Catholic schools rigor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that there is a LOT of work and homework at the catholic school, but not a great DEPTH of study. So, “rigor” in the sense of very busy and generating lots of papers, but not a rigorous depth of learning necessarily and not any probing studying or wonder.

Traditional schools like catholic schools follow the rote memorization learning style of the 20th century. They don't ask "explain your thinking", which I know many parents and students alike hate. TBH, "explain your thinking" isn't applicable in all cases, but the reasoning behind the recent craze of "explain your thinking" is to spur critical thinking skills.

A lot of Asian countries still use the rote memorization teaching style but it's changing.

You guys are peddling in tropes. Catholic schools are not all one thing, so PP's experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others. To say Catholic education is all about rote memorization with no critical thinking, and others claiming Catholics teach Creationism, and still others saying they don't teach science (on other threads), is the kind of misinformation and bigotry that is constantly allowed in this forum and it is so dang tired and wrong.

but it's fine to claim that all public schools are a dumpster fire, right?.. because that's what a lot of private school parents claim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that there is a LOT of work and homework at the catholic school, but not a great DEPTH of study. So, “rigor” in the sense of very busy and generating lots of papers, but not a rigorous depth of learning necessarily and not any probing studying or wonder.

Traditional schools like catholic schools follow the rote memorization learning style of the 20th century. They don't ask "explain your thinking", which I know many parents and students alike hate. TBH, "explain your thinking" isn't applicable in all cases, but the reasoning behind the recent craze of "explain your thinking" is to spur critical thinking skills.

A lot of Asian countries still use the rote memorization teaching style but it's changing. [America?

Rote memorization is appropriate for young kids. Their brains are wired to memorize. Think about the perfectly average kids who have memorized all 800 Pokemon...that brainpower can easily be harnessed for real world facts. Analysis and critical thinking come in in the preteen years and it's usually pointless to push it earlier.

sure, but a lot of the traditional schools teach rote memorization all throughout the grades.

[Anonymous]

All my kids have gone or are going through Catholic K-8.

Rigor is not an issue but the best things about Catholic school (and probably most privates) is you are in a club and not in a bureaucracy. They listen, make exceptions, accommodate, eschew inane rules and regs that are pointless.

Also important is that summer is nearly 3 months and not nearly 2 months like publics. I'm shocked every year how long the public school friends are still in school.

That said, if you have a really good public school that is within walking distance, I'd consider it. Convenience is worth a lot to me. My kid ain't riding a but for 45 min, nor am I driving them that far either.

Also as Catholics we're fine with the mass and such, its not much time honestly. Not a concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:True story. A friend of mine whose daughter attended MCPS through HS is now at Towson University. She is struggling because she doesn't know how to study. Because she never had exposure to mid term or final exams, she is having to learn how to study and is considering dropping a class or two. This is so sad.

Also, she was an honor student in HS FWIW.

True story, lots of MCPS kids go to top colleges, and they know how to study, and get good grades there.

I am talking about average kids here, not the ones who are going to magnets and W schools. Students who never take an AP class don't get exposure to cumulative testing experiences. There are lots of these kids, and if they can't succeed at a school like Towson, that is not a good look on MCPS. Sorry.

I know it's shocking but there are actually kids outside of magnet and W schools that do go to great colleges.

Of course there are. But not many.

and there are "not many" from catholics who get into great colleges.

There seemed to be a lot of people in the Catholic club at Princeton when I was there, but I agree a lot of my Catholic peers chose Notre Dame or Georgetown rather than excellent secular options.

[Anonymous]

My kids are in Catholic school and they have mass once a week. Which were fine with so I don’t feel as guilty about not going to mass as a family more regularly. There is a lot of memorization but that is often connected with presenting or reciting in front of the class, which I’m a fan of. I’ve noticed a focus on critical thinking skills around middle school where some classes are taught almost in a Socratic method. We’ve gotten weekly, sometimes every few days, descriptions of what they’re learning, etc. and suggestions on what to discuss with our kids to reinforce their learning.

And frankly, one of my favorite part is the organizational skills taught and expected of them. I don’t nag about getting homework done and/or studying for a test. They just get done.

[Anonymous]

Some of the top private schools are Episcopalian Protestant or Catholic. All have some religion blended into their curriculum.

St. Marks, Groton, St Paul’s NH, BC High are just a few I know of based on teacher or students there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:True story. A friend of mine whose daughter attended MCPS through HS is now at Towson University. She is struggling because she doesn't know how to study. Because she never had exposure to mid term or final exams, she is having to learn how to study and is considering dropping a class or two. This is so sad.

Also, she was an honor student in HS FWIW.

True story, lots of MCPS kids go to top colleges, and they know how to study, and get good grades there.

I am talking about average kids here, not the ones who are going to magnets and W schools. Students who never take an AP class don't get exposure to cumulative testing experiences. There are lots of these kids, and if they can't succeed at a school like Towson, that is not a good look on MCPS. Sorry.

I know it's shocking but there are actually kids outside of magnet and W schools that do go to great colleges.

Of course there are. But not many.

and there are "not many" from catholics who get into great colleges.

LOL that's why there are so many great Catholic colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moved my kids from APS (public) to Catholic. One of the biggest differences is actually instructional time - but in the opposite direction of OP's point! Catholic school teaches from the first day to the last. APS does very little teaching at the start of the year, before breaks, and after the first week of May (after the SOLs). My kid in Catholic HS had exams the last week of school. Very big difference.

Comments like this absolutely fascinate me. How the hell do you know the intricate details of what goes on in your child’s classroom every single day? What are you doing, sitting in the back of the room? This is total bullshit and I say this as a supporter of Catholic schools

I had my kids in APS for 13 years so watched every May as the "after the SOL" nonsense started. I watched my senior last year do nothing after AP exams were over - coming home during the school day because no learning was happening. I drove my other kid to final exams the last week of school. So yes, I could see the difference.

DP who has kids in DCPS and at our school the first month or two is review from the previous year, and the last month there is little-to-no teaching occurring. Schools can’t be generalized (like OP is trying to do) but this particular generalization about public school matches what I have seen and heard from teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that there is a LOT of work and homework at the catholic school, but not a great DEPTH of study. So, “rigor” in the sense of very busy and generating lots of papers, but not a rigorous depth of learning necessarily and not any probing studying or wonder.

Traditional schools like catholic schools follow the rote memorization learning style of the 20th century. They don't ask "explain your thinking", which I know many parents and students alike hate. TBH, "explain your thinking" isn't applicable in all cases, but the reasoning behind the recent craze of "explain your thinking" is to spur critical thinking skills.

A lot of Asian countries still use the rote memorization teaching style but it's changing.

You guys are peddling in tropes. Catholic schools are not all one thing, so PP's experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others. To say Catholic education is all about rote memorization with no critical thinking, and others claiming Catholics teach Creationism, and still others saying they don't teach science (on other threads), is the kind of misinformation and bigotry that is constantly allowed in this forum and it is so dang tired and wrong.

but it's fine to claim that all public schools are a dumpster fire, right?.. because that's what a lot of private school parents claim.

Awww, if the truth hurts so much, go put your head in a hole. All you have to do is go to this forum to see what a mess MCPS is. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/44.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that there is a LOT of work and homework at the catholic school, but not a great DEPTH of study. So, “rigor” in the sense of very busy and generating lots of papers, but not a rigorous depth of learning necessarily and not any probing studying or wonder.

Traditional schools like catholic schools follow the rote memorization learning style of the 20th century. They don't ask "explain your thinking", which I know many parents and students alike hate. TBH, "explain your thinking" isn't applicable in all cases, but the reasoning behind the recent craze of "explain your thinking" is to spur critical thinking skills.

A lot of Asian countries still use the rote memorization teaching style but it's changing.

You guys are peddling in tropes. Catholic schools are not all one thing, so PP's experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others. To say Catholic education is all about rote memorization with no critical thinking, and others claiming Catholics teach Creationism, and still others saying they don't teach science (on other threads), is the kind of misinformation and bigotry that is constantly allowed in this forum and it is so dang tired and wrong.

but it's fine to claim that all public schools are a dumpster fire, right?.. because that's what a lot of private school parents claim.

Awww, if the truth hurts so much, go put your head in a hole. All you have to do is go to this forum to see what a mess MCPS is. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/44.page

The lack of humility from some Catholic school parents is always disappointing.

- Catholic school parent

[Anonymous]

I have one in catholic and one in public. They have about the same amount of non academic time imo. Public has for example: glow parties as behavior rewards, assemblies, etc. Catholic seems slightly more strict overall, public is more into bribing for good behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any Private is better than Public. Catholic or not.

That’s really a stupid uninformed statement. The top public schools send more students to the top universities than most private schools. These public schools are only admit the top students and they actually have the best and brightest. Stuyvesant High NY , Bronx High Science NY, Hunter School Science NY, Boston Latin plus all the other exam schools across the US.

Also some of the wealthiest towns have top public schools that send their students to top colleges well prepared. And then you have the for profit private schools that are terrible.

It’s no longer private school is always better than public school. The exam high schools, especially sciences ones around the country are where the brightest kids end up. The well known NYC and New England old private schools are still on top. And the public schools still have problems with equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that there is a LOT of work and homework at the catholic school, but not a great DEPTH of study. So, “rigor” in the sense of very busy and generating lots of papers, but not a rigorous depth of learning necessarily and not any probing studying or wonder.

Traditional schools like catholic schools follow the rote memorization learning style of the 20th century. They don't ask "explain your thinking", which I know many parents and students alike hate. TBH, "explain your thinking" isn't applicable in all cases, but the reasoning behind the recent craze of "explain your thinking" is to spur critical thinking skills.

A lot of Asian countries still use the rote memorization teaching style but it's changing.

You guys are peddling in tropes. Catholic schools are not all one thing, so PP's experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others. To say Catholic education is all about rote memorization with no critical thinking, and others claiming Catholics teach Creationism, and still others saying they don't teach science (on other threads), is the kind of misinformation and bigotry that is constantly allowed in this forum and it is so dang tired and wrong.

but it's fine to claim that all public schools are a dumpster fire, right?.. because that's what a lot of private school parents claim.

Awww, if the truth hurts so much, go put your head in a hole. All you have to do is go to this forum to see what a mess MCPS is. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/44.page

The lack of humility from some Catholic school parents is always disappointing.

- Catholic school parent

I am the PP, and my kid is in a secular school. And sorry, but I am right about public schools being an absolute disaster. It will get worse. Teachers quitting because they can't take it anymore. Many moving to private schools. Bad situation for these poor kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any Private is better than Public. Catholic or not.

100%

Except for the traffic chaos in campus. Our private, with 1000 students, is worse than our former public SS with 4000 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience was that there is a LOT of work and homework at the catholic school, but not a great DEPTH of study. So, “rigor” in the sense of very busy and generating lots of papers, but not a rigorous depth of learning necessarily and not any probing studying or wonder.

Traditional schools like catholic schools follow the rote memorization learning style of the 20th century. They don't ask "explain your thinking", which I know many parents and students alike hate. TBH, "explain your thinking" isn't applicable in all cases, but the reasoning behind the recent craze of "explain your thinking" is to spur critical thinking skills.

A lot of Asian countries still use the rote memorization teaching style but it's changing.

You guys are peddling in tropes. Catholic schools are not all one thing, so PP's experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others. To say Catholic education is all about rote memorization with no critical thinking, and others claiming Catholics teach Creationism, and still others saying they don't teach science (on other threads), is the kind of misinformation and bigotry that is constantly allowed in this forum and it is so dang tired and wrong.

but it's fine to claim that all public schools are a dumpster fire, right?.. because that's what a lot of private school parents claim.

Awww, if the truth hurts so much, go put your head in a hole. All you have to do is go to this forum to see what a mess MCPS is. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/44.page

please.. it's the catholic school parents who are defensive.

To quote PP: "Catholic schools are not all one thing, so PP's experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others"

I suppose this logic only applies to catholic schools but not public schools, right?

You point to some people who complain about MCPS as your proof that all public schools are a dumpster fire.

Let's rewrite PP's quote: "[public] schools are not all one thing, so [some people's] experience with one, even if true, cannot be applied to all of the others"

Were you educated in a catholic school, by chance? Critical thinking skills aren't taught there, I see. There's that rote memorization coming up to rear its head, I suppose.

You're a terrible example of a catholic school educated person. Don't make that public.