Catholic school when you are not super Catholic

[Anonymous]

Some variation of this question seems to come up every couple of months. Do a little digging if you want all the hashing and rehashing of the topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many threads on this OP- just do a search.

I agree that it does come up often, however the threads are really hard to find when you search because there are so many 'results'.

[Anonymous]

I loved catholic school (and I consider myself a professional working mom who is more liberal) The community. the values, the manners,the "love one another", the academics. Happy memories of childhood. Prolonged innocence.
I am reading Jonathan Haidt's book, and it's so interesting what he says about how important traditions like going to church are for kids and how these kids are the ones who are the least anxious.
“In the virtual world, there is no daily, weekly, or annual calendar that structures when people can and cannot do things,”
"Religious ritual is typically embodied, synchronous, deep, and collective.”
Going to a religious school, church attendance can and should push against the anxious, fractured, distracted that we find ourselves in . Data shows that church attendance matters now more than ever both for those who believe and for those on the fence.

I would try it OP BUT please don't complain about the religion in the school or the teachers.
That's the whole FREAKING POINT! We all want that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved catholic school (and I consider myself a professional working mom who is more liberal) The community. the values, the manners,the "love one another", the academics. Happy memories of childhood. Prolonged innocence.
I am reading Jonathan Haidt's book, and it's so interesting what he says about how important traditions like going to church are for kids and how these kids are the ones who are the least anxious.
“In the virtual world, there is no daily, weekly, or annual calendar that structures when people can and cannot do things,”
"Religious ritual is typically embodied, synchronous, deep, and collective.”
Going to a religious school, church attendance can and should push against the anxious, fractured, distracted that we find ourselves in . Data shows that church attendance matters now more than ever both for those who believe and for those on the fence.

I would try it OP BUT please don't complain about the religion in the school or the teachers.
That's the whole FREAKING POINT! We all want that.

I'll have to check out that book PP. I agree 100% that rituals like going to Mass and being part of a religious community can lessen anxiety and provide purpose. I feel that many of these kids protesting on the streets and on campuses about something they know little about is mainly because they didn't have that anchor growing up, so now you are seeing some of them even consider converting to Islam. Hopefully that won't age well and they will move on to the next trend.

[Anonymous]

I’m Catholic and we send out kids to an Episcopal school now (we were waitlisted at our first choice Catholic K-8); however one kid is going to Catholic high school in the Fall and the younger sibling will also.

I am offended when people go to Catholic school to escape public and treat the religious part of going to a Catholic school as an inconvenient by product. It is actually “the thing” and not a byproduct. Your dismissiveness of Catholic teachings and traditions in pursuit of any alternative to public is insulting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The faith will pervade everything - prayers before each class, practice, game. Frequent Mass as a school and expectation to attend Sunday Mass as a family. Know that going in.

We saw a slightly older culture - addressing me as “Mrs DH last name” automatically; using cursive; no individualized instruction. Conservative isn’t the right word exactly, but it was different.

It's old fashioned and it's absolutely the thing that I like best. Manners, discipline, dressing up (belts and collars! My nephew can't deal for 1 meal and that drives me crazy). Addressing adults properly, shaking hands, making eye contact. Memorization, public speaking. It's what most of us remember as being the norm but isn't anymore.

This is it. I love it and my DD does as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m Catholic and we send out kids to an Episcopal school now (we were waitlisted at our first choice Catholic K-8); however one kid is going to Catholic high school in the Fall and the younger sibling will also.

I am offended when people go to Catholic school to escape public and treat the religious part of going to a Catholic school as an inconvenient by product. It is actually “the thing” and not a byproduct. Your dismissiveness of Catholic teachings and traditions in pursuit of any alternative to public is insulting.

Do you think the Episcopalians are offended you used their school as a convenient fall-back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved catholic school (and I consider myself a professional working mom who is more liberal) The community. the values, the manners,the "love one another", the academics. Happy memories of childhood. Prolonged innocence.
I am reading Jonathan Haidt's book, and it's so interesting what he says about how important traditions like going to church are for kids and how these kids are the ones who are the least anxious.
“In the virtual world, there is no daily, weekly, or annual calendar that structures when people can and cannot do things,”
"Religious ritual is typically embodied, synchronous, deep, and collective.”
Going to a religious school, church attendance can and should push against the anxious, fractured, distracted that we find ourselves in . Data shows that church attendance matters now more than ever both for those who believe and for those on the fence.

I would try it OP BUT please don't complain about the religion in the school or the teachers.
That's the whole FREAKING POINT! We all want that.

I’m definitely a Cafeteria Catholic and I agree with you. While I disagree with the church’s stance on certain issues, I love Catholic schools and value attending mass for the reasons you mentioned.

[Anonymous]

We did for elementary and found 25% of the families were not really religious, 50% liked Catholic school as they didn't go to church on the weekends anymore, 25% were very religious. Our school wasn't super old school so it was ok for us. You sort of have to determine what your child might be missing during the time when religion is covered and if you mind that. And if your values generally align with the school (some are more old school than others). For what it's worth, now that my kids are in HS, neither are religious or want to go to religious schools.

[Anonymous]

It would be really interesting if people named their schools. I think how religious the people are could vary greatly by school/parish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Catholic and we send out kids to an Episcopal school now (we were waitlisted at our first choice Catholic K-8); however one kid is going to Catholic high school in the Fall and the younger sibling will also.

I am offended when people go to Catholic school to escape public and treat the religious part of going to a Catholic school as an inconvenient by product. It is actually “the thing” and not a byproduct. Your dismissiveness of Catholic teachings and traditions in pursuit of any alternative to public is insulting.

Do you think the Episcopalians are offended you used their school as a convenient fall-back?

+ 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Does anyone have experience with Catholic school when you are not a devout Catholic? DH and I were both raised Catholic and had all the sacraments but are not active in our church. We are toying with the idea of sending our kids to the local parochial school because they have had an iffy experience with behavior issues and big classes in our FCPS elementary. But I am wondering what that experience will be like for them and for our family. My gut tells me that I would not love that experience for them. We don't have the money for some of the other privates around us.

I'm muslim and many family members attended catholic schools either for modest and godly environment or small class size and strong academic support. Most had wonderful experiences and want their kids to attend catholic or Muslim schools over secular ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Catholic and we send out kids to an Episcopal school now (we were waitlisted at our first choice Catholic K-8); however one kid is going to Catholic high school in the Fall and the younger sibling will also.

I am offended when people go to Catholic school to escape public and treat the religious part of going to a Catholic school as an inconvenient by product. It is actually “the thing” and not a byproduct. Your dismissiveness of Catholic teachings and traditions in pursuit of any alternative to public is insulting.

Do you think the Episcopalians are offended you used their school as a convenient fall-back?

NP. Actually why would they? The PP talked about "inconvenience" not convenience. They "used" the school because it was a convenient fall-back, but they didn't complain about the "inconvenient byproduct" of religion. And they probably even respected the religious aspect of the school. Big difference.

[Anonymous]

We're Episcopalian and my son is thriving at a Catholic high school. I know local parochials schools are different than regional high schools, but it's mainly the same families from one to the next, and we've been welcomed. DS goes to mass and sits respectfully during communion. He says about 1/3 of the class doesn't receive communion and no one really cares or talks about it.
His religion class was a little challenging first semester because some of the vocabulary that was second nature to the raised-Catholic kids was new to him but overall it's been a great experience as a school, and a non-issue religiously.

[Anonymous]

I lived near a baptist school, many Catholic, Muslim, Hindu neighbors sent their kids there and other than occasional racism from middle school bullies, faced no issues with classmates, teachers or education. None converted to Baptism but most say they developed better understanding and appreciation of Christian values.