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My kids have attended Catholic schools for elementary school, directly after their Montessori preschool years. My husband and myself have attended 12 years of Catholic schools untill college. We don't have any first hand experience w/ public schools at all.
However, our 8 yo daughter has been accepted into our local public school's Gifted and Talented center program (known as the GT center) for next year, entering into 3rd grade when the program starts.
The way it works in our county is that the GT classrooms are specific classrooms within a certain school which use the same curriculum, but allow for more depth and breadth. The GT program has a solid reputation for accelerated and creative learning.
Just wondering what you guys would do in my position.....stay in the faith-based school which we love for the warm, nurturing and moral components, as well as the community aspect and small school of 350 K-8 .....or choose the stronger academic choice in a secular environment where we would, most likely be "a number" (there are approx 750 students k-6)
Due to the nature of this question, I would ask that only those who have a faith or practice a religion respond....not to be offensive....but I am just seeking relevant feedback.
My kids have attended Catholic schools for elementary school, directly after their Montessori preschool years. My husband and myself have attended 12 years of Catholic schools untill college. We don't have any first hand experience w/ public schools at all.
However, our 8 yo daughter has been accepted into our local public school's Gifted and Talented center program (known as the GT center) for next year, entering into 3rd grade when the program starts.
The way it works in our county is that the GT classrooms are specific classrooms within a certain school which use the same curriculum, but allow for more depth and breadth. The GT program has a solid reputation for accelerated and creative learning.
Just wondering what you guys would do in my position.....stay in the faith-based school which we love for the warm, nurturing and moral components, as well as the community aspect and small school of 350 K-8 .....or choose the stronger academic choice in a secular environment where we would, most likely be "a number" (there are approx 750 students k-6)
Due to the nature of this question, I would ask that only those who have a faith or practice a religion respond....not to be offensive....but I am just seeking relevant feedback.
Thanks
I hate to be offensive because I don't believe in any deity but my daughter did attend a Catholic high school. The reason? I wanted her to get the best education possible. Was I worried about her becoming a Catholic? Nope. If she did, that was her choice, not mine to make for her. I personally don't think that losing ones religion is a major problem in public schools. Because the environment is secular, her religious training will still come from her family and church.
I am not sure the number in a school has much bearing on the relationship between child and teacher. My daughter attended very large public schools in the San Francisco area but her classes only had one teacher. The just "a number" did not exist.
I don't want to sound like a smarty pants but it seems you question should be directed to those that are non-believers, sent their kids to public school and had them turn religious. That would give you some idea of the impact public schools have on personal religion. I assume you are concerned about the religious aspect because you only wanted religious folks to respond. The other areas of concern could be addressed by anyone.
I hate to be offensive because I don't believe in any deity but my daughter did attend a Catholic high school. The reason? I wanted her to get the best education possible. Was I worried about her becoming a Catholic? Nope. If she did, that was her choice, not mine to make for her. I personally don't think that losing ones religion is a major problem in public schools. Because the environment is secular, her religious training will still come from her family and church.
I am not sure the number in a school has much bearing on the relationship between child and teacher. My daughter attended very large public schools in the San Francisco area but her classes only had one teacher. The just "a number" did not exist.
I don't want to sound like a smarty pants but it seems you question should be directed to those that are non-believers, sent their kids to public school and had them turn religious. That would give you some idea of the impact public schools have on personal religion. I assume you are concerned about the religious aspect because you only wanted religious folks to respond. The other areas of concern could be addressed by anyone.
I apologize for offending you.
You're not offending me.....you are giving the reverse approach (an atheist sending their child to a catholic school)....and it looks like you have placed academics first, before faith (or lack thereof )
In CA, I'm assuming the catholic schools are academically superior to the public school. If that were the case here, there would be no choice in my mind....we would do catholic schools for both academics and faith formation. However, where I live in Northern Virginia outside DC, we actually have an outstanding, nationally-ranked public school system....and the catholic diocesan elem schools are slightly above average....so...I'm in a little bit of a different situation.
We are homeschoolers and have been for 4 years now.
We are transitioning to sending our kids to PS for the first time. I would love to have them in one of the local Christian schools, but with 3 kids, the cost becomes a problem.
If you really feel that the PS is a great school, as I feel ours is, then maybe you could send your child to the PS and see how it goes. You can always go back to the Catholic school if you don't care for it.
I am a strong Christian and my children attend public schools, 6th & 7th grade currently. Their district is a very good one in our area. My kids have never gone to private Christian school (Catholic or otherwise). I believe the majority of one's faith is learned at home and at church. You may get more questions, like I have, when topics or issues arrise at school that don't mesh with your beliefs, either with the curriculum or other children's behavior. I just use those as teaching tools for my kids to learn more about their faith or practicing their faith.
My kids have attended Catholic schools for elementary school, directly after their Montessori preschool years. My husband and myself have attended 12 years of Catholic schools untill college. We don't have any first hand experience w/ public schools at all.
However, our 8 yo daughter has been accepted into our local public school's Gifted and Talented center program (known as the GT center) for next year, entering into 3rd grade when the program starts.
The way it works in our county is that the GT classrooms are specific classrooms within a certain school which use the same curriculum, but allow for more depth and breadth. The GT program has a solid reputation for accelerated and creative learning.
Just wondering what you guys would do in my position.....stay in the faith-based school which we love for the warm, nurturing and moral components, as well as the community aspect and small school of 350 K-8 .....or choose the stronger academic choice in a secular environment where we would, most likely be "a number" (there are approx 750 students k-6)
Due to the nature of this question, I would ask that only those who have a faith or practice a religion respond....not to be offensive....but I am just seeking relevant feedback.
Thanks
I think you need to do what is in the best interest of your daughter's education. If you have compared the programs and the public school program is superior acedemically then I would go with that. My oldest is in Catholic school (my youngest is slated to attend there next year for kindergarten as well) because the acedemic program was superior to the public school program at the time. I wouldn't however hesistate to change him if I thought that the public school could meet his needs better. If all else fails you can always put your child back into Catholic school if you are unhappy with the experience next year.
I, too, am an Atheist so I hate to butt in but I agree with most of the people on this particular post. I think you need to weigh the educational benefits of one school over the other. Although the gifted school is part of a public program, I think that you will typically find the same kind of parenting (resulting in well-behaved children) in the gifted school as you will find in the Catholic school. I'm not saying that standard public schools don't have good parents, I'm just saying that some parents just send their kids to school and don't care what happens to them. Typically, I think you'll find, those in the gifted schools and those in the private schools are pretty good kids.
Ultimately, I think either of them are a good choice and you should be proud that your child has the chance to do something like this. I'm sure that either way you'll make the right decision. You're very lucky to even have this "problem".
I think that you will typically find the same kind of parenting (resulting in well-behaved children) in the gifted school as you will find in the Catholic school. I'm not saying that standard public schools don't have good parents, I'm just saying that some parents just send their kids to school and don't care what happens to them. Typically, I think you'll find, those in the gifted schools and those in the private schools are pretty good kids.
One of the reasons I use the Catholic school is because the kids are better bahaved...but I always thought they were better behaved because they could actually be kicked out for behavoir and they can't in public school...I never thought to attribute it to the parenting...silly me!
i would recommend sending her to the public school. my reasoning is that school is a place to learn both curriculum and social skills. at the public school she will be in the advanced class which will likely teach her more, and being in a large school will give her more opportunities to improve her social skills. i understand your concern that she would be "a number" at a larger school, but if/when she goes to college she will be "a number" and if she works for a large company she will be "a number" as well.
i would recommend sending her to the public school. my reasoning is that school is a place to learn both curriculum and social skills. at the public school she will be in the advanced class which will likely teach her more, and being in a large school will give her more opportunities to improve her social skills. i understand your concern that she would be "a number" at a larger school, but if/when she goes to college she will be "a number" and if she works for a large company she will be "a number" as well.
you can teach morals at home.
Our kids started out in PS and switched over to Christian school, and went on to Christian colleges, then advanced degrees at Penn State (statistics) and are doing very well. They learned their social skills in Christian school, and it was easier during the difficult teen years because their peers had the same values. They were well grounded in academics, and well grounded in the word. While their college was somewhat more liberal than some stricter fundamental colleges/universities, they remained steadfast in the faith AND learned to deal with a wide range of denominations and differences that accompany that.
We have grandchildren now who are in public schools and are doing very well also. They get their values and morals taught at home, in church and in an active youth group (here are the peers again). Fortunately the school system is in a smaller town, and the teachers are good and caring. Some of the teachers are Christians. Thank God for Christian teachers in public schools!
If you decide to send your daughter to public school, you will need to be very conscientious about seeing to it that she still is in a strong Christian environment.
I know she's young, but has your daughter expressed any preference?
Last edited by swbtoo; 05-29-2007 at 06:33 PM..
Reason: add line
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