My state of mind these days...

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

I went to a catholic school for many years and then a public school...so I got a pretty good idea of the differences.......and the difference is huge... especially when it comes to reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The nuns were pretty rough on us students...constantly drilling us and not waiting for the slowest students to keep up.... they had us learning at a much more advanced pace....than the public schools.
When I saw the homework and tests that my friends from public school....in the same grade... were working on....I was shocked....it seemed that they were like two full grades behind us.
When I transferred to public high school for financial reasons ....I barely had to open a book to get passing grades for my last three years of high school.
Another thing is that catholic schools would never put up with the disrespectful crap and thuggery that goes on in public schools. So less distractions and more learning.

We made the opposite trip with our 3 boys, started in public, switched to Catholic, observe the same exact thing. I live in a decent suburb where teh schools are considered pretty good by CT standards, and my oldest got straight As in middle school, and averaged 10 minutes of homework a day. Never broke a sweat.

At catholic high school he gets 2.0 - 2.5 hours of homework a day, and required community service hours every quarter which is a great idea. His friends at the public high school never get 30 minutes of work a day, it's preparing them for absolutely nothing.

I didn't see anyone mention the internet, which is having an awful impact. And they'' be writing papers for 100 years about what covid did to this generation of kids, the difference in CT between how the public and catholic schools handled it, cannot be imagined. Catholic schools barely missed a beat. Public schools lost more than a full year. And their solution to make up for it, is to give the kids no work. And parents are ok with it, and I don't get it.

My 3 boys do a lot of homework, play sports, are into karate, and spend little time online, and they know that if they work their fingers to the bine, good things will eventually happen. That has been lost on this generation.

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

We made the opposite trip with our 3 boys, started in public, switched to Catholic, observe the same exact thing. I live in a decent suburb where teh schools are considered pretty good by CT standards, and my oldest got straight As in middle school, and averaged 10 minutes of homework a day. Never broke a sweat.

At catholic high school he gets 2.0 - 2.5 hours of homework a day, and required community service hours every quarter which is a great idea. His friends at the public high school never get 30 minutes of work a day, it's preparing them for absolutely nothing.

I didn't see anyone mention the internet, which is having an awful impact. And they'' be writing papers for 100 years about what covid did to this generation of kids, the difference in CT between how the public and catholic schools handled it, cannot be imagined. Catholic schools barely missed a beat. Public schools lost more than a full year. And their solution to make up for it, is to give the kids no work. And parents are ok with it, and I don't get it.

My 3 boys do a lot of homework, play sports, are into karate, and spend little time online, and they know that if they work their fingers to the bine, good things will eventually happen. That has been lost on this generation.

My first day at that public high school ....inner city...adjacent to public housing.....I was robbed when I went to the mens room alone....by three thugs that werent even students at the school.

I noticed that the teachers were scared #^&#^&#^&#^& of some of the derelict students, who would have been expelled immediately at a catholic school...and would have been dragged out of the classroom... bodily and never returned.
Well in contrast to that....in catholic high school.....i had loosened my tie a little too much...and the coach of the football team stopped me in the hall and helped me fix it.

[nightfighter]

I cannot take credit for this comment, and don't remember where I heard it... but loosely paraphrased; there are a couple generations, in the prime years of their life that have no respect, no work ethic, and no idea what a leather belt sounds like being pulled out through seven belt loops for a little reinforcement of the lessons.


For what it's worth, I grew up before time outs became an excuse for discipline....

[piemma]

Well said Ross.
He's great example: I offered a 13 year old kid, football player and rather large, a job at $15/ hour helping me split wood. Mind you, I have a hydralic splitter, a front loader and 4 chainsaws. All I wanted him to do was help me load wood on the splitter and stack it in the bucket on the front loader.

Nope! Too hard.

[nightfighter]

Paul, it makes one wonder how/if the military has been forced to make changes to basic training and boot camp...
It is disappointing to be witness to the decline of the once great American society.

[Rmarsh]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

I and no idea what a leather belt sounds like being pulled out through seven belt loops for a little reinforcement of the lessons.


For what it's worth, I grew up before time outs became an excuse for discipline....

Ross....so true.. I do know that sound.. ...so familiar I can hear it now.....he never said a word.....and I knew it was to late for me to say anything that would stop it....and no crying aloud....but I thank God for a dad who cared enough to make sure I knew right from wrong.... and did his job.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

My first day at that public high school ....inner city...adjacent to public housing.....I was robbed when I went to the mens room alone....by three thugs that werent even students at the school.

I noticed that the teachers were scared #^&#^&#^&#^& of some of the derelict students, who would have been expelled immediately at a catholic school...and would have been dragged out of the classroom... bodily and never returned.
Well in contrast to that....in catholic high school.....i had loosened my tie a little too much...and the coach of the football team stopped me in the hall and helped me fix it.

Agreed.

And in my opinion, most of this isn't the kid's fault, it's mostly the parents' fault. People are getting more selfish and lazy. It's a lot easier to always say yes to your kids, than to dig in your heels and say "no" and stick to it. It's a heck of a lot easier to plop them in front of the tv all day, than it is to read to them and make sure they did all their homework and play board games with them. Proper parenting takes almost everything you've got, and many people don't care enough to dedicate that much.

There's a bus stop for the public high school near my neighborhood, and when I drive past those kids, they are half dead to the world, eyes half closed, blank expressions, every single one of them glued to their phones.

About the only places where I see kids that make me optimistic, are catholic school, boy scout meetings, and the karate school, where the teenagers hold the door for my wife and cheer on the little kids. Those are the places where I really like what I see. But you have to look hard for it these days.

[Guppy]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Agreed.

And in my opinion, most of this isn't the kid's fault, it's mostly the parents' fault. People are getting more selfish and lazy. It's a lot easier to always say yes to your kids, than to dig in your heels and say "no" and stick to it. It's a heck of a lot easier to plop them in front of the tv all day, than it is to read to them and make sure they did all their homework and play board games with them. Proper parenting takes almost everything you've got, and many people don't care enough to dedicate that much.

There's a bus stop for the public high school near my neighborhood, and when I drive past those kids, they are half dead to the world, eyes half closed, blank expressions, every single one of them glued to their phones.

About the only places where I see kids that make me optimistic, are catholic school, boy scout meetings, and the karate school, where the teenagers hold the door for my wife and cheer on the little kids. Those are the places where I really like what I see. But you have to look hard for it these days.

Bingo