Public School vs. Catholic School

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Here are a few:
  1. Facilities: The public school blows the parish school away in terms of facilities. They are both new schools, but the public school has far…far more. This is in both terms of technology, gym/athletic space, classroom/learning areas, media center/library, etc…
  2. Music: both schools have a music program, but the public school is far superior. The music program at the parish school is basically just choir. The public school offers choir, band and orchestra.
  3. Again, indoor gym facilities. We live in the upper…upper midwest. In the winter, at the parish school there’s no place for kids to go for any sort of exercise or physical education. We’re not a fan of that.
  4. Academic specialties: What we like about the public school system is our children are able to be put into math and ready classes that meet their level. My oldest is in the highest math class this year vs. last year he was in the lowest. He was able to get the correct instruction last year to help him develop his math skills. The parish school is very small and often combines classes, we weren’t a fan of that either.
  5. The closest Catholic HS is 30 min away from our house and is $15K per year. Unless we were to drive them 30 minutes to the nearest Catholic HS, they’re going to attend the public HS in town anyway. Why not have them get a good education, in good facilities all while going to school with the kids they’ll graduate with anyway.
 
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The parents chant that? I would personally put that on YouTube, pronto.
 
If any there was any instance of kids/parents from any of the Catholic schools chanting such things at sporting events around here, the disciplinary action would be swift and harsh. If I ever was to witness such a thing, I would be on the phone registering a complaint to the school’s pastor immediately. I doubt seriously if I would be the only one.
I don’t know where you are located, but if I were you I would take action now. Good people cannot be silent in such a scenario.
 
You’re right, I spoke too strongly; later in the thread, I was reminded that some Catholic schools are tuition-free to the parents as the government pays the costs, and if I had remembered that the situation varied outside the US, I would have said something different.
 
All that has already happened. People complained about it, circulated the video, etc. Our parish priest gave a homily about it, even though we weren’t the parish involved. Unfortunately, I think this sort of thing is so common in our community that even though the administration makes a big deal out of it, lots of regular people just say, “Oh they’re being too sensitive and making a mountain out of a mole hill.” There is racism running rampant in the public schools too and it is often called out in the news and on social media, but they don’t have the option of being exclusive.
 
Allegra said:
Actually, they demonstrate the point that each case is different and parents need to look at the available schools closely and consider many things before making their choice.
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They also demonstrate the point that people shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations of Catholic schools. There were many good things about the Catholic schools I attended; there were also some problems with them. Some people just assume that a Catholic school is going to be well run, well disciplined, always fair, always operating according to Catholic values, especially when you’re paying significant money to send your kid there. In reality, that may or may not be the case.

And with respect to “decades old” experiences, if I talked about what went on there in more recent times (last 10-15 years) I would be discussing a sex abuse scandal involving a male lay teacher, and theft of 500 grand by the school’s bookkeeper. Both of which were covered extensively in the local news (the perps were arrested and charged in both cases). Does that negate all the good things about the school, or the fact that many girls including myself had a lot of positive experiences there? No, it doesn’t, and a lot of girls continue to go there and I would hope they have generally positive experiences. But as Allegra said, these are things to watch out for especially when you’re paying a lot of money to send your kid.
 
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Perhaps you have withheld donations from the school due to the issues of the more recent nature, but your previous post seemed to make it clear you have withheld them for decades base on what one administrator did while you were there. She is likely long gone.
No, I think my initial post holds. People want Catholic schools to fail. They do not support them, despite the clear Catholic law which requires them to do so.
 
Are Catholic schools required to make their students take these standardized tests as well?
 
The school to which I am referring, along with the several other Catholic high schools in the area, charges enough tuition and has enough people lining up to go there, even in spite of any scandals or blips, that it and the other schools are not in danger of “failing”.

In this day and age when people favor openness by the Church on scandals and bad behavior, we do not do ourselves any favors by sweeping negative things about schools under the rug. Rather, we should be bringing these things into the open and working to change them.

Mother Angelica herself spoke openly about how the nuns at her Catholic school were “the meanest people on earth” and treated her unfairly, and she eventually attended the public high school. Yet when she was discerning her vocation, she considered joining a teaching order before the vocations director suggested she would be better suited to a contemplative order. She obviously didn’t want the Catholic schools to fail. She was honest. If Mother A, whom I greatly admire, can be honest about her experience, then so can I, and so can everybody else. You shouldn’t be trying to silence people because you don’t like their valid experiences or stories. That’s how the Church got into the mess it’s in today - Catholics pressuring other Catholics to be silent, not honest.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
That’s how the Church got into the mess it’s in today - Catholics pressuring other Catholics to be silent, not honest.
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. . . . There is a big difference between being speaking up about sex abuse and feeling an obligation about some nuns who were angry you did not want to go to their college.

Or because of someone’s mother in the 1930s was shaming her in front of the class.

Yea, we need to speak up about those pre-modern educational tactics in the 30s.

To give you credit, you did share stories about pastors helping out with tuition in the 60s or 70s.

And I am not trying to silence anyone, I am just questioning their motives.
 
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No, I’m not going to “give you a break”. I’m the kind of person who isn’t bothered by the antics of some sisters who got unfairly annoyed. Another kid, or another family, might have been really badly affected by that. Therefore, I see no harm in mentioning that such situations can occur.

I’m leaving this thread now, having said my piece. You have posted over and over again your opinion that everyone who doesn’t send their child to Catholic school is in violation of canon law, and also your opinion that my and other’s posts about past experiences and those of our family don’t matter, are out of date, and we shouldn’t post it, and by discussing these things on a discussion forum, we somehow want Catholic schools to fail. Like I said, all I see is you being disrespectful of other’s opinions and pretty much telling me and others to be silent. Not buying into that, sorry. Muting now, have a nice day.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
I’m leaving this thread now, having said my piece. You have posted over and over again your opinion that everyone who doesn’t send their child to Catholic school is in violation of canon law,
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That’s it, completely misrepresent another’s post and then leave the thread. I said the following:
The Canon certainly gives parents an out that only they can decide. But it cannot be ignored,l. In other words, they have to come to a reasonable conclusion that they are unable to send their kids to a Catholic school. If they are able to send their kids to a Catholic school, they are bound by law to do so. Only they can decide, but they can’t ignore it.
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Let me be clear to others. Canon law does not say that anyone who does not send their kids to catholic schools is in violation of the law. Parents who are unable to do so are not violating the law. And I said explicitly that it is up to parents to decide if they are able to do so. I further have criticized the Church for making it difficult for so many parents to do so.

I am being disrespectful? I do not think I have lied about anyone’s opinions, just speculated about the motives of telling some of their stories.

Edited: to remove the explicit accusation of a lie.
 
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So, I’m wondering why no-one responded to the last link I posted which seems at least arguably to contradict the Canons you cited.

Arguably, even Mother Angelica may have violated these documents based on what has been said above…

I am also curious to know how those who send their kids to public school even though it is possible to send them to Catholic school justify their decision when viewed against these Canons and other documents.

Thanks.
 
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Just to clarify one more thing: although parents are not bound by law to send their kids to a Catholic school if they are unable to do so, all of us are bound to support Catholic schools:

Can. 800 §1. The Church has the right to establish and direct schools of any discipline, type, and level.

§2. The Christian faithful are to foster Catholic schools, assisting in their establishment and maintenance according to their means.
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There is no out about this, but like all material support of the Church it is based on our means. Does that mean you have to support the local high school which charges outrageous tuition and in effect subsidize the education of rich kids? no. But it does mean you should support those schools which are trying to provide a true Catholic education at reasonable costs. Most areas have a school or two around them such as that. If its your parish school, don’t just ignore the second collection done once a year for the school or just ignore the schools yearly big fundraiser. Do what you can. We need more, good, affordable Catholic schools.
 
MysticMissMisty said:
So, I’m wondering why no-one responded to the last link I posted which seems at least arguably to contradict the Canons you cited.
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Because it doesn’t contradict anything I posted in any way.
MysticMissMisty said:
Arguably, even Mother Angelica may have violated these documents based on what has been said above…
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Huh?
MysticMissMisty said:
I am also curious to know how those who send their kids to public school even though it is possible to send them to Catholic school justify their decision when viewed against these Canons and other documents.
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You’d have to ask them.
 
I don’t think anyone ignored it. I think many of us have stated the same thing. Certainly the outrageous cost of many Catholic schools make it impossible for many parents to send their kids to Catholic schools. As stated many times on this thread, the canon explicitly acknowledges that parents may be unable to send their kids to a Catholic school. So the article you cite in no way contradicts the canon, just the inaccurate caricature of the canon made by some.
 
MysticMissMisty said:
I am also curious to know how those who send their kids to public school even though it is possible to send them to Catholic school justify their decision when viewed against these Canons and other documents.
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We could probably swing the parish school and maybe the closest Catholic HS (for one kid) our two oldest are 2yrs apart, so for two years we’d be looking at $30K in tuition…no chance.

I believe that I laid out in a prior comment above why we chose public over the local Catholic elementary/middle school.
 
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Our Catholic elementary schools are $8k a year around here. 😬 High school is as much as public college. There are multi-children discounts but that doesn’t include after school care.
 
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