Do you think catholic education is overpriced?

[Sarabande]

Also, because they don’t want to be threatened with knives or guns in the classroom, beaten up by students, shot by students, have to teach immoral subjects like how to put a condom on a banana, watch students have sex in the back of the classroom, etc.

Government schools may pay teachers more, but some experiences are not worth the pay.

This is true. We had a friend who stopped teaching at an inner-city school because of the physical threats she received. She was a little and the kids would push her and threaten and her and no one would do anything about it. At a Catholic school where I used to work, we had a number of non-Catholics attend because the public school system was so bad and dangerous, they wanted to keep their children out of harm.

 

[Sarabande]

I would agree with that completely. But it does appear that the larger the city or school district the less likely they are to produce a quality education. It also appears the higher paid the public school teachers are, the poorer the quality of education.

Inner city schools seem to be in the worst shape. The Catholic and private schools are the places where parents want to send their children to for the education AND safety. This is at least in there area where I live. The suburbs are different. Some school districts have equal quality in education and it doesn’t matter if they are sent to Catholic or public school… unless the Catholic school is providing stellar spiritual and religious education and you want to invest in that. Our school district is ok, but not as good as the neighboring school district which has the highest paid teachers in the area and an incredible reputation for education. Everyone wants their children to attend school there and will try to move into the district. BUT it’s very expensive, so mostly wealthier people live in the area and expect more. They don’t settle and can be a little annoying when it comes to little Suzy’s and little Johnny’s education, but that is also probably why the school system is better there.

 

[buffalo]

In some areas Just tossing it out there that you may be right in the overall numbers, but the actual impact is very different in different school districts.

Despite probably qualifying for vouchers, I am very happy with the public schools my children attend and have/will keep them there for the foreseeable future. Most of the parents I personally know seem to be doing the same.

I am thankful I have that choice, because in addition to having a school, our parish also offers excellent religious education classes that my children attend. I am grateful to the volunteers who work so hard with the kids there.

Here is where Catholic School shine. Catholicism is integrated into their entire day. 1 hour per week religious ed just doesn’t cut it. IMHO.

 

[PatriceA]

Here is where Catholic School shine. Catholicism is integrated into their entire day. 1 hour per week religious ed just doesn’t cut it. IMHO.

One HOPES this is were Catholic schools shine. Not always the case though and when parents are considering the a Catholic school, they should do a bit of investigating. Don’t just assume that every Catholic school is a stellar choice when it comes to religious education.

 

[buffalo]

One HOPES this is were Catholic schools shine. Not always the case though and when parents are considering the a Catholic school, they should do a bit of investigating. Don’t just assume that every Catholic school is a stellar choice when it comes to religious education.

Agreed. And there can always be improvement.

When parents know their faith well they can help improve the Catholic School. In the past (when the nuns ran them) parents pretty much handed off their kids and entrusted the nuns with pretty good results. Not any more. One needs to know their faith, be the first teachers and demand the school reinforce them.

My own experience is that parents themselves don’t know their faith. Consequently, the parish has to try to educate both parent and child. Some exclamations from parents are: Why wasn’t I taught that? or No one told me. This is the first time I heard this, etc…

 

[CradleJourney]

Here is where Catholic School shine. Catholicism is integrated into their entire day. 1 hour per week religious ed just doesn’t cut it. IMHO.

I personally have had a different experience in which it seems a number of parents I know expect their children to be fully taught all Catholic beliefs and behavior because of their attendance at a Catholic school. Perhaps there are schools that manage to do so, however that is not always the case. I often wince when I here parents saying “Well, I sent them to Catholic schools, I don’t know why they (insert offensive and/or sinful behavior here).”

I believe it absolutely comes down to each individual situation. I might very well change my mind if my kids were rezoned into a different school even if it was in the same district. I might change my mind if I saw a large change in the student body and educational opportunities available at our high schools - either Catholic or public.

I think the only true answer is for each person to do what they feel a) is in the best interest of the child they have and b) for each of us as a member of society to do what we can to ensure the best education for the children of our community - both religiously and intellectually.

Schools - public, private, or just sunday religious ed, no matter how much or how little the cost, can always use volunteers. Just as children can benefit from support, mentoring, and opportunities to grow in learning and experience from all adults in the community (parents or not).

 

[PatriceA]

Agreed. And there can always be improvement.

When parents know their faith well they can help improve the Catholic School. In the past (when the nuns ran them) parents pretty much handed off their kids and entrusted the nuns with pretty good results. Not any more. One needs to know their faith, be the first teachers and demand the school reinforce them.

My own experience is that parents themselves don’t know their faith. Consequently, the parish has to try to educate both parent and child. Some exclamations from parents are: Why wasn’t I taught that? or No one told me. This is the first time I heard this, etc…

What is worse though is when the school staff doesn’t even know the faith, which was our experience and one more reason why we pulled our daughter out of the school. We had a couple of great years at the school, but overall it was a hit or miss with the religious education and there were times I felt it was the same as flushing the tuition money down the toilet.

There are some really, really great Catholic schools, no doubt. The school associated with my mom’s parish is a shining example. But there are some really, really bad schools as well. When someone asks me if I think its worth the price of tuition to send their children to a Catholic school, its not an automatic yes or no answer.

 

[AllyC1991]

It is. I’ve gone to Catholic school since kindergarten and my family will be bankrupt by the time I graduate from college.