Heaven forbid that Catholic Schools Help the Poor

Posted By: Alfred Thompson | May 29th, 2007 @ 12:11 PM
I found a facinating article on the sucees and struggles of a Catholic high school in Harlem today. Rice High School spends less than half per student as the city's public schools and yet:

A public high school principal who lifts the minority graduation rate above 50 percent will win accolades for his genius. If Rice’s graduation rate ever dipped much beneath 90 percent, the school would consider itself a failure.

Study after study shows that Catholic schools do a better job at educating minorities and the poor and yet somehow people seem happy to see these schools fade by the wayside. Failures to help these schools with any public money are hailed as wins for seperation of church and state. Suggestions that voucher plans might be put into place are rejected as evil attacks on public education. Somehow it is seen as better for minority students to fail in droves than for Catholic (or any other religious) schools be given a fair chance to help with public money. The common good apparently does not include successful programs when public funded failures are available.

Personally I find it hard to understand how using public money to increase the graduation rates of minorities and the poor is a bad thing for society. But then I used to teach at a Catholic school so I must be biased.
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#May 29th, 2007 @ 3:14 PM
racebikeguy
racebikeguy
Aren't we all biased to some degree? It is those unique perspectives that give us something special go on. A little flavor on an opinion.
#May 30th, 2007 @ 9:56 AM
robsanders
robsanders

Here in The Netherlands we solved this problem. We have a system of public schools (which are owned by the government) and "special" schools (which are based on religion or life philosophy). In the historical "School Struggle" it was decided that the government had to fund the special schools equal to the public schools. This results in a weird situation where special schools get both money from the government and from tuition fees. As a result, those schools have better results.

I find it strange that your government refuses to help these schools. In my opinion the education of children is most important, everything else doesn't really matter.

#May 30th, 2007 @ 11:23 AM
JonnyRocks
JonnyRocks
Why not just a normal private school. There is absolutely no reason for it to be religous. I want my children attending private school but not have someone elses religon shoved down their throat.
#Jun 4th, 2007 @ 11:23 PM
AlfredTwo
AlfredTwo
Rob, the problem in the US is that once upon a time the government schools were basically Protestant schools and the Catholics created their own schools. The Protestants passed laws preventing government funds from going to those minorty religion schools. Over time the US Constitutional ban on state supported religion removed the religion from the public schools. The same laws that once kept money from Catholic schools now keep it from all non-government schools. So it is complicated.