The Absurd GOP

[arewethereyet]

I went to Catholic school and took World Religions.  From what I understand the school was more forward thinking back then.  My understanding is they aren't as liberal as they were in the 70s.

Depends on who's running it.  Jesuit order and sacred heart schools have become more liberal since the 70s.  Also more successful.  The church's current dilemma.  The secular world speaks more loudly and more compelling even in their own congregations.  That's why they're refocusing their efforts on non-nominal immigrant demographics here in the us.  AKA brown people.  Not going well there either.  Takes two generations tops for behavioral naturalization - and..in the us, that includes secular values.  Two basic choices, they can import an ever increasing number or migrants children to backfill the native loss and somehow game the us gov into paying for it (they've been successful here) - or - they can raise the price.  If they raise the price, they lose the immigrant demographic and have to cater to the nominal catholic secular market - which demands a more liberal product.

The long and short, if you were interested in paying exorbitant amounts of money to send your kid to..say..a biology denying classroom - then you have better options outside of the rcc - though the rcc does operate schools that cater to that niche.  The rcc as a whole positioned itself somewhere in the midst of tradition and the necessities of wealth in education...so that they could pay their bills (insomuch as they do).  I'd have sent my daughter to a private catholic high school if we could have found one within a reasonable distance and the right price point.

I grew up in an area that was populated by a Catholic majority with several Catholic schools from grade school through college.  

They learned in between my dad going to school and me getting there that too many kids were having issues with getting into some college programs because they didn't offer enough science classes or advanced math courses.  In fact, dad had to go to college to get those credits so he could get into vet school.  

I will admit that we did receive a really good, well-rounded education.  It appears that they still provide a good education in order not to lose so many college bound to the public schools in the area but they seem to have ramped up the religious side of things since I was there.

A classmate pointed out to me some years ago that our schools were really among the first to embrace the 'no child left behind' concept.  I didn't realize that being in 8-1, 8-2, through 8-6 was based on test scores and academic ability.  When I look back on it now, it was the braniacs in 8-1.  I managed 8-2 - surely math kept me from being in 8-1. And the people in 8-6 were the dumb asses of our class.  I had previously thought it was just a way to sort us to move us from class to class.

My nephew ended up being sent to Catholic school in his later years because he really needed to be in smaller classes with the chance of more individual attention.