Catholic instead of Public

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic school parent here. I just love how some posters say it’s a matter of priorities and isn’t it great when parents value education. As if most parents of kids in public don’t value it. So inaccurate and condescending.

This. I would never send my child to a Catholic school because we're not Catholic. We didn't even consider it--it wasn't even an option for us.

I considered it for my child. I grew up Catholic and love the Catholic Social Teachings. When my kid came out as gay, I decided it was a bad idea. Keep that aspect in mind.

It has to happen that gay kids are in or come out in Catholic middle or high schools. I’m curious how the admin/teachers/students respond

Catholic school teacher there. I have students in my classes who are openly out. I have students who share pronouns. I accept them as they beautifully are, because love is the greatest of all things.

[Anonymous]

My gay son went to a Jesuit MS and HS. Nobody cared much except one parent who wanted her son switched out of his homeroom. The school said no. She threatened to leave but in the end, she piped down.

[Anonymous]

I’m a teacher at a k-8 and we have students with gay parents who are fully welcomed into the community. Students who experiment with gender expression and students who are openly gay. They have never been shamed or shunned. It’s not made a spectacle in any anyway.
Compare that to my experience in a public school when a colleague told 1st grade kids that maybe they were trans bc they wanted to play baseball instead of softball. Yes that does create a social contagion because within the next 2 weeks 4 kids in that class were claiming to be trans.
Being welcomed and loved happens every day at my school. Thats what we should want for our children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic school parent here. I just love how some posters say it’s a matter of priorities and isn’t it great when parents value education. As if most parents of kids in public don’t value it. So inaccurate and condescending.

This. I would never send my child to a Catholic school because we're not Catholic. We didn't even consider it--it wasn't even an option for us.

I considered it for my child. I grew up Catholic and love the Catholic Social Teachings. When my kid came out as gay, I decided it was a bad idea. Keep that aspect in mind.

It has to happen that gay kids are in or come out in Catholic middle or high schools. I’m curious how the admin/teachers/students respond

Catholic school teacher there. I have students in my classes who are openly out. I have students who share pronouns. I accept them as they beautifully are, because love is the greatest of all things.

🫶

[Anonymous]

So encouraged by the love of the teachers here! Kids are lucky to have you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with kids in big co-ed Catholic schools—how do you see them as different from public schools? Assuming both have large student bodies and offer the same kinds of activities, and your child is doing great academically either way… why choose the private (and pricey) route if you're not specifically seeking a religious focus? What do you feel you get from it?


One thing that we received was more structure overall. Peer groups was also key. Add to that smaller class sizes and uniforms, which I’ve always liked.

Some of the best academic students can be found a both public and private schools.

With any school is a certain focus or mission. Not all private schools are the same in this regard. Nor are all publics. The exception would be the magnets or specialized IB and tech, arts publics.

Students and families choose different schools for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools in the DMV are a waste of money

What if your local public sucks. And you don’t have the money for prep or sidwell?

Any MCPS HS is better.

If you feel that way, then just stay and enjoy your school, including the:

-locked bathrooms
-frequent fights
-overcrowded class sizes
-mold infested portable classrooms
-lockdowns, bomb scares, gun scares
-frequent standardized testing (waste of time)
-gender dysphoria in a third of the population
-severe grade inflation
-over exposure to AP classes and consequent student burnout (for motivated students)
-lack of writing instruction/little to no feedback on submitted papers and essays
-over exposure to unmotivated students and risk of your student becoming one

I could go on.

Exactly. It is very sad and we should do something about it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with kids in big co-ed Catholic schools—how do you see them as different from public schools? Assuming both have large student bodies and offer the same kinds of activities, and your child is doing great academically either way… why choose the private (and pricey) route if you're not specifically seeking a religious focus? What do you feel you get from it?

My local public school sucks, and my son needs a safe and rigorous environment to succeed. He wants to see girls, so that put DeMatha and Gonzaga out of the running. I don’t have the cash for Bullis or Maret, so SJC was a nice sweet spot, and I got ample aid.

St John's is very similar to public. More strict. But similar in all other ways.

Wow I’m looking at it for my daughter are fights regular?

Pp idea of public is from the 50s. They don’t understand the locked bathrooms, fights, kids constantly on phones, and ginormous class size.

It really depends on the public school. My child is at a DC selective public school and experiences none of that.

Really? I had no idea Walls was so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with kids in big co-ed Catholic schools—how do you see them as different from public schools? Assuming both have large student bodies and offer the same kinds of activities, and your child is doing great academically either way… why choose the private (and pricey) route if you're not specifically seeking a religious focus? What do you feel you get from it?

Most succinct way to sum it up: big, co-ed Catholic schools remind me of what my public high school was in the 1980s/early 1990s. Discipline is enforced; disrespectful, disruptive or violent behavior is not tolerated; the school doesn't insert trendy political/sexual stuff into the environment (although there is a religion class and of course there are the Christian principles that are part of the school messaging, which we are fine with); etc. The vibe is actually "nicer" and more friendly than what I remember from my public school days and what we experienced in FCPS when our kids were there.

+1 Episcopalian with atheist kid loving Catholic HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic school parent here. I just love how some posters say it’s a matter of priorities and isn’t it great when parents value education. As if most parents of kids in public don’t value it. So inaccurate and condescending.

This. I would never send my child to a Catholic school because we're not Catholic. We didn't even consider it--it wasn't even an option for us.

I considered it for my child. I grew up Catholic and love the Catholic Social Teachings. When my kid came out as gay, I decided it was a bad idea. Keep that aspect in mind.

It has to happen that gay kids are in or come out in Catholic middle or high schools. I’m curious how the admin/teachers/students respond

Yes it happens. Gay and trans kids accepted in our highly regarded Catholic HS in the DMV. It is not unusual at all. The only difference is the sheer numbers. Public schools tend to breed more of the contagion mainly because the concept of LGBTQ is strongly celebrated at public schools. Not necessarily the case at Catholic schools, where there is more "acceptance" rather than "celebration."

THIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic school parent here. I just love how some posters say it’s a matter of priorities and isn’t it great when parents value education. As if most parents of kids in public don’t value it. So inaccurate and condescending.

This. I would never send my child to a Catholic school because we're not Catholic. We didn't even consider it--it wasn't even an option for us.

I considered it for my child. I grew up Catholic and love the Catholic Social Teachings. When my kid came out as gay, I decided it was a bad idea. Keep that aspect in mind.

It has to happen that gay kids are in or come out in Catholic middle or high schools. I’m curious how the admin/teachers/students respond

Catholic school teacher there. I have students in my classes who are openly out. I have students who share pronouns. I accept them as they beautifully are, because love is the greatest of all things.

Bless you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher at a k-8 and we have students with gay parents who are fully welcomed into the community. Students who experiment with gender expression and students who are openly gay. They have never been shamed or shunned. It’s not made a spectacle in any anyway.
Compare that to my experience in a public school when a colleague told 1st grade kids that maybe they were trans bc they wanted to play baseball instead of softball. Yes that does create a social contagion because within the next 2 weeks 4 kids in that class were claiming to be trans.
Being welcomed and loved happens every day at my school. Thats what we should want for our children.

I’d like to say the public school teacher’s reaction is unbelievable, but I believe it, sadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with kids in big co-ed Catholic schools—how do you see them as different from public schools? Assuming both have large student bodies and offer the same kinds of activities, and your child is doing great academically either way… why choose the private (and pricey) route if you're not specifically seeking a religious focus? What do you feel you get from it?

Most succinct way to sum it up: big, co-ed Catholic schools remind me of what my public high school was in the 1980s/early 1990s. Discipline is enforced; disrespectful, disruptive or violent behavior is not tolerated; the school doesn't insert trendy political/sexual stuff into the environment (although there is a religion class and of course there are the Christian principles that are part of the school messaging, which we are fine with); etc. The vibe is actually "nicer" and more friendly than what I remember from my public school days and what we experienced in FCPS when our kids were there.

+1 Episcopalian with atheist kid loving Catholic HS

That’s great! How’s he doing with the theology requirements? My son is also atheist or pretty close and we’re headed to Catholic school in the fall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools in the DMV are a waste of money

What if your local public sucks. And you don’t have the money for prep or sidwell?

Any MCPS HS is better.

If you feel that way, then just stay and enjoy your school, including the:

-locked bathrooms
-frequent fights
-overcrowded class sizes
-mold infested portable classrooms
-lockdowns, bomb scares, gun scares
-frequent standardized testing (waste of time)
-gender dysphoria in a third of the population
-severe grade inflation
-over exposure to AP classes and consequent student burnout (for motivated students)
-lack of writing instruction/little to no feedback on submitted papers and essays
-over exposure to unmotivated students and risk of your student becoming one

I could go on.

I assume the W public schools don’t have these problems, except overcrowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools in the DMV are a waste of money

What if your local public sucks. And you don’t have the money for prep or sidwell?

Any MCPS HS is better.

If you feel that way, then just stay and enjoy your school, including the:

-locked bathrooms
-frequent fights
-overcrowded class sizes
-mold infested portable classrooms
-lockdowns, bomb scares, gun scares
-frequent standardized testing (waste of time)
-gender dysphoria in a third of the population
-severe grade inflation
-over exposure to AP classes and consequent student burnout (for motivated students)
-lack of writing instruction/little to no feedback on submitted papers and essays
-over exposure to unmotivated students and risk of your student becoming one

I could go on.

I assume the W public schools don’t have these problems, except overcrowding.

We live in the Whitman area. I have no idea what problems, if any, exist at the school.

But I do know that a very large percentage of our neighbors send their kids to private schools.