Get your kids out of government schools

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It’s doable, but there are all sorts of factors which may or may not come into play. One possibility involves changing expectations for and means of disciplining teachers. On the school side, hitting those common core requirement check-offs can be a challenge that our teachers in the past did not face.
One can be successful in college without various lessons, tied to common core standards, which a teacher might have, in the past, chosen to condense, drop, or adjust at his or her discretion.
However, teachers may be judged on whether they can prove they have taught, assessed, and reviewed various check-off standards. It’s tough to read your teacher’s mind and see what is exactly behind his or her homework decisions. I’m sharing a few possibilities, but can’t say I have the answers.
I hope things go well for you and your child.
May God bless you both.
Amen.
 
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David_Catholic said:
The reason Catholic school costs so much now is because there is no competition, and therefore they can charge whatever they want.
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I would bet pretty much all are non-profit and charge what it takes to balance the books.
David_Catholic said:
I have not seen anything to suggest that is the case, and I will not believe it until I see it.
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You made the rather outrageous claim. Do you have evidence? I know what our school charges. It is cost, minus about $1000+, with this gap coming from fund-raising. A percentage of all fundraising, and private donations, provide tuition assistance.
 
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I would say such a condemnation of public schools has too much sensationalism. No doubt there are places where what he says holds true. However, public schools here are run by locally elected school boards. They are a reflection of the community. While gender philosophy results in anti-bullying information, the sort of promotion of gender identity theory as presented in the article does not occur. It is better to make a judgement of what school is best based on one’s own local schools, and on the character of one’s child. Some kids are natural spiritual warriors. Others need more protection for longer.

Another consideration is there are likely some areas where the Catholic school is not much better. Some kids might need homeschooling.

My youngest son will be starting public school (9th grade) next year for the first time. I have very few concerns along the line that this article presents.
 
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David_Catholic said:
I would like to see a source that says that most private schools charge just enough to cover costs. I have not seen anything to suggest that is the case, and I will not believe it until I see it.
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I might try to find one, but that’s a sidetrack to the discussion. The point at hand is that you claim an open marketplace will equalize costs. The reality is that Catholic schools will always have a minimum required expenditure that’s not covered by a “guaranteed” revenue stream (tax dollars). So explain to me how Catholic school tuition will ever compete in the open market with public schools that are free.
 
RCIAGraduate said:
To be fair to public schools, I think most are decent enough but people’s expectations for them might be rather… ambitious. For example, seeing education as a pathway or ladder out of poverty makes sense but there does seem to be social determinants that can impact success like coming from a struggling home (think single parents who try their best but only have so much time), a school can only do so much so having community supports could help.
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Also, we’re talking in generalities. Might depend where you live. I live in Ontario…
 
To give Canada some credit, inner-city poverty in Canada doesn’t seem as bad as inner-city poverty in America. Granted I don’t have any firsthand data but US poverty and the provision of social services seems to pale in comparison to Europe and Canada. The people in those countries do not seem as wanting but here, the people here seem to struggle, people here have a hard time. It seems to me (although I don’t have quantifiable data on hand) that the is a measure of hopelessness and desolation in our communities? SO many bright futures destroyed or diminished due to our imperfect systems (education and child welfare to name two systems).
 
Not really sure. Canada does have more of a safety net I think. But I’m not sure how this bears itself out in reality. You might be able to make an argument for cultural differences too which make inner-city poverty more difficult to escape from (gangs, drugs, violence against law enforcement). I don’t really know enough to have any definite opinions on that though.
 
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Yay diverseness! That’s the gold standard. Let’s shoot for Yugoslavian and Rwandan levels of diversity and we will have a great school system.
 
No more social media and Internet with a filter on a computer visible in a public place. Kids DONT need smart phones but if they have one then have a filter on that too and no cell phones in their bedroom at night when they should be sleeping. That’s good advice I got a couple of years ago and it’s great.
 
Having been in a public high school recently, the air breathed is anti-catholic and many misconceptions about the Church.

I personally would like to change that considering it reaches most of the populace
 
Cor_ad_Cor said:
Many Catholic schools charge just enough tuition to cover costs; it’s not a corporate profit model.
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Back in the day, Catholic schools were staffed by nuns or religious brothers, who really didn’t get paid. Further, when I was a kid- I attended public school and we had 45-50 students in each classroom. Kids all over the place in the 1960’s. The parish elementary school was actually more crowded. Having one teacher control that size of a class really reduces the cost per educating one student, even if you have to pay the teacher.
 
I dare you to teach a class of 45-50 students with the current behavioral, special education, and parental needs we have today. That is an insane amount of students. Education has gotten incredibly more complex than it was in the 1960’s. Things have changed. It sometimes seems that people think they are experts in education just because they once sat in a classroom. I’ve been to see a doctor but that doesn’t make me qualified to tell them how to practice.
 
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I finally read the article and find it very poorly written - full of generalizations and anecdotes but completely devoid of data or even reason. "Public schools teaching Horrible Thing X. We know because Smith Elementary in Jonesville . . . . "

Since anecdotes seem to matter so much to these authors, I’ll have them know that we never experienced any of what they’re describing when sending our first child to public school.

I eventually removed her from school for entirely different reasons. It’s not at all a slam on teachers, (I’m the daughter of two that I highly respect), but a general dislike of the system that ensnares them. I’ve met some smart teachers who have successfully worked around it. But it isn’t easy, and I don’t envy them.
 
Yes, it’s so terrible to spend time with people who aren’t exactly like yourself. Such a tragedy that others get exposed to Catholic lifestyles and philosophy by spending time with my kids. It’s a real shame.

PS - My kids get a good education at that school. They learn all about being Catholic at home and with family. They are just fine in a gasp! diverse school.
 
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Thanks for sharing this, blackforest! This gets at our motivation to homeschool, too. I just don’t think institutional learning is what’s best for my kids. But according to some on this thread, somehow I have to fix it for every person in my neighborhood (or possibly the country) before I look to my own family.

I think there are wonderful teachers out there that manage to do more. I went to “the best” public schools, and I did have quite a few good teachers. But I really think my growth was stunted. I was a quiet kid, so only a couple teachers bothered to draw me out of my shell. The others were happy I did my work and it followed their instructions. I don’t blame them, I was just one of however many.
 
What makes a school that’s “diverse” superior to a school that is not? In my county, the Catholic High School is 80% white and 40% Catholic and performs MUCH better than any public school. Is the public school better because it is diverse? I know it might be hard to think logically and objectively through your ignorant sarcasm and diversity mongering.
 
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