1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Would you send your kids to Catholic School?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by wonderingdave01, Jun 8, 2013.

?

Would you send your kids to Catholic school?

  1. I'm not Catholic but yes

    4 vote(s)
    4.0%
  2. I'm not Catholic and no

    66 vote(s)
    66.0%
  3. I'm Catholic and yes

    8 vote(s)
    8.0%
  4. I'm Catholic but no

    6 vote(s)
    6.0%
  5. Not sure/Other (state below)

    16 vote(s)
    16.0%
  1. Aielar

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2011
    Messages:
    481
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver Island
    I'd consider it, but would encourage my child/children to think critically over whether or not the Catholic Faith is something they want to practice in their lives - if they didn't, and didn't want to attend the Catholic School, I'd respect that and enroll them in a public school. One of the strengths about catholic schools (or at least the one I was at recently) is the family and community orientation that's encouraged and role modeled by teachers for the students. I also like the smaller classrooms and more one on one time between staff and students.
     
  2. BradThePug

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,573
    Likes Received:
    288
    Location:
    Ohio
    Gender:
    Male (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I would homeschool my kids (If I ever adopt) before I sent them to a Catholic school.
     
  3. BudderMC

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2010
    Messages:
    3,148
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I went to a Catholic school all the way up until university. I don't identify as Catholic anymore (since I was about 13, after Confirmation ironically) nor do I feel like the quality of my education was spectacular. However, I do think going to Catholic school was a good thing. A lot of the values I learned in my religion classes were about common-sense things like "the golden rule" and general respect-for-others ideals that the Bible and Catholicism teach. Of course, it was presented in a Catholic context, but the development of my morals is still the same. I'm sure public/non-Catholic schools also have courses to help develop your morals, but I don't think what I learned was in any way bad.

    We also had a class on world religions, teaching us about ones other than Catholicism - it was a nice refresher to see that a lot of religions do share similar ideals. Admittedly, if I didn't go to a Catholic school and religion wasn't a mandatory course for 4 years, I probably wouldn't have taken it, and I certainly learned some valuable lessons from those courses (as annoying as they were).
     
  4. Convoy

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    Messages:
    369
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    WNY
    I'm not much for homeschooling, but I've got to say that I'd stand behind that.

    From having a teacher who went to a Catholic school (And the stories he told, granted they may have been similar in any region; Poor ethnic centered neighborhoods have issues) to the religious weight that must be forced on them. I just couldn't send a kid to that kind of environment.

    Not to mention that I'm not religious and I really couldn't offer support in religious matters if my child were to go to a catholic school; it wouldn't seem right to push something on them that I wouldn't have wanted pushed on myself.
     
  5. That's pretty true. An eighth of my friends are catholic and they are rather accepting of me being gay.

    Plus, Catholicism is often deeply rooted in Latinos and most Latinos are supportive of gay rights.
     
  6. needshelp

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2011
    Messages:
    1,005
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    nuked jersey
    after my experience with it as a kid, NO and NEVER WILL!
     
  7. DannyBoi66

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2013
    Messages:
    0
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Universe, Milky Way, Solar System, Earth, England
    I went to a Catholic school and it was fine. Nothing out of the ordinaty apart from singing hymns in assemblies and extra RE lessons. I want to stay Catholic, as well. I don't let the Bible bother me at all, I just go with the flow, really. I go to a Non - Catholic school now anyways, so I don't care where my kid would go, so, yeah.

    I am, and I would, but I'm not saying I will.
     
  8. AlamoCity

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2012
    Messages:
    4,656
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Lone Star State
    One might also wonder how socioeconomic factors play a role. Catholic education is usually expensive and, as such, only those who can afford to pay or are academically able to earn scholarships can attend. As such, you basically get the two groups who are bound to excel academically: the gifted (be it by money, intelligence, or both). You could probably have a poorly-performing public school with the same teachers and replace all of the students with newly matriculated Catholic school students, and I'd bet my bottom dollar that the scores of that school would rise dramatically. When you don't have basic factors holding down students, like where their next meal is going to come from or if they're going to get shot walking home (I'm being a bit hyperbolic, so please indulge me), students will perform better. Plus, students whose parents are in the higher economic strata are able to get more opportunities to learn and explore the world than other students who may have never left their own city.

    But to answer the question, no, I wouldn't really send my students to Catholic school (unless it was that or a very poor-performing, hazardous public school). I would rather send them to a charter school or a good public school.

    (Also, no one in my family is Catholic, so that also might influence my answer.)
     
  9. Martjain

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2013
    Messages:
    296
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Buenos Aires, Argentina
    I voted Not Sure/Other.
    I went to several (that's right I said several) Catholic schools and I've never been Catholic, because my family isn't. So i guess if the school is Catholic or not isn't the problem. The problem is how are you raised by your family. Mine never taught me a thing about religion, and thus, I've had to search on my own, which has given me a great opportunity to mature in the religious sense.
    So my answer is, if the school is Catholic or not wouldn't be important when I decide my son's school.
     
  10. Theodora

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    124
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Not as far away as I'd hoped.
    Absolutely not. I went to two and while most classes weren't religious at all, the teachers and administration had zero respect for students most of the time and it's a very humiliation based culture. The treatment of gender non-conformity in those schools is pretty appalling too.
     
  11. Steele

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2013
    Messages:
    631
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    West Coast, United States
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Some people
    For the most part no. If I had kids who wanted to go to a Catholic school, assuming the school wasn't too radical, I wouldn't stop them. My sister went to a Catholic high school and she turned out just fine, but really any Catholic school, no matter how mild, progressive, open-minded they are, etc. just makes me uncomfortable.
     
  12. Beware Of You

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Messages:
    1,752
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I went to a Catholic Private Faith School in the UK and I am gay. There wasn't really anything that "Catholic" about it apart from mass every week, apart from that I was taught alright, we weren't taught creationism of anything retarded like that!

    To be fair I liked it, I did get bullied alot but that would have happened anywhere but the staff were kinda good at dealing with it.

    I did come out somewhat more religious that the rest of my family though
     
    #52 Beware Of You, Jun 9, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2013
  13. mochiaddict

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2013
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Gender:
    Genderqueer
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    As a non-catholic, and a graduate of a catholic high school my feelings are neutral. One thing that the catholic system provides is academic discipline and rigour, each action is a practice. The emphasis placed on diligence by each student and teacher at my highschool was really beneficial to me!

    I learned to differentiate between religion and spirituality, and to respect and enjoy many different religious traditions (although I am personally not a practitioner of any) As a bonus- If I had not attended catholic school, I would not have the skills to analytically criticize attacks by(or mistakes of) the religious right.

    I felt alienated by my sexuality very rarely; although the catholic church does not condone homosexual relationships, many catholic educators and families were either supportive or tolerant (or at least not abrasive). Typically, it was just something that wasn't discussed.

    Ultimately, I would probably enroll my (potential) kids in the IB program before a catholic school, those places are pricey and could be smothering to more sensitive people.
     
  14. castle walls

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2011
    Messages:
    798
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Western USA
    I really don't think we should be using retarded as an insult or belittling other people's religious beliefs. I understand that you were only trying to insult people that believe in creationism (which I also think is inappropriate especially on a support site) but you are also insulting people with disabilities.

    Back on topic, the only way I would even consider sending my future children to Catholic school is if it was the only place my children could get a decent education within a 30 mile radius of my house
     
  15. Rakkaus

    Rakkaus Guest

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2012
    Messages:
    878
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    New York
    I was raised Catholic and spent 17 years in Catholic schools. I am an atheist now, and I'm not sure if I want to ever have kids.... but I guess my answer to this question would depend on the circumstances.

    Assuming I'm still living in NYC, it would definitely still be an option. I have heard a lot of horror stories about how bad conditions are in NYC public schools. I was a very shy and weird kid growing up, so I consider myself fortunate that bullying in Catholic school, while present, never got to the sort of level that's been driving kids to suicide these days.

    Now the last eight years of my Catholic education (high school and college) were in Jesuit-schools, and Jesuits are known for being more liberal and not so attached to orthodoxy. My Jesuit high school was in Manhattan, located basically on the border between Chelsea and Greenwich Village, and it was attached to a rather large old church, which was used for high school Masses and some ceremonies but also was the community's Catholic Church, and I know for a fact that they had LGBT Masses complete with rainbow flags and also hosted an outreach group for gay Catholics. (Right now the church's website actually has a rainbow flag on the main page accompanying a statement condemning the recent hate crimes in the NYC) The church and the school in that kind of neighborhood would probably have empty pews if it toed the line and preached death to gays.

    My Jesuit college in Massachusetts was also fairly liberal and we had a student organization for LGBTQ students and observed 'Day of Silence' and all that. But college is different anyway in that generally students aren't forced to ever attend a Mass or take a certain religion course. (I satisfied my Religion requirement by taking a Latin course translating St. Augustine's Confessions).

    So Jesuit schools in the liberal Northeast are probably not going to be typical of Catholic schools elsewhere. There are some notoriously conservative and anti-gay Catholic institutions out there, like Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. Avoid them for sure.

    But at the elementary school level, I really don't think topics like sexuality are ever going to be brought up.
     
  16. RedMage

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    Messages:
    767
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    After reading some comments I feel kind of hurt about how some people are talking about Catholic schools. The only religious activities the Catholic schools I attended did were the sacraments and one class based on religious studies. No, these classes didn't brainwash me or feed stupid ideas to me, they actually talked about morals, some philosophical topics and even sex. Also in my science class I learned about various things about the natural world and basic biology. No Creationism was taught here and funny enough in high school Creationism was one of the things we disscussed in one of our philosophy classes.

    Also we were never taught about hate or any of that nasty stuff those old men spout out at the top. You were allowed to have an opinion and to question anything you felt needed be. Most teachers had their own views on faith and for the most part faith wasn't talked that much outside of religious based classes.

    God, it's threads like these that make it so fucking hard to have my beliefs coincide with my sexuality. But no, I am an idiot for believing in a higher power, for having an education that had a base in religion, or that I am a abomination for what I believe. It's one thing to have an opinion on religion, it's another thing to constantly berate it for every single wrong thing in the world and say anyone who has faith in it is a complete moron.

    *sigh*

    I forgot to mention my stance on whether or not I would send a child of mine to a Catholic school. I would want to discuss to my spouse first or if I lack one for whatever reason I would want to choose a school where my child will learn and be able to grow as a person. Public or Catholic whichever I think is right but I would want my child to go to public as I want my child to develop their beliefs or ideas and find what path they want to take.
     
    #56 RedMage, Jun 9, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2013
  17. Aussie792

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2013
    Messages:
    3,317
    Likes Received:
    62
    Location:
    Australia
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    My mother was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic school. It messed up her perception of the world, and even though she is now agnostic, she is a social Catholic. I have good friends who attend Catholic schools, and they are awesome people, and are agnostic. I think it's just down to how impressionable the child is. I would say that even though the teachers are very repressed and the curriculum weird (my friend and I laugh over her religion classes all the time), the students are often very open and nice and accepting.
     
  18. FreeFlow9917

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2013
    Messages:
    608
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Illinois
    Actually a lot of kids at our school came from a catholic school, and they are really smart
     
  19. EddyG

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2013
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NE USA
    I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school from K through 6, sibs went through 12.

    First, Catholic School is not necessarily the best education at all. I shifted to public school because I wasn't being properly challenged at the Catholic school, and it was at the suggestion of the Catholic school. The Catholic school where I live now is definitely not as good as the public schools. So it really depends on where you are, and in general I'd say that is definitely not true.

    Second, when I was in elementary school in the late 60s we did not have a focus on sexuality at all, I remember nothing being said about gays, abortion etc. Now however that seems to be the main focus. So there is no way I'd send my kids to Catholic school now -- not that they would have let me do that anyway. Unless it's a school where some of the more progressive brothers teach (but even then...) Catholic school can be provincial, small minded and will not serve kids well if they want to do well in the wider world and be competitive.
     
  20. Nope! I have considered a private school that teaches a world view of Christianity, but have decided no on that as well.

    I am going to homeschool my kid this next year. Living in Texas, even public schools teach stuff that I don't agree with. Plus, there is this attitude.

    My son took his Bible to school. He likes that his name is in the Bible and wanted to show his teacher. I was hailed as some type of hero. It was weird.