Today at lunch we all talked about whether or not to send our respective kids to Catholic school. Now I will preface this with everyone at the table had been to Catholic school for at least one year, and may of us for all their schooling, so we all know what we were talking about.
I did not have a hard time with Catholic school, I went to public school k-8 and then Catholic High School. One thing I did realize that was different at this "college prep" school versus the public high school is that everyone there was there to LEARN. Not that public school kids aren't there to learn most of them are but not all of them.
I visited my friends highschool when I was a junior to help with registration (I don't' know what possessed me but I did it) and was shocked to learn that some of these students didn't even know what grade they were in. They were supposed to come up and get their ID cards and the cards were in alpha order by year - are you sensing the issue here. These teens would come up and say John Smith 10th grade. You would look in the 10th grade stack and nothing. Then he would say, "oh shit, I guess I flunked."
WHHHAAAAATTTT? is all I could think... and it happened more then I was, at age 16, comfortable with. Now in my high school if you flunked there was no way you were returning not because the school wouldn't let you but because of the humiliation. No one flunked - no one. Or if they did the school - in a very classic Catholic way either excommunicated the child and family never to be heard from again or out of guilt (another Catholic way) the family excused themselves and quietly slipped into the night.
The problem with Catholic school? Everyone expects you to be uber-good and pious. Ha to that! I meant more trouble makers in Catholic school then in public school. Want to know the big difference? The kids in the school for the learned are smart enough to NOT GET CAUGHT. That is right - they are smart, resourceful, and if they do get caught most of them have a lawyer parent that can get them out of trouble anyway.
It is my belief that you can get an education anywhere, whether you are public school or private school, but the learning environment can be very different.
So pick your poisen... education with stupidity or education with deviousness.
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About me
- Monica Lloyd
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I am mother and business woman in my mid thirties. I am good mom, striving to be the best mom. I have a wonderful 3 year old (can you say tantrums, potty training, and a great emerging personality?). When I was home with my son during maternity leave I created Swaddling Mama, a CD to help moms through that first year of parenting. You can download it on itunes. Since then I have been talking to parents about what has worked and not worked and now I decided to share it with all parents in this blog - as a creative parenting resource. ENJOY!
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1 comment:
Having year before last pulled my kids out of a Catholic school, I have to say that just because a school is private does not guarantee a better education. It would seem to increase your chances, but I found that I still ended up shelling out $4000 a year per kid and I was happier when I sent them to the school down the street. I have better luck communicating with my son's teachers now, for free.
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