Jewish students at Gonzaga?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about Gonzaga, but as a former Catholic school lifer, it was frankly refreshing to have some diversity and escape the homogeneity of backgrounds. (We had some Shia Muslims whose families fled Iran etc. ) And my school never forced them to go attend any Masses. Not sure how religious classes were handled though. Basically, the point is that I would think a Jesuit school like Gonzaga would be quite open to other faiths.

There is a reason there are religious schools. Families want their kids surrounding by their cult.

If you want diversity, go to a secular school.

Are there Muslims, Buddhists, and Catholics at Jewish Day School? Nope

Essentially correct.

If these parents were interested in diversity, their sons would be at another schools. Gonzaga is all about homogeneity. That's what the celebrate except for the African Americans, many of whom are from the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:apparently no. How about JDS if you are jewish and looking for a religious school.....

They're probably looking for a private school. This one happens to be Catholic.

- Jewish grad of CUA

College is a different world than high school.

Could a Jewish kid survive among the "Eye Street Irish"? Sure. But who wants to just survive?

These are people, by and large, who take Catholicism, Catholic culture and Catholic education seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about Gonzaga, but as a former Catholic school lifer, it was frankly refreshing to have some diversity and escape the homogeneity of backgrounds. (We had some Shia Muslims whose families fled Iran etc. ) And my school never forced them to go attend any Masses. Not sure how religious classes were handled though. Basically, the point is that I would think a Jesuit school like Gonzaga would be quite open to other faiths.

There is a reason there are religious schools. Families want their kids surrounding by their cult.

If you want diversity, go to a secular school.

Are there Muslims, Buddhists, and Catholics at Jewish Day School? Nope

Essentially correct.

If these parents were interested in diversity, their sons would be at another schools. Gonzaga is all about homogeneity. That's what the celebrate except for the African Americans, many of whom are from the neighborhood.

Can you back this statement up with any facts or are you just basing this on stereotypes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about Gonzaga, but as a former Catholic school lifer, it was frankly refreshing to have some diversity and escape the homogeneity of backgrounds. (We had some Shia Muslims whose families fled Iran etc. ) And my school never forced them to go attend any Masses. Not sure how religious classes were handled though. Basically, the point is that I would think a Jesuit school like Gonzaga would be quite open to other faiths.

There is a reason there are religious schools. Families want their kids surrounding by their cult.

If you want diversity, go to a secular school.

Are there Muslims, Buddhists, and Catholics at Jewish Day School? Nope

Essentially correct.

If these parents were interested in diversity, their sons would be at another schools. Gonzaga is all about homogeneity. That's what the celebrate except for the African Americans, many of whom are from the neighborhood.

Can you back this statement up with any facts or are you just basing this on stereotypes?

Facts? No.

I only have seven years of lots of pretty intensive personal interaction with the school, the students, the other parents and the alumni based on sending two boys to Gonzaga. Based on that, I think I feel qualifies to make some general observations about the experience.

As opposed to someone asking a question like the original poster, I have a pretty good idea about generally who goes the the school, who sends their boys there and what the relationship these people have with the school and with one another.

The funny thing about stereotypes is that they work because they are generally true.

Clannishness is not some abstract theory. It actually exists. I'm satisfied with thinking something if it 97% true. There's always exceptions, but I don't feel it's necessary to footnote everything. These posts are opinions, not academic papers.

[Anonymous]

^^ 8:07 again. Interesting perspective. I too had sons at Gonzaga and while several things come to mind regarding what the school celebrates, homogeneity is not one of them. Maybe that's because my sons came from public school in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about Gonzaga, but as a former Catholic school lifer, it was frankly refreshing to have some diversity and escape the homogeneity of backgrounds. (We had some Shia Muslims whose families fled Iran etc. ) And my school never forced them to go attend any Masses. Not sure how religious classes were handled though. Basically, the point is that I would think a Jesuit school like Gonzaga would be quite open to other faiths.

There is a reason there are religious schools. Families want their kids surrounding by their cult.

If you want diversity, go to a secular school.

Are there Muslims, Buddhists, and Catholics at Jewish Day School? Nope

Actually, there often are. The Jewish day school near us has a number of families who aren't Jewish (and go out of their way to welcome applications from families of other faiths). The one friend we know who attends isn't Jewish. And we have several friends who are Jewish with kids at local parish schools. It hasn't been an issue--they and the schools knew they were not Catholic. Our parish schools have tuition tiers so you pay more if you aren't Catholic, but it's still far less than most of the secular independent schools.

People choose schools for myriad reasons, and it might be that a religious school is a great fit in all other respects, even if the family doesn't share the faith. Obviously you have to be okay with the religious education component, but if the family and the school are both comfortable with it, it doesn't need to be a huge issue. Presumably schools would not be accepting students from other faiths if they felt it was damaging to their programs or school communities, and families would not be accepting if they felt it would be problematic for their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about Gonzaga, but as a former Catholic school lifer, it was frankly refreshing to have some diversity and escape the homogeneity of backgrounds. (We had some Shia Muslims whose families fled Iran etc. ) And my school never forced them to go attend any Masses. Not sure how religious classes were handled though. Basically, the point is that I would think a Jesuit school like Gonzaga would be quite open to other faiths.

There is a reason there are religious schools. Families want their kids surrounding by their cult.

If you want diversity, go to a secular school.

Are there Muslims, Buddhists, and Catholics at Jewish Day School? Nope

Actually, there often are. The Jewish day school near us has a number of families who aren't Jewish (and go out of their way to welcome applications from families of other faiths). The one friend we know who attends isn't Jewish. And we have several friends who are Jewish with kids at local parish schools. It hasn't been an issue--they and the schools knew they were not Catholic. Our parish schools have tuition tiers so you pay more if you aren't Catholic, but it's still far less than most of the secular independent schools.

People choose schools for myriad reasons, and it might be that a religious school is a great fit in all other respects, even if the family doesn't share the faith. Obviously you have to be okay with the religious education component, but if the family and the school are both comfortable with it, it doesn't need to be a huge issue. Presumably schools would not be accepting students from other faiths if they felt it was damaging to their programs or school communities, and families would not be accepting if they felt it would be problematic for their children.

In Catholic schools, the Faith is the central idea, not some extracurricular, optional course It's the central reason the school exists. It's just not one of a number of attributes of the school. And it is a big deal.

I don't think admitting a small number of non-Catholics is going to damage the school's programs and community. But there's a tipping point, I'm sure.

These school's are a manifestation of the larger Catholic community that consists of alums, family members and long-time supporters.

The non-Catholic who attends and their family just aren't going to be able to ignore all the facets of the Religion and Catholic culture that exists in this unique environment. It's a curious choice with so many alternatives.

[Anonymous]

Yes, there are Jewish students at GZA, and quite a few who have one Jewish parent but may not identify as Jewish.

SJC and St. Anselm's are both Catholic schools with quite a few Jewish students.

Some come for the athletics, others just because it is a good education.

An observation (anecdotal, but the sample size is large enough to identify a trend). I have observed that Jewish students at Catholic schools tend to come from religious families, and secular Jews are less likely to attend a Catholic school. I think it may have to do with the religious Jews being more comfortable with organized religion in general, and perhaps less worried about conversion because they know their kids already have a strong faith tradition, whereas a secular Jewish kid may be drawn to conversion to fill a void.

The schools do not attempt to convert anyone. But, exposure can sometimes lead one in that direction.

[Anonymous]

My family sent two non-Catholic boys to Gonzaga. Granted we're not Jewish. We went there for the education and emphasis on social justice. We understood that religion is a part of the curriculum, and the boys would have to attend mass on certain holy days (they just couldn't recieve communion). It was not a problem.