What should I do if I'm being forced to go to a Christian School?

[Socratic Meth Head]

Now, I don't know for certain that I am being forced, but my mom has made numerous mentions to it.
She's told me that "The best part of being a parent is being able to impose your will upon your kids." When I said I didnt want to go to the Christian School. She said she wanted to get me to look at the school and then she may force me to go after I look at it.

My brother (although he has demonstrated himself to be Dr. Bullshit Ph.D) has said that mom told him that im not being forced.

If I am being forced to go, what should I do?

[SteelCurtain]

You should look into the bona fides of the school.

Even if they're peddling bullshit, they could be a better education opportunity than you'll get from a public school. In your state, that's not a high bar. I know you're close to a major university so the public schools could be better, but it's still the public school system in that state. Private schools are regularly great educations. The teachers are paid better, so they are better at their craft by and large. You are still going to go to trig, and english, and literature, and calculus. Those classes are not going to be much different, if at all. Maybe biology will be a little screwed, but you are smart enough and probably already know more about evolution than you'd ever learn in a biology classroom in the American South.

You gotta make the best of the situation. Be a freethinker, and even though you might be forced to go to to a religious school, look for how you can benefit from this situation.

[Socratic Meth Head]

You should look into the bona fides of the school.

I dont remember her ever saying the schools name.
She speaks as if she has a particular school in mind though.

[SteelCurtain]

You should look into the bona fides of the school.

I dont remember her ever saying the schools name.
She speaks as if she has a particular school in mind though.

Ask her. Show you are interested in following through, and maybe she'll back off. If she's as petty as you make her out to be, she probably won't like it if you find out the school is excellent, and gives you a better opportunity to get out in 3 years. Also, you can look up the tuition and by that number, you might be able to tell if it's a bluff.

[account_inactive]

If she forces you, don't put up a fight. Just go. It's gonna fucking suck but it could be a much better education than you would get at a public school.

[Minimalist]

You should look into the bona fides of the school.

Even if they're peddling bullshit, they could be a better education opportunity than you'll get from a public school. In your state, that's not a high bar. I know you're close to a major university so the public schools could be better, but it's still the public school system in that state. Private schools are regularly great educations. The teachers are paid better, so they are better at their craft by and large. You are still going to go to trig, and english, and literature, and calculus. Those classes are not going to be much different, if at all. Maybe biology will be a little screwed, but you are smart enough and probably already know more about evolution than you'd ever learn in a biology classroom in the American South.

You gotta make the best of the situation. Be a freethinker, and even though you might be forced to go to to a religious school, look for how you can benefit from this situation.

Maybe...maybe not.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answ...k-says-no/

In fact, it is not at all clear that parents choose schools primarily on the basis of academic effectiveness.  School uniforms, the demographics of a school, and sports programs are easier to observe, and parents often consider these, along with religious values, to be more important than the quality of academic instruction, as consistently shown in studies of parents’ school-choice behaviors from places like the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University. As schools are cast as competing businesses in current reforms, families may be influenced by image over academic substance, just as fast food marketing successfully focuses on fun and not nutrition.

In this case, I bet that fucking crucifix on the wall is mom's main incentive.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Keep your wits about you, and ask questions, even if only silently.

[I_am_not_mafia]

I got sent to a school which taught creationism in the UK. In fact the first two schools I went to did. And this is saying something in the UK which isn't as religious as the US. Not that my own parents are or were religious.

I've been thinking about this recently, asking why the hell adults should think that a school that teaches superstitious nonsense as fact should in anyway be considered a superior education. The second school I went to was a lot worse than the first school. I was about 9 when I started. The first thing we did was start page 1 of the same history text book that I had just finished at the previous school.

It actually totally fucked up my schooling long after I left because it forced me to use cursive handwriting which made it unintelligible and which got me marked down. If it wasn't eventually corrected then this would have made me fail exams and influenced my adult life. Not to mention that if you are overly strict with children then it makes them bigger bastards to each other.

Saying that I'd consider sending my own child for a short period to a religious school later on in life with very careful guidance to teach them a valuable lesson. That bullshit exists, how it exists and how it gets perpetuated. And it's not just with religion, but with economics and propaganda. But not at the expense of their own happiness or education.

If I was the OP though I'd ask my mother a straight forward question of what she hopes to achieve by sending me to a Christian school. Ask her to explain to you the reasons for going to one. And without getting into an argument counter the reasons. If it's to instil Christian values then it's too late for that. You need to send the child at an early age and she had already tried. Is it to give a better education? This will do more harm than good if your questioning mind leads you to trouble because you ask awkward questions.

It would be absolutely critical to use the socratic method of questioning though and not to use any pejorative or emotionally laden language because once it evolves into an argument you lose.

[Jackalope]

At your age, I probably would have got myself expelled. Now, with the benefit of hindsight that is not something I would recommend.

[MJ the Skeptical]

If it actually happens: Take notes, study, and ask enough questions, inquire, debate, until every religious person in your life gives up from intellectual rigor of their theology.

If it doesn't happen: Then hey, your mom is just kind of a power hungry dick making threats instead of total power hungry dick that actually followed through.