Choice of schooling for your crotchfruit

[Felch]

lmao, yeah great point. Lots of Muslims and Hindus have come out of Catholic schools.
Personally I want my kids to get educated not up to speed on fairy stories I do hope your daughters go to Catholic schools as my boy will be on the prowl one day and if he doesnt want to put in the hard yards there's always catholic girls.
But I can see the point that if parents were too lazy to put time into kids sport and music that they might be better off at a private school. Luckily thats not an issue for my kids.

What can i teach my kids about music ?

What im saying is that private schools quite often have access to better facilities - not always, but often. When i went to high school, our sporting options were sh!t. We had a cr@p footy and cricket teams. Mates who went to St Michaels had great sporting teams. This is only an example.

Like i said, we are not Catholic. The number one reason my daughter goes to the school she does is because it was the best one education wise, IMO, in our area.

Wedgie, you obviously have some unresolved issues with Catholic/Private schools. Im not going to defend Catholics. I will defend my right to send my child where i choose, without being labelled as 'lazy' FFS. I never said Public schools were cr@p. I just know from my own experience that i probably would have benefited more from a Private school education, or at least a school with better opportunity avenues.

[heater31]

well based on my experiences I attended a public Area school and was forcibly dragged to a catholic high school Probably a good thing in hindsight as the private school was able to offer a better range of subjects with more classmates than the public school. I passed and went on to uni and now possibly thinking of doing a masters degree in the next 5 years. If I stayed in public I'd more than likely have a nail bag and on the tools all day not I bad thing I agree but a masters degree looks better on the wall

[bulldogproud]

I think that some people live in the past if they think that Catholic schools will indoctrinate kids and that no non-Catholics should go there. I would say the percentage of churchgoing Catholic students in Catholic schools would now be less than 20%. Rather than indoctrinate students, Catholic schools encourage students to consider all views. Heck, half of our teachers are not even Catholic nor would know much about the Catholic faith. What they do possess though is a desire to see the student as a whole person and to care about them as such, not just to teach them a subject. Having said that, I would believe that would also occur in public schools. There is a huge pastoral care program in private schools that is missing from 'some' public schools.

[Wedgie]

I think that some people live in the past if they think that Catholic schools will indoctrinate kids and that no non-Catholics should go there. I would say the percentage of churchgoing Catholic students in Catholic schools would now be less than 20%. Rather than indoctrinate students, Catholic schools encourage students to consider all views. Heck, half of our teachers are not even Catholic nor would know much about the Catholic faith. What they do possess though is a desire to see the student as a whole person and to care about them as such, not just to teach them a subject. Having said that, I would believe that would also occur in public schools. There is a huge pastoral care program in private schools that is missing from 'some' public schools.

Cheers for that bdp, I trust your observations seeing as you're involved.
You have enlightened me on the matter as my posts and views were very ignorant.
In my mind I was imagining they hadnt changed from the 50s which is ignorant.

As others alluded to its probably a horses for courses philosophy when finding a school which will best suit your childs needs.

And despite not being a fan of most private schools I will admit that families that put kids in a private school are subsidising those in public schools by putting less stress on the public schools.
I thank them for that.

[bulldogproud]

Wedgie, the Catholic system is far from perfect (as is any system of anything just about) but I believe it does its best to nurture young people. I have not experienced too much of the public system (although I attended public primary school and have a sister and brother-in-law teaching in it) but I would believe that the public system also does the best for students entrusted to it. After all, I have the utmost admiration for all teachers who have gone into teaching for the right reasons. What I can speak about is the Catholic system and say how it has changed enormously over the past twenty years.
As for choosing a school, I concur pretty much with what Smac and Roger have both said in earlier posts. Get a feel of the school, find out all you can from people with children there, look at their resources, look at their Pastoral Care program, and then go on your 'gut instinct'.
Cheers

[Wedgie]

Cheers mate. We definately have the same opinion on the dedication of most teachers.
The girls might have changed in the last 20 years too.

[bulldogproud]

Depends more on the girl than the school, Wedgie. After all, Billy Joel thought that 'Catholic girls started much too late!'

[Dogwatcher]

If I stayed in public I'd more than likely have a nail bag and on the tools all day not I bad thing I agree but a masters degree looks better on the wall

After reading that sentence, I'm just curious, did you put the degree on the wall all by yourself?

[rogernumber10]

Heck, half of our teachers are not even Catholic nor would know much about the Catholic faith. What they do possess though is a desire to see the student as a whole person and to care about them as such, not just to teach them a subject. Having said that, I would believe that would also occur in public schools. There is a huge pastoral care program in private schools that is missing from 'some' public schools.

I know I'm out of touch now because that has surprised me even now to read that. The St Igs I began at simply didn't allow non-Catholic teachers and we had maybe 3-4 non-Catholic kids in the entire junior school in '77. However, I will say that things did start to change by the mid 80s in regard to non-Catholic students. Good to see they've moved on as well with the staff and realised there are good people everywhere.

Bearing in mind though, my dad couldn't believe how much the school had loosened up from when he went there. When dad was there in the 50s, only priests taught the boys and they all wore full black all day. I think they were very keen on some righteous smiting, but had to be content with the table of elements and latin verbs.

[heater31]

If I stayed in public I'd more than likely have a nail bag and on the tools all day not I bad thing I agree but a masters degree looks better on the wall

After reading that sentence, I'm just curious, did you put the degree on the wall all by yourself?

I haven't recieved the bit of paper for that degree yet DW. One Thesis to go and I start next week

and one would hope so since its a degree in construction

[Mic]

Call me silly but wouldnlt sending kids to a neutral school help them make their own minds up as opposed to one dedicated to fairy stories?

Interesting point. My view was that some information is better than none, as opposed to forcing my own views of religion onto them. The only choice my kids don't get is which footy team they follow - that's a non-negotiable condition of residence!

I don't have any experience with private schools but I wonder if they encourage students to make up their own minds about religion.

[Mic]

I think that some people live in the past if they think that Catholic schools will indoctrinate kids and that no non-Catholics should go there. I would say the percentage of churchgoing Catholic students in Catholic schools would now be less than 20%. Rather than indoctrinate students, Catholic schools encourage students to consider all views. Heck, half of our teachers are not even Catholic nor would know much about the Catholic faith. What they do possess though is a desire to see the student as a whole person and to care about them as such, not just to teach them a subject. Having said that, I would believe that would also occur in public schools. There is a huge pastoral care program in private schools that is missing from 'some' public schools.

Which public schools are missing that?

[smac]

Call me silly but wouldnlt sending kids to a neutral school help them make their own minds up as opposed to one dedicated to fairy stories?

Interesting point. My view was that some information is better than none, as opposed to forcing my own views of religion onto them. The only choice my kids don't get is which footy team they follow - that's a non-negotiable condition of residence!

I don't have any experience with private schools but I wonder if they encourage students to make up their own minds about religion.

Funny enough, my experience at Concordia was that they taught their beliefs without forcing you to do anything with or about those teachings. It appears the same at my sons school as well. I'd be off like a shot otherwise, would defeat the purpose.

[bulldogproud]

Call me silly but wouldnlt sending kids to a neutral school help them make their own minds up as opposed to one dedicated to fairy stories?

Interesting point. My view was that some information is better than none, as opposed to forcing my own views of religion onto them. The only choice my kids don't get is which footy team they follow - that's a non-negotiable condition of residence!

I don't have any experience with private schools but I wonder if they encourage students to make up their own minds about religion.

Funny enough, my experience at Concordia was that they taught their beliefs without forcing you to do anything with or about those teachings. It appears the same at my sons school as well. I'd be off like a shot otherwise, would defeat the purpose.

That is pretty much how it works, Smac. There is no doubting that we still teach our core values but we certainly do not force them upon anyone. I would say that we pretty much just teach good values like care and concern for others. To me religious-wise, I just want my students to have a desire to assist people in need in society. I try to encourage them to do voluntary work for groups like St. Vincent de Paul.

[bulldogproud]

I think that some people live in the past if they think that Catholic schools will indoctrinate kids and that no non-Catholics should go there. I would say the percentage of churchgoing Catholic students in Catholic schools would now be less than 20%. Rather than indoctrinate students, Catholic schools encourage students to consider all views. Heck, half of our teachers are not even Catholic nor would know much about the Catholic faith. What they do possess though is a desire to see the student as a whole person and to care about them as such, not just to teach them a subject. Having said that, I would believe that would also occur in public schools. There is a huge pastoral care program in private schools that is missing from 'some' public schools.

Which public schools are missing that?

Hopefully, very few, Mic. Just not sure if they all have three hours a week devoted to Pastoral Care, on top of subject lessons.
Cheers

[bulldogproud]

Heck, half of our teachers are not even Catholic nor would know much about the Catholic faith. What they do possess though is a desire to see the student as a whole person and to care about them as such, not just to teach them a subject. Having said that, I would believe that would also occur in public schools. There is a huge pastoral care program in private schools that is missing from 'some' public schools.

I know I'm out of touch now because that has surprised me even now to read that. The St Igs I began at simply didn't allow non-Catholic teachers and we had maybe 3-4 non-Catholic kids in the entire junior school in '77. However, I will say that things did start to change by the mid 80s in regard to non-Catholic students. Good to see they've moved on as well with the staff and realised there are good people everywhere.

Bearing in mind though, my dad couldn't believe how much the school had loosened up from when he went there. When dad was there in the 50s, only priests taught the boys and they all wore full black all day. I think they were very keen on some righteous smiting, but had to be content with the table of elements and latin verbs.

Roger, Iggies is probably one of the more conservative Catholic Colleges around and may have a larger proportion of baptised Catholic teachers than others. I have not actually asked them re their faith. However, I have had a number come up to me asking for information re Catholicism as they are non-Catholics. The previous two colleges I taught at certainly had high proportions of non-Catholic teachers. More emphasis is placed on the individual teacher's ability to teach subjects and also on their own personal nature than their denomination. After all, my brother-in-law is an athiest but has exactly the same approach to life and caring for others as I would like to see in a teacher. He just has it for different reasons than I do.
Cheers

[Psyber]

If I stayed in public I'd more than likely have a nail bag and on the tools all day not I bad thing I agree but a masters degree looks better on the wall

After reading that sentence, I'm just curious, did you put the degree on the wall all by yourself?

I had a public education, Brompton Primary, Croydon Primary, Woodville High, and graduated from Adelaide University. My only exposure to the private system was inheriting a step-daughter doing Matric. at Seymour when I remarried. My experience was that at least they jumped on things like a kid keeping booze in the locker room and a post-exam party that it turned out was not going to be supervised by the parents who offered to provide the venue and supervise. Mind you I think WDHS would have done the same when I was there if they had found out.

Croydon Primary made us do Woodwork in Grade 7, and I topped the class, but only because I got 99% in the theory paper worth half the marks. I can't drive a nail straight!

[zipzap]

What can i teach my kids about music ?

What im saying is that private schools quite often have access to better facilities - not always, but often.

I really want my kid to go to the public primary school I teach at - it's awesome and I would wager it has waaaay better music facilities than most private schools and almost definitely Catholic schools. The music teacher is incredible. It feeds into a high school (public again) with an extremely high musical reputation. I don't live locally to it though so I might have to investigate other options

All schools are different and I'm sure the Catholic ones mentioned on this site are the bees knees (certainly the bigger ones) - my experience of them though is that many are seen by parents as bargain basement private schools (all of the status for a fraction of the cost!) but actually have very poor facilities (crowded class sizes, crusty computers, diabolical libraries) compared to your average public school. This is not just my experience but also from conversations with teachers in the Catholic system.

As a kid I went to both private and public schools and as a result personally can't imagine any circumstance where I would send my children to a private school. I feared the worst when I saw this thread but overall discussion has been very balanced, thoughtful and considerate of other viewpoints. You all must have been to public schools

[Footy Chick]

Marrayatville Zipzap? It's a wannabe private school anyway
It's harder to get into than any private school I know...

[Psyber]

Marrayatville Zipzap? It's a wannabe private school anyway
It's harder to get into than any private school I know...

That's because all the uni Academics I ever knew had their kids lined up to go to Marryatville.