Public School vs. Catholic School

  • Thread starter Thread starter MysticMissMisty
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I pay $11,000/yr. for my two kids now. That’s going to go up to $27,000/yr. for both when they’re in high school. It ain’t cheap!
 
tafan2 said:
I disagree. I certainly do not think it’s up to us to decide if a particular canon is necessary or not. It’s the Church law, we obey.
What other laws of the church do you feel can be ignored because they are “not necessary”?
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It would be a cold day in hell before I let any organizaton dictate to me where my child was to be educated.
 
Jen95 said:
I wonder if principals have any flexibility
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The principles themselves, probably not. It’s most likely a board level decision, unless they have a prior declaration already in play for the principal.
 
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Our schools offer need based assistance that we are unlikely to qualify for. We could afford the tuition if we didn’t still have kids younger than school aged but we have to pay for care for them too.
 
I agree that it doesn’t pay to have unrealistic expectations, but when you are talking about tuition that surpass $5000 to $10000 a year per child, it’s reasonable to have higher standards than you would for a free school. That might not be much money for some, but for many it represents a significant difference in quality of life and whether or not it is reasonable to have more children at all. So while they may not be “perfect” they had darn well better deliver of what they promise, being reasonable academics and strict adherence to Church teaching.
 
It seems that in traditionalist communities even Catholic schools are often shunned for home schooling. Anyone have any thoughts on how home schooling factors into this canonical mandate?
 
I do that. I donate frequently to our parish’s sister school. It’s in Haiti and does wonderful work. I have also supported a local Catholic high school program for students with autism and the PSR program. I’ve also volunteered for PSR and plan to do so again when my daughter starts attending next school year.
 
Is it your plan to live out the Faith in your home? To model Discipleship to your children? To be part of parish life?

If so, then choose the school based on what you can afford, the test scores, what is important you you as parents.

If it is your plan to go to Mass on Sunday and want the Church to do the religious training for your kids, then, choose a parish school.
 
The law is a “school that provides a Catholic education”. So my belief is that if you home school, your school has to do that. If we would not have had a good Catholic school available to my family (geographically or affordability), that likely would have been our choice. It’s not ideal IMO and can be difficult to pull off, but there are lots of families who make it work quite well. From what I can tell based on families I have seen that are successful, it takes a lot of sacrifice. Almost without exception, those parents through the years who have told us how easy it is, end up not being so successful. I have lots of respect for those who make it work.
 
TheLittleLady said:
If it is your plan to go to Mass on Sunday and want the Church to do the religious training for your kids, then, choose a parish school.
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I would reword this slightly and say “if you want the Church’s help in the religious formation for your kids”.
 
In my experience, parents who really live out Discipleship at home are also engaging the help of their Parish (RE, VBS, CYM, etc.). Other families who are not comfortable or who feel unequipped want to drop their kids off, pick them up, and let the school do the heavy lifting of Rel Ed.
 
TheLittleLady said:
Other families who are not comfortable or who feel unequipped want to drop their kids off, pick them up, and let the school do the heavy lifting of Rel Ed.
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This was me until I started taking my faith seriously and actually living it (or at least trying my hardest to). This is also the case for many of my close friends as well.
 
I don’t think I said that only people who write a check are involved in their child’s education. I do think that parting with some money (FOR THOSE WHO HAVE IT) adds a little extra impetus to their involvement in what is happening at school.
 
TheLittleLady said:
and let the school do the heavy lifting of Rel Ed.
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Our kids responded better to this. The last thing they wanted to do was homework with Mom. They did much better going to the church for 45 min an afternoon after school with their friends.
 
Yes, I would agree that over-testing of students is a problem in many education systems. I completed some of my education in the UK, where this is a major issue. In the UK it is a problem in all schools, state and private, as they rely heavily on public examinations set by independent examination boards, which lead to the award of qualifications that can be used to enter employment or higher education. They don’t have the concept of “graduating” from school. Virtually all teaching is oriented toward success in public examinations. On the other hand, it seems that the courses that lead to these qualifications are interesting and rigorous, so I believe their education system is good, even if it is heavily dominated by working toward examinations. It also seems to create something of a level playing field in a system that strongly favors elite private schools. If, say, you get an A* in the A-level history examination set by Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations, your qualification is worth as much if you studied for it at a state school as it is if you studied for it at Eton College.
 
So, then, is the bottom line that, while it isn’t a sin to send kids to public school if one can’t send them to Catholic school, it is a sin to do so if one has the ability, even if one has other reasons for not doing so?
 
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MysticMissMisty said:
So, then, is the bottom line that, while it isn’t a sin to send kids to public school if one can’t send them to Catholic school, it is a sin to do so if one has the ability, even if one has other reasons for not doing so?
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No that is not the bottom line.
 
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