!
 
That’s fine if you really want this thread. But, most of us homescholers have been to public school, so we pretty much know the structure (good and bad).

I went to public school for 16 years. And, my father taught in parochial and public schools for 38 years. And, I myself taught high school Biology prior to retiring to take care of my kids.

And, really most homeschoolers don’t question the motives of parents with kids in school.

The reason for the homeschooling myth thread is because a lot of people aren’t well acquainted with homeschooling.
 
And Leonie, this wasn’t even directed at you, I can see that parents are getting upset in your thread, they feel that somehow their choice to public school or private school is being questioned or frowned upon, this thread is for us who have prayed about this and chosen this road, this is to offer support to those parents who feel they are being looked down upon but I also want them to know that weather you home school or not… we are all 100% passionate about our children… we all love them with every fiber in our body and we all struggled with our decision. I certainly hope that we can learn more from one another and stop the attacks… in the end… we all love our kids so darn much and just want the very best for them… any I really hope that we can all learn to respect each person’s choice and appreciate the amazing moms and dads on this forum:)
 
leonie said:
That’s fine if you really want this thread. But, most of us homescholers have been to public school, so we pretty much know the structure (good and bad).

I went to public school for 16 years. And, my father taught in parochial and public schools for 38 years. And, I myself taught high school Biology prior to retiring to take care of my kids.

And, really most homeschoolers don’t question the motives of parents with kids in school.

The reason for the homeschooling myth thread is because a lot of people aren’t well acquainted with homeschooling.
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Also, “most home schoolers don’t question the motive of parents with kids in school” but yes in deed, we have encountered those that most certainly do… two of my good friends question me often… not heated debates… but small comments here and there… and yet as I’ve pointed out to them, I Never ever have questioned their reasons to homeschool, I really don’t care… I know they love their kids like I love mine and for me that is good enough… I know they discerned and prayed very hard for the Lord to guide them but I don’t get how they think I didn’t do the same… oh, well.🤷
 
kamz said:
Also, “most home schoolers don’t question the motive of parents with kids in school” but yes in deed, we have encountered those that most certainly do… two of my good friends question me often… not heated debates… but small comments here and there… and yet as I’ve pointed out to them, I Never ever have questioned their reasons to homeschool, I really don’t care… I know they love their kids like I love mine and for me that is good enough… I know they discerned and prayed very hard for the Lord to guide them but I don’t get how they think I didn’t do the same… oh, well.🤷
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Same here - those of us who (gasp) send our children to PUBLIC SCHOOL are accustomed from responses ranging from pity to snobbery from some home schoolers.

I think this is a good thread 👍
 
Myth: If you would just pray about your choice (like I did about mine) you would see that my educational choice is absolutely the best one for you, too.

Fact: Loving, caring, involved parents prayfuly consider their choices, and, based on a variety of reasons, decide on choices that you did not.

Other’s choices are just as good as yours, just as holy as yours, just as valid as yours. You need to support their choice. They need to support yours.

(See, I learned something from the Homeschooling thread)
 
PaulinVA said:
Myth: If you would just pray about your choice (like I did about mine) you would see that my educational choice is absolutely the best one for you, too.

Fact: Loving, caring, involved parents prayfuly consider their choices, and, based on a variety of reasons, decide on choices that you did not.

Other’s choices are just as good as yours, just as holy as yours, just as valid as yours. You need to support their choice. They need to support yours.

(See, I learned something from the Homeschooling thread)
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👍
 
Very good thread, kamz. I have parochial schooled, homeschooled, and public schooled my children. When I parochial schooled, a lot of parents wanted to “justify” their choice to parochial school by saying negative things about public school. When I homeschooled, some parents there “justified” their choice saying negative things about public AND parochial schools. In public school, some parents “justify” their choice by speaking negatively about parochial schools. It seems in every milieu, there were SOME parents who felt they needed to justify their choice in a negative way.
I firmly believe that most parents choose the educational path for their children very carefully. It hurts when a “friend” feels the need to constantly tell me why my choice is bad or not as “caring” or “responsible” or “Catholic” as her choice. My dh and I prayerfully came to each every decision we’ve made.
Since I’ve experienced hsing, public schooling, and parochial schooling, I’m in a very unique position. I can say with certainty that each schooling choice presents it’s own sets of pros and cons. Nothing is perfect. As parents, we need to take our set of circumstances, and raise our children in the Faith as best we can. It would be a much easier task if we would all support each other in this endeavor.
 
PaulinVA said:
Myth: If you would just pray about your choice (like I did about mine) you would see that my educational choice is absolutely the best one for you, too.

Fact: Loving, caring, involved parents prayfuly consider their choices, and, based on a variety of reasons, decide on choices that you did not.

Other’s choices are just as good as yours, just as holy as yours, just as valid as yours. You need to support their choice. They need to support yours.

(See, I learned something from the Homeschooling thread)
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😃 thank you… I totally agree… we need to support all forms of schooling… public, private and homeschool. great post!
 
if you don’t homeschool and don’t plan to do it, there is no need to have a thread about it, or to comment on the decisions of other parents about their children’s schooling. The same goes for those who send their kids to public schools, parochial schools, boarding schools, day care, et. al. If those in the same situation wish to have threads discussing their common concerns, fine. But there is absolutely no usefulness in a thread whose only purpose is to attack decisions made by other parents which conflict with my own. these are not myths, they are just statements of opinion that differ from the opinions of others, so there is no need to structure your discussion as debunking myths.
 
kamz said:
I think we also need a forum for us parents who have found that the public or parochial school is the way for our family

!
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it that is your topic then stick to it, no need to discuss other options here.
 
wow ever heard of, if you don’t like other people’s parenting decisions, don’t begin a thread by attacking them?
 
puzzleannie said:
if you don’t homeschool and don’t plan to do it, there is no need to have a thread about it, or to comment on the decisions of other parents about their children’s schooling. The same goes for those who send their kids to public schools, parochial schools, boarding schools, day care, et. al. If those in the same situation wish to have threads discussing their common concerns, fine. But there is absolutely no usefulness in a thread whose only purpose is to attack decisions made by other parents which conflict with my own. these are not myths, they are just statements of opinion that differ from the opinions of others, so there is no need to structure your discussion as debunking myths.
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so the other thread called "dispelling myths about homeschooling is just fine because of course you homeschool? I find that thread to be just like this one but it is about homeschooling… so Please go and post the exact same thing in that thread to be fair.
 
We love our public school. We’ve seen more Christian charity in our public school than we did in our parochial school. We love the fact that our children go to school with Asians and Indians who take education very seriously. We love the fact that our teachers are young and enthusiastic. We love the fact that our children walk to school in the morning, that we see our principal and some other staff members at church each Sunday. We love that fact that I can walk into school every day of the week and I’m greeted by my name and that the secretary knows my children and each of their classes.

The most important component of their education is the fact that we have the freedom to give them the best Catholic education that we want, and nobody will question us, or give us a hard time.
 
puzzleannie said:
if you don’t homeschool and don’t plan to do it, there is no need to have a thread about it, or to comment on the decisions of other parents about their children’s schooling. The same goes for those who send their kids to public schools, parochial schools, boarding schools, day care, et. al. If those in the same situation wish to have threads discussing their common concerns, fine. But there is absolutely no usefulness in a thread whose only purpose is to attack decisions made by other parents which conflict with my own. these are not myths, they are just statements of opinion that differ from the opinions of others, so there is no need to structure your discussion as debunking myths.
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Usually I’m right there with whatever puzzleannie says, but I’m truly puzzled at this post. Perhaps I’ve missed something? I haven’t seen any attacks on homeschooling here. Most of the posts seem very charitable in that regard. Now, I have not visited the homeschooling threads, as I no longer homeschool. Perhaps there is some heated discussions going on there. As I came in fresh to this thread, I really just took it as a place to discuss public/parochial school choices.
I do agree that most of the schooling threads started here usually end up in attacks on others. As I said in my post, SOME parents tend to “justify” their school decisions by saying negative things about other schooling options.
 
Giannawannabe said:
Usually I’m right there with whatever puzzleannie says, but I’m truly puzzled at this post. Perhaps I’ve missed something? I haven’t seen any attacks on homeschooling here. Most of the posts seem very charitable in that regard. Now, I have not visited the homeschooling threads, as I no longer homeschool. Perhaps there is some heated discussions going on there. As I came in fresh to this thread, I really just took it as a place to discuss public/parochial school choices.
I do agree that most of the schooling threads started here usually end up in attacks on others. As I said in my post, SOME parents tend to “justify” their school decisions by saying negative things about other schooling options.
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my guess is that puzzleannie didn’t realize that a thread just like this was also available but with “homeschool” as the topic… I too am usually right with her and was rather sad to have her reply like this… I hope it is a simple misunderstanding… I am NOT … I repeat NOT wanting to make this into anything but charitable discussion.
 
I have done all of the options - secular private, parochial, home schooling and public.

My daughter was in a private Montessori school from 2 1/2 yrs old through kindergarten. In the spring of her kindergarten year, a few months after she was diagnosed with ADHD, they informed us that she was not socially ready for 1st grade at their school. They recommended moving her to a traditional school. However, I should never allow them to hold her back in a traditional school as she would be bored.

We then spoke with both the parochial school and the public school. The parochial school was more willing to work with us on meeting her needs from the time she enrolled then the public school was (they didn’t want to do anything until 6 wks into the school year), so we enrolled her in the parochial school.

The summer between kindergarten and 1st grade we had testing done and she was identified as gifted and was diagnosed with Nonverbal Learning Disability (very similar to Asperger’s Syndrome).

In the spring of her 1st grade year the parochial school informed us that they could not handle her needs and she was not welcome back for 2nd grade. In addition, she could only stay for the remainder of 1st grade if I was in the classroom during core subjects (math, English and science). I did this for about a week, but after being called a couple of times during non-core subjects I realized the teacher had lost all patience with my daughter and I decided to pull her out and home school her for the remainder of the year.

I home schooled her for 2 1/2 months using the parochial school textbooks and the parochial school teacher reviewed and graded her work. During these 2 1/2 months of homeschooling we just about killed each other. From this experience I learn that our personalities were such that I could never homeschool without continuous conflict between us.

In 2nd grade she started attending our local public school. She is now in 6th grade there. Although we have had many rough patches the public school has never given up on her. Now behaviorally you can barely tell she has a disability that affects her social skills and behavior.

Does this mean that public is better than other options? Absolutely not! Each child is different and the method of that works best for one child may not work for another. It also may take some trial and error to find the right method for a child.
 
May I ask… what is a Montessori school ? I don’t think I’ve heard of that before… sorry if I am totally dumb, just never heard that word before… thank you!🙂
 
kamz said:
May I ask… what is a Montessori school ? I don’t think I’ve heard of that before… sorry if I am totally dumb, just never heard that word before… thank you!🙂
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It’s a private school, but more importantly it’s a style of teaching. That’s as much as I can say about the teaching philosophy of the school. As a graduate of Montessori, I can say that I knew all the continents and some countries by the time I left kindergarten, not to mention many other things my peers did not know because of what I was taught at Montessori. It was a school that challenged students and when I entered first grade I, along with other Montessori graduates, were moved to advanced classes because we were ahead of the other first graders (like I had to go to second and third grade classrooms for reading and math, as well as my peers who I graduated with from Montessori). Whatever there teaching philosophy, it definitely worked and promoted learning.
 
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