Anonymous wrote:Something I have noticed over the years and continue to notice is that kids (not necessarily all, but for the most part) who go to Catholic schools tend to be much more polite and respectful to adults than kids who go to pubic schools. I realize this is a very generalized statement, and I am not claiming this to be a fact based on a large sample study, but this is just something that I observe over and over again.
My kids started out in public. In public it seemed like anything goes. Kids would assume they could call me by my first name, never even attempting the Mrs. XXX. One thing that REALLY bothered me was that the parents would tell the kids to call them by their first name. I insist that my kids address all adults by Mr., Mrs. Dr. etc. But that is difficult to enforce when all the other kids are using first names for adults.
Both of my kids have now been in Catholic for a few years, and it is no longer an issue. EVERYONE uses the polite way to address an adult. It is so much easier to enforce.
The other thing I notice is that the kids from our private are better with eye contact and seem to engage better with adults. They are also more prone to put out their hand for a hand shake during an introduction. These are social skills that are taught in our school (as well as in our home). My daughter was taught how to shake hands in 2nd grade -- firm grip, eye contact. In public you rarely see this social interaction between adults and children and certainly no instruction on proper hand shake.
Now, I am not saying the kids from public are bad people. My kids have great friends from public and they maintain the friendships. But I still cringe when I hear them call the adult by their first name, and to be honest, I try to steer them toward the new friends they have made in our Catholic school for play dates.
Very generous of you, PP.
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