Mater Dei families

[Anonymous]

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That being said, there is within a Catholic Education a preference for other Catholic schools. That's why so many MD students go to Prep and Gonzaga and why so many Prep and Gonzaga students opt to attend Georgetown, Notre Dame, Boston College and other Catholic colleges and universities. It's a "Catholic thing. You wouldn't get it.

This says so much. For the families I know who send kids to MD and two other local popular Catholic schools, this attitude is common. I feel like it is like high school with the in crowd/out crowd all over again!

It's hardly like high school. There isn't an In or and out crowd. But here is a large section of the population who have a great deal in common and they tend to concentrate their family and social lives in this Catholic community.

It's a very interesting phenomon. But it has its roots in the history of the Irish in the US and in DC. Until the great wave of Irish immigration in the 1840's and 1850's, Catholics were really just another Christian sect. When the Irish arrived they insisted on their own schools, their own clubs, their own everything. Check the roster at Columbia Country Club and tell me what you see.

Good gracious, open a history book and read about the Nativism of the 1840s and 1850s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And then there's the heavy drinking...

Have you been to England? Scotland?

Same thing.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It is amazing how many members of the Catholic Mafia care more about where their son/daughter goes to HIGH SCHOOL rather than COLLEGE.

This is a very entertaining comment as I think of a family in our neighborhood whose sons went the Little Flower/Gonzaga route and who are now at Dartmouth and Middlebury. It would seem that college was appropriately prioritized.

You don't really understand what that oft-repeated phrase means.

It means that when these kids get back to DC after college, their friendships will be with their grade school and high school friends. They settle back into the somewhat insular DC area Catholic community. Where they went to college seems to get lost. No one in their circle of life-long friends cares where they went to college, but they do care where you went to high school.

So it's not that going to a good college is not important. But where you went to high school is much more a determinant of where you live in DC, who you marry, who your friends are, where you play golf, where your kids go to school, etc., etc, then is where you went to college. The college ties seem to evaporate quickly. The high school ties are the ones that matter. Not to everyone in DC, but to the Catholic high school crowd for sure.

Perfectly stated. In this area, so many people are focused on the HS bumper sticker. College is a secondary objective for many members of the Catholic mafia. Contrast that with other groups (e.g. Asian Americans) who are focused on getting their child into the best college possible.

[Anonymous]

This is downright silly..has nothing to do with college not being important. I am from Philadelphia (so this isn't a dc thing) and see my hs friends who stayed in Philly closer together than their college friends. why? You go to college many times far away and become friends with kids who also may come for a variety of places..and if you come to work back in DC and you have friends who also came back..of course you will be friends..ESP if you had a nice relationship growing up. some kidss..if you went public..you played with since k..and some privates are also k or fairly young and go through. This is not a bad thing and this is also not a Catholic or any religion thing. As for Catholic mafia..sounds fairly racist to me.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to add..I have never seen such hate towards Catholics as I have seen in DC..sad for this to be the case for any religion but you would think there would be religious tolerance in our capital city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is downright silly..has nothing to do with college not being important. I am from Philadelphia (so this isn't a dc thing) and see my hs friends who stayed in Philly closer together than their college friends. why? You go to college many times far away and become friends with kids who also may come for a variety of places..and if you come to work back in DC and you have friends who also came back..of course you will be friends..ESP if you had a nice relationship growing up. some kidss..if you went public..you played with since k..and some privates are also k or fairly young and go through. This is not a bad thing and this is also not a Catholic or any religion thing. As for Catholic mafia..sounds fairly racist to me.

You must be reacting to the word "mafia". Substitute "community" for it. Or whatever word describes an inwardly-focused, tight-knit group that is relatively impervious to entry by people who are different.

When people say "In DC its where you went to high school that's important", they mean important in predicting and determining which community you will be part of in DC throughout your adult life.

Of course, this isn't unique to DC or even to Catholics in DC. What separates DC is the degree to which this is true and the strength of the commitment to the group.

It's nothing to get upset over. It is what it is. Understanding it helps understand the private school "lay of the land", so to speak. It explains why one sees so few Catholics at non-Catholic private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thing to add..I have never seen such hate towards Catholics as I have seen in DC..sad for this to be the case for any religion but you would think there would be religious tolerance in our capital city.

You must really be new to DC. This is an almost completely balkanized city/area.

In case you haven't noticed, race relations in DC could easily be called "posionous". Exhibit "A" would be ex-Mayor for Life Marion Barry.

[Anonymous]

Nobody is bashing Catholicism as a religion. But there is something to the Catholic mafia mentality in this area. One, HS is more important than college (because your son/daughter will come back here to live and you'll set them up with a cushy, comfortable job) and two, the approach to sports (especially sideline behavior by parents) is repugnant.

[Anonymous]

PP you have no idea what you are saying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP you have no idea what you are saying.

Great counterargument.

1. There is seemingly greater pride in having a HS sticker like Gonzaga on the car than whatever random college their child ultimately attends.

2. Have you ever been to one of these sporting events? They are out of control.

[Anonymous]

The parents at the sporting events are downright embarrassing. Sorry Mater Dei, you are the worst offenders time and again. Please get a grip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The parents at the sporting events are downright embarrassing. Sorry Mater Dei, you are the worst offenders time and again. Please get a grip.

Are you measuring this with some sort of meter? How would you know who is the worst?

It's no doubt hard to see your son's teams beaten so badly. You may want to work on being a better loser. Looks like you are going to be getting lots of practice.

[Anonymous]

Unless your goal is for your son to repeat a year and play with some pretty good athletes, it's mind boggling anyone would waste their money for an "education" at Mater Dei.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless your goal is for your son to repeat a year and play with some pretty good athletes, it's mind boggling anyone would waste their money for an "education" at Mater Dei.

That long line of applicants must be deluded. There's no other explanation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thing to add..I have never seen such hate towards Catholics as I have seen in DC..sad for this to be the case for any religion but you would think there would be religious tolerance in our capital city.

It amazes me too. If you substitute jewish or muslim in some of the phrases so casually thrown around, I think there would be a different reaction. I went to an elite unverisity, have lived and worked internationally for 15 years with global busiess leadres and universities. If I said any of this type of stuff, I'd lose my credibility and my job. Oops - sorry, I am a member of the Catholic community and I send my children to catholic schools. I appreciate my freedom for my family to practice my religion, which isn't true in many places I work.