[campanillas]

soon to move from NY to Auburn, Al. I need some feed back on Chritian Academies vs Public schools?..
I want to make sure my 1st greader is getting a good education and great morals..

[Arshness]

Well if you want them to get a good education and great morals, unschool them yourself at home. Homeschooling is easy as pie in Alabama.

Great education in Alabama is an oxymoron. Good morals at a Christian Academy in Alabama is also an oxymoron.
The Christian academies I'm familiar with don't teach children to be kind, loving and accepting (as in, you know, Christ-like). They teach them to fear themselves and their bodies, to hate people who are different and to close their minds lest they be burnt forever after death and denied the prize of Heaven.

If you want your child to "behave according to society's expectations" but only on fear of punishment and promise of reward (as opposed to behaving kindly and honestly and lovingly out of earnest morality,) then the Christian academy will work wonders and the kids will fit right in with the Southern Church crowd when they're all grown up.

Unless they just don't want to believe in all of that self-loathing and hate that is typically spread in this state. In which case, no amount of forcing it can assure their indoctrination, thank goodness.

You are coming from New York, so I will tell you this and hope you understand I only mean it to be helpful: The Christian faith here is heavily indoctrinated. You can't force people to be good, kindly, loving and accepting (like Jesus taught), so instead they teach people to fear, hate themselves, hate each other and be controlled easily. If you're coming to Alabama for education or morals, I fear you're looking in the wrong place. Good education comes from most any other state, and good morals come best from you, the parent.

Source of information: Alabama native, my whole life.

[Dirt Grinder]

Posts like the one above are what help perpetuate the negative image of religion and education in Alabama. My child went to Catholic school from Kindergarten all the way through High School and was taught to be a kind and caring member of society yet remain an individual. No other religious beliefs were ever disparaged, in fact, they learned about the other religious beliefs.

The solid foundation of a caring family, strong moral teachings, and a top-notch school has led to several scholarships in prestigious Universities (in-state and out-of-state). If you're coming to Alabama for education or morals you can expect to find both.

Source of information: Proud parent.

[Reactionary]

Moderator cut: snip

campanillas - in what part of the state are you interested?

[ksjdan]

I Can't speak for Christian Academies in Alabama, but there was a research article that shows how bad private Christian schools are. According to the article I read, private catholic schools are about the same quality as public schools (but remember public schools vary a LOT), Hebrew and non-spiritual private school shows higher quality than public. Christian schools shows lower quality education than all other type of schools. But again, the schools vary depending on the area and resources, so look into it.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by ksjdan

I Can't speak for Christian Academies in Alabama...

You should have left it at that. Please provide a link to the "research" that was undertaken to "show" how bad private Christian schools are.

[Southlander]

Auburn (as in City of) has excellent public schools. No need to pay for private education.
Morals - I taught my children morals. I didn't expect nor want the schools to do so. Even the Christian schools.

[Keeper]

I would check on greatschools.org to see the info about schools in the area. I can guarantee you that in some areas schools are better in AL than they are in other parts of the country. The high school in the city where I live 80% of the students received a scholarship for college or trade school. Some were junior college but one young man was accepted into West Point.

The children in Huntsville school are given computers to use during the school year. Some schools are better than others so you need to do your homework.

[cpg35223]

The kind of Christian academy and environment really depends on what denomination is running the show. Catholic and Episcopal schools are academically rigorous as a rule. Elsewhere, it's very much a case-by-case basis.

[Arshness]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Posts like the one above are what help perpetuate the negative image of religion and education in Alabama. My child went to Catholic school from Kindergarten all the way through High School and was taught to be a kind and caring member of society yet remain an individual. No other religious beliefs were ever disparaged, in fact, they learned about the other religious beliefs.

The solid foundation of a caring family, strong moral teachings, and a top-notch school has led to several scholarships in prestigious Universities (in-state and out-of-state). If you're coming to Alabama for education or morals you can expect to find both.

Source of information: Proud parent.

To be completely fair, I should have specified that my experience relates directly to Protestant Christian academies. I can not fairly comment on Catholic schools as I've never been familiar with anyone in the Catholic schools and so that may be completely true of them.

My expressed experiences reference protestant religious academies.