One of my "what I would do with a big lottery jackpot win" dreams is opening a secular-but-Catholic-friendly classical school. The only classical school in my area is affiliated with an Evangelical church and it uses materials from anti-Catholic publishers plus teaches science from a "young Earth creationist POV".
I don't think there are enough families in my area interested in a school teaching orthodox/traditional Catholic doctrine, so I'd rather have the school be officially secular than wishy-washy "Catholicism Lite".
Sign me up, Crimson Wife! One reason we are planning to homeschool is it seems like every classical/core knowledge school in our area is too religious for my husband, while all the secular schools (and I'd include the local Catholic schools in that list) run the same mushy curriculum as the publics.
Sign me up too--I wish I had a classical school around here.
My friends tell me I ought to start one (!), but while I make a decent homeschool mom, I'm not at all sure that I would make a good school administrator (and it would have to be a charter). And I'm not convinced that a classical school would attract more than about 10 students around here, if that. But the idea is there, for the future, if needed.
I'd include the local Catholic schools in that list
oh gosh -- I saw the most devastating article in the TIMES about Catholic schools catering to the rich in order to survive.
I don't entirely mind the 'catering to the rich' part in the middle of a depression, but the way they were going about it was to turn the school into a group learning/differentiated instruction extravaganza.
Our kids go to a BaptoCatholic classical school in Texas with a strong informal university connection. We are generally pleased with the academics. If anybody wants to know more, you can contactify me via my blog at xantippesblog.blogspot.com.
I live within 1 mile of 3 catholic k-8 schools and within 2 miles of at least 7.
They are all mediocre or worse.
Nearly all are Lucy calkins, fountas and pinnel,and everyday math. The one that is Saxon math and Latin is the worst of the schools, a k-12 that boasts an ap calc program where the majority of kids get a 1.
All of them but one are going under. They are going under when they are faithful and when they are essentially secular.
Catholic schools, like nearly all privates, are now run by public school administrators. So they behave the same way.
One of my "what I would do with a big lottery jackpot win" dreams is opening a secular-but-Catholic-friendly classical school. The only classical school in my area is affiliated with an Evangelical church and it uses materials from anti-Catholic publishers plus teaches science from a "young Earth creationist POV".
ReplyDeleteI don't think there are enough families in my area interested in a school teaching orthodox/traditional Catholic doctrine, so I'd rather have the school be officially secular than wishy-washy "Catholicism Lite".
Sign me up, Crimson Wife! One reason we are planning to homeschool is it seems like every classical/core knowledge school in our area is too religious for my husband, while all the secular schools (and I'd include the local Catholic schools in that list) run the same mushy curriculum as the publics.
ReplyDeleteSign me up too--I wish I had a classical school around here.
ReplyDeleteMy friends tell me I ought to start one (!), but while I make a decent homeschool mom, I'm not at all sure that I would make a good school administrator (and it would have to be a charter). And I'm not convinced that a classical school would attract more than about 10 students around here, if that. But the idea is there, for the future, if needed.
Classical school sounds good to me, too!
ReplyDeleteREALLY good.
ReplyDeleteI'd include the local Catholic schools in that list
ReplyDeleteoh gosh -- I saw the most devastating article in the TIMES about Catholic schools catering to the rich in order to survive.
I don't entirely mind the 'catering to the rich' part in the middle of a depression, but the way they were going about it was to turn the school into a group learning/differentiated instruction extravaganza.
I'll have to find the article and post.
Our kids go to a BaptoCatholic classical school in Texas with a strong informal university connection. We are generally pleased with the academics. If anybody wants to know more, you can contactify me via my blog at xantippesblog.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteI live within 1 mile of 3 catholic k-8 schools and within 2 miles of at least 7.
ReplyDeleteThey are all mediocre or worse.
Nearly all are Lucy calkins, fountas and pinnel,and everyday math. The one that is Saxon math and Latin is the worst of the schools, a k-12 that boasts an ap calc program where the majority of kids get a 1.
All of them but one are going under. They are going under when they are faithful and when they are essentially secular.
Catholic schools, like nearly all privates, are now run by public school administrators. So they behave the same way.