Nowadays, why would anyone want to send their children to a Catholic School?

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I am the oldest of five kids and I went to a Catholic school for 7 years. I can give you several reasons about why not to send your kid to a Catholic school.

–The scholarship assistance was a joke. At best. Both through the school and the diocese. Even when my mom sought Catholic counseling for my younger brother this year, there was almost no assistance given. My dad is an engineer, so we are immediately written off. Never mind the fact that he has five kids, an entire family with celiac disease, a myriad of other medical bills, and the fact that he gets layoff notices every other month. So if you’re not destitute, I wouldn’t necessarily bank on scholarship money. You’re already paying for public school education.

–The religious education was very shallow and “flowery.” Very much so. I have the tools I need to defend the faith, (and I often have to) but I did not get them from my Catholic school. I learned that Jesus loves you and you should be a reflection of that love about 42 times though. I probably got more Biblical exposure in my Eucharist preparation classes than in 7 years of parochial schooling.

–The smaller class sizes were a curse for me. I was bored out of my mind. I was faster than the average kid, but there weren’t resources to accommodate my talents. And the slower kids were disadvantaged, too. You hold the faster kids back and leave the slower kids in the dust with the models used.

–The kids were not “better” at a Catholic school. Not only were they just as obscene, crude and foul-mouthed as any public school kid I’ve ever met, guess what percentage of this students and their families I saw at Mass on Sunday? Maybe 10%. Many parents were using Catholic school as a replacement for actual faith fostering. Mass and discipline were responsibilities pawned off onto a school system.

–The lack of regulation led to some very inappropriate discussions from our principal in the classrooms. A SSA man who, by the way, was living with his boyfriend. That wasn’t advertised, but it was very true. So random, graphic sex talks without parental notice by a gay man occurred a few times a year. At public schools, they’ll give you a heads up on that at least so you can pull your kid out that day.

–The lack of rules and regulations led to interesting and humiliating punishments that would never fly at a public school. If a boy’s shirt was untucked twice in one day, a teacher would make them stand up in front of the class and make them duct tape suspenders and/or a bra to wear.

–I went to a public high school and got into the same school or better than my Catholic high school counterparts. Except my high school didn’t cost me $60,000. And for what? You can’t get a well-paying job with a Catholic high school diploma. It’s still just a high school diploma. My brother’s friend went to high school K-12. After one semester of college, his parents said they had nothing left to give him financially. Wouldn’t that money have been better spend on higher education?

–The sports at the high school are not open to the average student. When tuition is $60,000, you can recruit. Not really a fun experience for everyone else.

–Let’s go back to those “good Catholic school kids.”: Before we all turned 20, four were pregnant out of wedlock, and three were successful drug dealers. Many others used drugs. Mass attendance never seemed to go up. There were 40 kids in my grade. There are not 40 witnesses to the Catholic faith.

If the school and price tag are right, by all means, go for it. But more than anything, my experience has reinforced my belief that the family is where the important upbringing occurs. (I’m not a proponent of homeschooling for a variety of reasons, however.)

If you have to sit down and have religious classes in the home anyway, if you have to talk to your kids about the foul behavior of other kids anyway, if you have to have talks about morality and how it’s not appearing in the world/the Catholic school anyway, I’m not sure I’d put myself thousands upon thousands of dollars in the hole. Especially not for the education I’ve seen.

There are many issues with public schools, I’m well aware. I want to be a teacher, so I keep myself very informed on all education fronts. But I haven’t found Catholic schools to be the answer. Which is very, very unfortunate.
 
bluetopaz said:
–The lack of rules and regulations led to interesting and humiliating punishments that would never fly at a public school. If a boy’s shirt was untucked twice in one day, a teacher would make them stand up in front of the class and make them duct tape suspenders and/or a bra to wear.
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Snipped. I forgot to mention this. The corporal punishment? Not my bag at all. I was friends with a boy who was slapped across the face, in front of his peers, for going on a sneezing jag during a test. They thought he was faking. :mad:

Why would you pay money to send your kids to a school where the physical punishments are beyond any you would enact at home? Where there’s little to no recourse when your child is unfairly disciplined?

There was a girl recently at one of the high schools, who sent a few nude pictures to her then-boyfriend. It was subsequently spread around the school, posted online, and criminal charges were filed, as she was only fourteen. Guess who was punished by the school? It certainly wasn’t any of the boys.
 
Naskor said:
$6,000 per kid must be for elementary school. Where I live tuition for catholic high school is $20,000 a year per child with that is absolutely not negotiable. No academic or need based scholarships, no sliding scale, no discounts for additional children just a flat price.
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Where is this? I thought we had the most expensive Catholic schools in the US around here and the high schools are around $12-13K, the elementary schools are aroundf $5K.
 
I have a serious question to all of those Catholics on this forum who are bashing the Catholic school system: do you obey canon 802.2
Can. 800 §1. The Church has the right to establish and direct schools of any discipline, type, and level.
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§2. The Christian faithful are to foster Catholic schools, assisting in their establishment and maintenance according to their means.
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All Catholics have a responsibility to support Catholic schools, you guys are bashing them quite strongly, what are you doing to help the Catholic schools? It is a Church law, disobedience of a lawful authority is a sin.
 
tafan said:
Where is this? I thought we had the most expensive Catholic schools in the US around here and the high schools are around $12-13K, the elementary schools are aroundf $5K.
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I don’t know where is the person that mentioned 20k but here in MA we have BC high, nothre same and xaverian brothers and they are 16k-18k. BC high is I think the most expensive. Now I do know Notre same and BC high do give scholarships. I am not that familiar with xavetian brothers but I guess that they also give scholarships.
 
tafan said:
I have a serious question to all of those Catholics on this forum who are bashing the Catholic school system: do you obey canon 802.2

All Catholics have a responsibility to support Catholic schools, you guys are bashing them quite strongly, what are you doing to help the Catholic schools? It is a Church law, disobedience of a lawful authority is a sin.
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Constructive criticism is not a sin. Wanting better for our students is not a sin. Hoping for accessibility for families who cannot afford Catholic education is not a sin.

We can donate our money and time, but in speaking for my local schools, most are extremely resistant to change. And change cannot occur without constructive criticism.

I’ve noticed here on CAF, a distressing tendency when someone points out a legitimate issue - it is immediately turned back on the person. They are sinning, or blasphemous, or not appreciative or what have you. There’s very little introspection; all criticism, even from parties that want the Church to become even better than it already is, is interpreted as a grave sin.
 
marymary1975 said:
I don’t know where is the person that mentioned 20k but here in MA we have BC high, nothre same and xaverian brothers and they are 16k-18k. BC high is I think the most expensive. Now I do know Notre same and BC high do give scholarships. I am not that familiar with xavetian brothers but I guess that they also give scholarships.
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My area is 14k-16k for high school. There’s only about a $200 reduction for each additional child from the family, which is a drop in the bucket at that amount. I’m in a larger city in the Midwest, so we don’t even have the higher cost of living of the costs as an excuse.
 
alexandratm said:
Constructive criticism is not a sin. Wanting better for our students is not a sin. Hoping for accessibility for families who cannot afford Catholic education is not a sin.

We can donate our money and time, but in speaking for my local schools, most are extremely resistant to change. And change cannot occur without constructive criticism.

I’ve noticed here on CAF, a distressing tendency when someone points out a legitimate issue - it is immediately turned back on the person. They are sinning, or blasphemous, or not appreciative or what have you. There’s very little introspection; all criticism, even from parties that want the Church to become even better than it already is, is interpreted as a grave sin.
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Your post was not in any way shape or form ‘constructive criticism’. It was a sales pitch for state school and a massive dump on Catholic education… all purely taken from an insular self oriented perspective.

Edited. Apologies, I was referencing Bluetopaz’s post, not yours.
 
LongingSoul said:
Your post was not in any way shape or form ‘constructive criticism’. It was a sales pitch for state school and a massive dump on Catholic education… all purely taken from an insular self oriented perspective.

Edited. Apologies, I was referencing Bluetopaz’s post, not yours.
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You may not have liked her language, but she didn’t say much that was different than what I said. I read her post as wanting more for the church, as a parishioner, as a former student, and as a future educator. All she did was a cost/benefit analysis, and found that the education she received was lacking when compared to the cost paid for it - which is no different than many other posts here.

The cost of Catholic school seems to be a huge issue. We have to find a way to make it more accessible, and if possible, raise the quality as well. It can’t be on the individual; we have to make it a community priority. Otherwise, nothing will change. Right now, so many view it as a better than the public school/safer than the public school/have no other alternative type thing. First and foremost, we need to change our attitudes of what Catholic schooling should be.
 
tafan said:
I have a serious question to all of those Catholics on this forum who are bashing the Catholic school system: do you obey canon 802.2

All Catholics have a responsibility to support Catholic schools, you guys are bashing them quite strongly, what are you doing to help the Catholic schools? It is a Church law, disobedience of a lawful authority is a sin.
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I’m sure part of my weekly $$ offering is used to support local Catholic education. And I’m sure if I asked the Diocese if I am in compliance with 802.2 they would say that I am.

In my own limited experience, my two years in a Catholic school were essentially the same as a public school education.
 
In the UK you can send your child to a Catholic school without paying. The vast majority of Catholic schools in the UK have ‘voluntary aided’ status which means that the diocese owns the school, but the state funds the pupils places. And as for Catholic schools being the same as State schools, having taught in both I can say that they most definitely are not. The Catholic faith pervades all aspects of learning in a good Catholic school, the academic standards are also higher, probably because of the attitude and behaviour that a Catholic ethos promotes.
 
alexandratm said:
Constructive criticism is not a sin. Wanting better for our students is not a sin. Hoping for accessibility for families who cannot afford Catholic education is not a sin.

We can donate our money and time, but in speaking for my local schools, most are extremely resistant to change. And change cannot occur without constructive criticism.

I’ve noticed here on CAF, a distressing tendency when someone points out a legitimate issue - it is immediately turned back on the person. They are sinning, or blasphemous, or not appreciative or what have you. There’s very little introspection; all criticism, even from parties that want the Church to become even better than it already is, is interpreted as a grave sin.
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I never said criticism was a sin, I said not supporting the establishment and maintenance of Catholic schools is a sin. It was simply a question to all of those on this thread who are Catholic and have been giving so much “constructive” criticisms of Catholic schools: are you following Church law with respect to support of Catholic schools.

As to the price of them, I have commented several times on this forum and will do so again. The Church says parents who are able are to send their kids to schools which provide a Catholic education. There is an obvious corollary that the Church has to provide said schools to parents. It is a big failure of the modern day Church.
 
alexandratm said:
You may not have liked her language, but she didn’t say much that was different than what I said. I read her post as wanting more for the church, as a parishioner, as a former student, and as a future educator. All she did was a cost/benefit analysis, and found that the education she received was lacking when compared to the cost paid for it - which is no different than many other posts here.

The cost of Catholic school seems to be a huge issue. We have to find a way to make it more accessible, and if possible, raise the quality as well. It can’t be on the individual; we have to make it a community priority. Otherwise, nothing will change. Right now, so many view it as a better than the public school/safer than the public school/have no other alternative type thing. First and foremost, we need to change our attitudes of what Catholic schooling should be.
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What we have to do is build on the good that is there and what has always been foundational, not endlessly bash the system and compare it unfavourably to the state school system with its esteem of secular, anti Catholic values at its core. How many good institutions are destroyed by the negativity and lack of support of its very members? There is a lot lacking in the Catholic schools system over the years, but there is much that is good and vitally important to build on. Had I my time over again, I would not hesitate to send my three through the system again. Here is why…

 The Catholic schools system was established with a lot of blood, sweat and tears of nuns, brothers and Priests dedicated to putting Christ first in the lives of children and every Catholic school you walk into shamelessly displays the crucifix, other icons and founders and Saints that have left us this legacy to carry forward.

 Despite the flaws and failures in the Catholic school system, children are gathered before the altar at the most important moments of the liturgical calendar to remind us that Easter was not ‘invented’ for bunnies and eggs and Christmas is not about overeating and commercial bonanzas. That the Saints love, dedication and sacrifice are to be appreciated and emulated by all of us.

 Catholic schools are obliged to work with people in genuine financial strain who deeply desire a Catholic education for their children. They are accommodating of all genuine cases although like many other services that depend on ‘user pays’ to keep operating… have to be tough with those who have ‘entitlement syndrome’.

 Catholic education fosters a family relationship that reflects the whole Church as family and even though as with all families, there are fractures and disfunctions, the basis of that remains. That is a common point of praise for Catholic schools from outsiders.

 Although the quality of teachers falls short of the nuns, brothers and priests of old… the spirit of inclusiveness, ecumenism, justice and equality embraced by the Popes and the Church today is an enormously positive aspect of the modern Catholic student. I recognise this quality in my own Catholic educated now young adults as a truly positive thing from their education.

 Each Catholic school under the patronage of the Christ, Our Lady or a Saint, gifts students with a special charism that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives whether they acknowledge it or not. Faith is a journey and as we mature in faith we draw on the things we got from home and school at various times in that journey. The charism of my childhood school St Patricks inspired me to name my first child after him for example. My children are carried by the Franciscan charism and my daughter still wears her Tau cross wrapped around her wrist over her watch everywhere she goes as a symbol of her pride in her education.

 Throughout history and across cultures, the Churchs light has ebbed and flowed according to the fervour of her members. We are a privileged generation who by default take our safety and freedom to practice our faith publically, for granted. The Church and her educators have played an enormous role in fighting for the dignity and worthiness of *all *people, and still does. Why do we think suddenly that we should be the privileged beneficiaries of all that courageous dedication and sacrifice and have tantrums when ‘they’ aren’t living up to our expectations of ‘them’.
 
Moving in a slightly different direction again -

Last night we had our parent orientation for the school year and I was reminded of another great reason to love our school. Several, actually. Our neighborhood public school is divided geographically, and most of the kids are white middle class. In my son’s second grade we have families from Vietnam, Peru, families of Indian heritage, several black families, and families of other Hispanic background. Even my son is American/German citizenship so he also can add a little to the cultural mix. It’s a great representation of who is Catholic: everyone. That kind of diversity just isn’t in the zoned school, and it’s a valuable, subtle life experience they can enjoy.
 
You can NOT compare Catholic schools. Yes, there are bad ones, but there are also some very good ones. Both my children’s K-8 and high school are very good. In the K-8, they use Faith and Life by Ignatius Press for religion, the start Latin in 5th grade. They do an examination of conscience at the end of the day and say a traditional act of contrition, they have a classical curriculum, etc. The high school uses Didache for theology, Latin, and classic curriculum.
As far as costs, scholarships are available. I have 5 children in Catholic school. We live on one public school teacher income. We are paying $135 a month per child for K-8. A bit more per month for the 2 high schoolers. Grandparents are helping a bit too. It is actually more affordable for me not to work because being poor and having a lot of children allow for more scholarship opportunities.
To the person who said homeschooling doesn’t always work out, I have to heartily agree. I homeschooled for 19 years (2 of our children all of the way through). One of my oldest doesn’t believe in God anymore. I have several other friends who homeschooled all of the way through and some of their kids have left the faith. There are not guarantees.
 
Discerning13 said:
Just look at the TV when they have a report about Catholic Schools, they also look quite similar.

“Homosexual teacher fired”

“Students and parents outraged”

*protest in support of sodomy"

Bishop: “Oh well…The people know what’s best anyways…right?”
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Wait – you want to judge Catholic schools by the content of TV news stories about them? Seriously?

I’m not saying that there are no problems in Catholic schools – obviously, it takes a lot of hard work to make an academic environment one that excels – but to say that “since problems occur at some Catholic schools means that Catholic education is worthless” is the worst attempt at logic I think I’ve ever seen… 😉
 
the best part, and the part i miss the most for my children, about attending a catholic grade and high school is when the whole school would attend mass, especially during lent and holy days. the first reason to send a child to a catholic grade school would be the ability of that child to attend mass more frequently, to experience/participate in the ultimate form of praise, in the sacrifice of the mass, and then to know the union that comes in receiving the Eucharist with God and the people together. When it comes to leaving the church, many children will attend catholic school grades preK through grade 12 and may still leave the church because of one single issue or another, but what if anything will lead them back to the church is that grace that was given to the child during the formative years, and God’s grace will lead them back to the mass and to the Eucharist.
 
My biggest issue is that, recently, Catholic schools have been used as a crutch, and it leads to problems. Instilling, building, supporting and reinforcing faith and morality are primarily the responsibility of the family.

Yes, it’s wonderful that Easter is taught beyond bunnies and jelly beans at a Catholic school. Yes, it’s wonderful that there is prayer and Mass at school. But I knew what Easter was well before I got to school. I knew how to say a Hail Mary well before I was tested on it in the 7th grade. I knew Mass was important outside of going once a month. Because my parents taught me those things before I was out of my high chair. The Catholic school can’t be responsible for instilling all of these values. You can’t be a successful educational institution AND be working from ground zero on the faith formation front. There aren’t enough resources or hours in the day.

You can make elementary school kid go to Mass with the entire school on a Wednesday, but if their family doesn’t go on Sundays or make their faith education, or prayer a priority at home, school itself won’t convince them it’s important. (just like school can’t always convince elementary kids that homework is important.) It will just become another chore at school.

A Catholic school should be reinforcement of values taught and practiced at home. In cases where that is true for the majority of students, I think there would be a lot fewer issues. Even the students that didn’t have that kind of home life, they would be so surrounded by students and families that did, it would be an inspiration for them. But I’ve found that there are a lot of families that just go through the motions and throw their kid in a Catholic school to take care of all things Catholic.

I wouldn’t trust daycare to completely raise kids, and I wouldn’t trust any school to completely raise my kids in the faith. Reinforce faith, yes. Raise, no. That’s why a strong, faithful family unit is so important. And that’s why, despite how awful they can be, I don’t take issue with state schooling. I wasn’t even trying to make a case for them. In my case, it was better. In others, they’re not. But I went to a public school, got a better education than I would have otherwise, and I was so grounded because of all the faith and support I got at home, I wasn’t “swayed” by the secular ways of public school. It was just an educational institution.
 
Hi WiseMan, great question.

I would love to share my story with you. I hope to be really quick. I moved to Washington, DC from Hawaii in 2002 after transitioning out of the Army. My daughter was 3 going on 4 years old at the time. Washington, DC as you know is an urban town. I did not want to send her to a public school due to the social problems and the environment. I could not afford to send her to Sidwell Friends ( the school the Pres’s kids attend) or Murae (I’m sure I misspelled), or National Cathedral or The Field School or British Washington School or any private school. However, I saw that I could handle the monthly Catholic tuition of $8,000 at elementary school, $9500 at middle school, and $15,000 at high school.

My daughter is now a junior in high school in DC,one more year…Hallelujah! I wish that I could have sent her to one of the private schools, but since I could not afford the price, the Catholic school met all of my criteria’s. If I had it all over to do again, would I? A resounding yes. If we would have remained in Hawaii after I finished my obligation with the Army, I still would have sent her to a Catholic school.

To me, the right Catholic school presents a happy medium between the two extremes that are presented at a public and private school. If I lived in Virginia, say Fairfax, then I would have sent my daughter to a public school for sure. If I lived in say Mass or CT I would sent her to a public school.

That’s my (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
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