Mater Dei families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a non-Catholic I find all this talk about the Catholic mafia disgusting. I have had grandchildren is all three types of schools: public, independent BIG 3 non-Catholic and Catholic
(parish elementary and high school). I have met lovely supportive parents in all three environments. What I liked about the parish elementary school and the parents I met there is the emphasis on the whole child. The BIG 3 school really focussed on academics and was a pressure cooker, which was a good fit for my very motivated, brainy grandson. He came out with a truly amazing education - equivalent to what I had a a good university. They taught him to write and to use critical thinking skills and he got into a top college. He had less money than his peers, but was well liked and accepted.

The grandkids who went to Catholic elementary and high schools were treated as "whole people." Their spiritual and social growth was viewed as as important as their grades. In one of the well known Catholic High Schools they received a well rounded excellent education, which prepared them well for college. There was an emphasis on athletics including sportsmanship and I never observed bad behavior from parents during games. This worked well for my smart and athletic grandchildren. We were welcomed by the Catholic community, and made good friends.

In public school my grandkids were exposed to a very diverse group of kids from all over the world. This diversity made it a rich learning environment. Some years they had absolutely wonderful teachers and some years the teaching was mediocre. There was too much standardized testing in my opinion and the classes were large, but my self motivated mature grandson is doing just fine. Don't know what high school will like for him yet. My grandson with special needs
(GT/LD) is in an excellent program that fits him well.


I truly do not understand the animosity toward Catholic education on DCUM. It is not consistent with our experience at all! The mantra of this board is to find a school that is a good fit for your particular child. I would recommend including Catholic schools in your search.

The DC Catholics as a group rarely, if ever, consider the Independent schools. They send their kids to Catholic grammar schools and one of the Catholic high schools. Frequently there are family connections to these schools. Or they send them to public schools for a variety of reasons. This strong tendency to stick together is what is being referred to as the Catholic Mafia. These are not people who view Diversity as an unalloyed good.

Graduates of these Catholic high schools tend to stick together after high school and college. Protestant and others who go to these Catholic schools aren't treated badly. But they are never really part of the community. They are a very small minority.

To those obsessed with the academics and competition at some of these Independent schools, it must be disorienting to discover there is a large segment of the population that wouldn't send their kids there if they were free.

This is also only true for the Bethesda/NW/Potomac Catholic elementary schools. (Which includes MD) There are 54 catholic elementary schools. So about 10 of them are this way.

[Anonymous]

It is odd that Catholic families seemingly value athletic achievements more than academic ones.

And why are they always getting bombed at tailgates for youth athletics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is odd that Catholic families seemingly value athletic achievements more than academic ones.

And why are they always getting bombed at tailgates for youth athletics?

I think it is healthy that they want balance.

We are not allowed to drink at our sports events, which school drinks at the event. Gonzaga vs. St. Johns has an after party across the street, it is also a strategically placed fundraiser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is odd that Catholic families seemingly value athletic achievements more than academic ones.

And why are they always getting bombed at tailgates for youth athletics?

I think it is healthy that they want balance.

We are not allowed to drink at our sports events, which school drinks at the event. Gonzaga vs. St. Johns has an after party across the street, it is also a strategically placed fundraiser.

A balance would be great. No such balance exists when it comes to the Catholic Mafia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is odd that Catholic families seemingly value athletic achievements more than academic ones.

And why are they always getting bombed at tailgates for youth athletics?

I think it is healthy that they want balance.

We are not allowed to drink at our sports events, which school drinks at the event. Gonzaga vs. St. Johns has an after party across the street, it is also a strategically placed fundraiser.

A balance would be great. No such balance exists when it comes to the Catholic Mafia.

Yea, damatha has tons of Irish Catholic mafia members. Maybe you should broaden your horizons a little.

[Anonymous]

Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

Yes there are some highly academic kids at Damatha. Do you doubt black people are academic?

Also balance is very important. You should check out their arts department.

Are you suggesting all Catholic schools are the same?

Don't judge all Catholic schools based on your limited contact with prep and Gonzaga people. Sorry they left you out of their little clique.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

Yes there are some highly academic kids at Damatha. Do you doubt black people are academic?

Also balance is very important. You should check out their arts department.

Are you suggesting all Catholic schools are the same?

Don't judge all Catholic schools based on your limited contact with prep and Gonzaga people. Sorry they left you out of their little clique.

Um, nobody talked about race until you just did. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

Yes there are some highly academic kids at Damatha. Do you doubt black people are academic?

Also balance is very important. You should check out their arts department.

Are you suggesting all Catholic schools are the same?

Don't judge all Catholic schools based on your limited contact with prep and Gonzaga people. Sorry they left you out of their little clique.

Um, nobody talked about race until you just did. Wow.

Your right nobody thinks of Damatha as a predominately black school.

[Anonymous]

Where do you go from academic rigor to talking about the supposed racial profile of another school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is odd that Catholic families seemingly value athletic achievements more than academic ones.

And why are they always getting bombed at tailgates for youth athletics?

Question 1 - They value all sorts of things that go way beyond academic achievement. But this are not generally environments where you see the desperate grasping for position and achievement that characterize other schools.

Question 2 - Irish culture includes both alcohol and athletics.l

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is odd that Catholic families seemingly value athletic achievements more than academic ones.

And why are they always getting bombed at tailgates for youth athletics?

I think it is healthy that they want balance.

We are not allowed to drink at our sports events, which school drinks at the event. Gonzaga vs. St. Johns has an after party across the street, it is also a strategically placed fundraiser.

A balance would be great. No such balance exists when it comes to the Catholic Mafia.

It's a balance between academic, athletic, social and not the single-minded pursuit of just one of these.

You must be talking about the new totem of DIVERSITY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

Yes there are some highly academic kids at Damatha. Do you doubt black people are academic?

Also balance is very important. You should check out their arts department.

Are you suggesting all Catholic schools are the same?

Don't judge all Catholic schools based on your limited contact with prep and Gonzaga people. Sorry they left you out of their little clique.

Um, nobody talked about race until you just did. Wow.

No true. One can "talk about race" without mentioning race by simply referring to a group widely known to be composed of people of a certain race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

Yes there are some highly academic kids at Damatha. Do you doubt black people are academic?

Also balance is very important. You should check out their arts department.

Are you suggesting all Catholic schools are the same?

Don't judge all Catholic schools based on your limited contact with prep and Gonzaga people. Sorry they left you out of their little clique.

Um, nobody talked about race until you just did. Wow.

No true. One can "talk about race" without mentioning race by simply referring to a group widely known to be composed of people of a certain race.

Commonly referred to as "those people".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that academics are taken seriously at DeMatha?

Wow.

Yes there are some highly academic kids at Damatha. Do you doubt black people are academic?

Also balance is very important. You should check out their arts department.

Are you suggesting all Catholic schools are the same?

Don't judge all Catholic schools based on your limited contact with prep and Gonzaga people. Sorry they left you out of their little clique.

Um, nobody talked about race until you just did. Wow.

No true. One can "talk about race" without mentioning race by simply referring to a group widely known to be composed of people of a certain race.

Commonly referred to as "those people".

So true