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Our kids did Catholic Schools. Our oldest we moved to the public schools half way through 6th grade. He was being picked on relentlessly and our principal sounds a lot like your principal. He had just a really icky class of kids--the kind of class the teachers all go out on the last day of school and toast being done with that class icky. Our twins went through 5th grade and were a part of every teacher DREAM class. The teacher cried at the end of the school year because they loved that class so much. We moved to a new town and the Catholic school was not very good so we opted for the public schools (which are excellent).
All in all I found very little difference between the Catholic schools and the public schools as far as bullying. It is a slippery slope the schools face because it really comes down to one child's word against another's and to muddle through that process is very difficult. Now, that doesn't mean they shouldn't try. The thing we found with our oldest was that there were just more kids to hang out with so he was able to make friends and the bullying became less of an issue. It still goes on in every school though.
I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment about entitled brats. THAT is really the issue you find, in all schools, but more so in private schools. Something about paying tuition makes parents think they own the school and what they want should be law. I think this alone is really what has changed schools for the worst more than any other cause.
In our kids' old school they had a preschool in the building. The principal asked the older kids not to use the door by the preschool at the end of the day because of the parents picking up preschoolers. There were several other doors to use so not an issue at all, except for one family who INSISTED on using this door-they went out of their way to use that door--the parents claimed it was the only door they could use to pick up their child. It wasn't but I still don't understand why they made such a stink over it.
I do have to say that since our kids left the Catholic schools I have REALLY missed that aspect of their education. Little things like the annual Christmas Concerts and school Mass each week.
As far as homeschooling goes, I am not a fan of homeschooling. I think it is especially hard on kids that are used to having classmates around and suddenly there are none. There are, no matter what ANY homeschooling family will tell you, major socialization issues. Having been a high school teacher we often got kids that were homeschooled up until high school and there was a DEFINITE difference between those kids and the non-homeschooled kids and more often than not, the homeschooled kids just never really fit in all the way. More often than not too, the home schooled kids were behind their peers, not that the were not bright, they just didn't have the comprehensive background that the other kids did. Usually they had a subject where they excelled but lagged pretty far behind in the rest of the areas. You will get every homeschool parent to tell you differently but the problem is, they never see their child away from them and how they act out of their presence so they really DON'T know how their kids fit in.
In your situation, unless your son is really having a hard time, finish out the year, try it again next year and if it is still bad, switch then. Sometimes an extra year of maturity and a different teacher makes a world of difference.
Think long and hard about this because it might just end up being a case of the "grass is greener" and once you get to the other school you may find out that things aren't a whole lot different there. I also suspect that you probably volunteer a lot at the elementary age and not so much at the high school and you don't see as much first hand. That DOES help in your perception. I know there were things going on in the Catholic school that I saw that really bothered me but my kids either were unaware or it didn't bother them so I would have never heard about it had I not been at school.
...all of our kids have gone to K-8 Catholic school, and then 9-12 public school in our community.
Both of our kids did the opposite of yours; they went to public schools K-8, then to Catholic high schools. We had also saw the opposite of what you did in terms of more entitled children (more of those were in public schools here). Academics were far superior in Catholic schools. The transition for them was difficult but they both said that looking back, it was worth it. Good luck. It's very hard to figure out what to do but in the end, everything usually turns out all right.
With all due respect, that's probably not a very good sample. After all, for families for whom homeschooling is going well, there's little incentive to switch to a school setting.
We have over 400 applicants a year to my school and we only take 70. Many, many of them are homeschoolers because there is a legitimate advantage over both regular public school and homeschool to attend our school.
How many homeschooled students did not pass a public school entrance exam? Do public high schools even have entrance exams? Also, "dropping out" to continue homeschooling is not the same as "dropping out" of school entirely. Lots of homeschooled kids try school for a year and realize that it does not meet their needs, so they go back home, try an online school, try a private school, go on to community college instead (depending on age, of course).
My school is a public academy we are very selective because there are so many who want to come.
When I said "drop out" I was being polite. If you fail any class in my school (get less than an 80) you are not invited back. There are many kids who do not come back especially at the end of freshman and sophomore year and 3 is an exceptionally small sample to be sure. Either way we see very few homeschoolers who are able to get in.
Our kids are in Catholic School. On of our sons had a miserable time of it in 6th grade for many of the reasons you lists (lack of discipline of the other kids, getting bullied, etc.). We did take him out and homeschooled him. There were great benefits to and we got him FULLY involved in many homeschool activities (book clubs, pe class, chess club, science class, etc.). We enrolled him in Seton, a very structured and traditional homeschool Catholic curriculum. So, he was doing Catholic School at home, free of the bullies and school drama and out and about in homeschool activites...and still in scouts and sports. Even still, he was lonely.
We moved him to another Catholic school the following year. He is thriving there. It is a long drive for us and we have no connection to the school or parents (it is not associated with our Parish or even in our town!). It is a hassle to get him there and back.
But, he is happy, glad to be back in school and doing well.
All that being said, my advice to you would be to first look and see if there is another school option of a Catholic School or Christian School. If not, and you do homeschool, be sure that you will have the time and energy to homeschool and have him in activities. I was so busy running him to and from homeschool things and teaching him that making the 30+ minute commute to his new school is more time effective than homeschooling and he is happier.
I am not anti-homeschooling at all. But be aware that it is more time consumming than it seems.
Seton is the curriculum my friend used to get her kids up to the rigor of the "classical curriculum" Christian school she sends them to now. She said it was a lot of work but they learned a lot. She said teaching them Latin was rough, but they needed it for their new school.
Seton is a good curriculum and the school provides support for teaching your kids at home. I believe you actually send their work to a teacher to be graded (taben can confirm or deny this one).
Seton is the curriculum my friend used to get her kids up to the rigor of the "classical curriculum" Christian school she sends them to now. She said it was a lot of work but they learned a lot. She said teaching them Latin was rough, but they needed it for their new school.
Seton is a good curriculum and the school provides support for teaching your kids at home. I believe you actually send their work to a teacher to be graded (taben can confirm or deny this one).
Yes, Seton does all that you mention. It provides rigor, the kids work a lot and learn a lot and best of all, they do provide support. A teacher (other than mom) is just a phone call or email away. Every quarter, work is sent in to be graded and online exams are available for some classes. You can choose not to utilize this service, but I always sent my son's work in. He needed someone else to be accountable to and I liked having the work fully, thoroughl, corrected and returned.
Again, there are many good things to homeschooling and Seton was certainly MUCH more of a Catholic curriculum than what they use in our local Catholic School. My son just missed the loose ship times of school of lunch and recess!
T
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How many homeschooled students did not pass a public school entrance exam? Do public high schools even have entrance exams? Also, "dropping out" to continue homeschooling is not the same as "dropping out" of school entirely. Lots of homeschooled kids try school for a year and realize that it does not meet their needs, so they go back home, try an online school, try a private school, go on to community college instead (depending on age, of course).
Yes, Seton is GOOD
