Canadian Politics tangent - Catholic schools...
 

Canadian based... but everyone's opinion is welcomed!!

What do people here think about the Catholic religion having its own publicly-funded school system (Ontario does... don't know about other provinces)??

I hate it. Either every religion has state funded schools or none do. I find the currently system extremely unfair to many different religions!

Yes, but in the old days, public schools were actually Protestant, and since there were, and still are, so many Catholics in Canada, the government felt that they needed a separate school system to fit their needs. I think Ontario is the only province that has a fully funded Catholic school system though. Most provinces only fund until Grade 8. As a former Catholic, I felt more comfortable in a Catholic school than when I switched over to public school. I liked the idea of praying before classes started. I was a lot happier when I went to BSS, since we had chapel every morning.

I believe Newfoundland may still be this way (with a Protestant and Catholic system).... I think they may have voted on it a couple years ago though.

We have many Catholic schools here in BC and especially in Vancouver. Yet while they are private schools they get way more government funding than the non-denominational private schools. I don't understand why they get special treatment.

Because Catholics are a large enough minority group to get that funding (or they were at one point, anyway). In Ontario, the Liberal government scrapped the tax credit to all private schools, which have upset some people.

What kinds of standards do Catholic schools set for themselves and their students? Do they typically offer a higher standard of education than do normal public schools? Are they uniform in the way they adminsiter their education? I could see any of those possibilities (if true) as justification for higher funding. It'd never fly in the US, but maybe in this case Canada has it right?

Catholic schools follow the same basic curriculum that is set by the province (private schools, at least accredited ones have to as well), and also have their own religious requirements (e.g. religious education). The kids have to take the same standarized tests that are required by the province. I have heard from studies done that kids in Catholic schools do score slightly better than those in public schools, on average.

Re: Canadian Politics tangent - Catholic schools...
 

I don't get it. Catholic schools are basically public schools with uniforms and religion classes.

Re: Re: Canadian Politics tangent - Catholic schools...
 

Actually, in the Toronto area, most Catholic elementary school students wear grubs (i.e. normal clothes). Uniforms don't come in until Grade 9, when they start high school.

Man, that is weird... I grew up in Catholic school, and while it was hard as hell, we had NO money. We wouldn't turn any students away, so we were always strapped for funding. We had the best teachers though, and many of them would work full-time, teaching an entire grade for like $10k a year. I studied my ass off in grammer school, and it paid off. When I went to public high-school, it was a breeze. I felt like I didn't have to study at all. Granted, I was in the good old South, not in Canada.

I think that all religious schools should get funding if one religion does, and it should be equal across the board. It should not be seperated into this religion or that.

We wore uniforms every day, and we always had to look nice... We could have long hair (guys), but it had to be clean and brushed. We were disciplined very heavily. No funny business.

As a Catholic American, I don't know if I like the idea of the Church funding the schools with state money.

How does Canada set up their school systems? Do they allow other religious schools $? Does it cost to go to school like it does in England?

Public schools and most Catholic schools are fully funded by the government. All public schools are free until the end of high school, while Catholic schools in some provinces are only funded at the elementary level (until Grade 8). There are also Catholic schools that chose not to join school boards. Toronto has two well known ones, St. Michael's College School and De La Salle. Tuition at these schools are, I believe around the same (maybe slightly lower) than historically Protestant schools that are considered university preparatory, but are more expensive than many other religious schools. Before their defeat, the Conservative government introduced a tax credit for parents who sent their kids to private school, where they could get back as much as $3000 of their tuition (which can be a lot if you attend many religious schools. However, it isn't if your kid is at a prep school where tuition is 18K) The current Liberal government scrapped it, however.

First of all, it's in our constitution that Catholic shcools will be funded by the government. So if we want to make changes we have to make changes to the constitution.

I personally don't think there should be a seperate publically funded school board. I don't see how it's fair. If parents want their kids to learn about the Catholic faith they should send them to church or to a private school. There are many other religious schools in Toronto (and I wouldn't be surprised in other cities/provinces) that have private religious based schools. They have also been trying for years and years to have their schools publically funded.

So there are really only 2 fair options. Have all public schools secular or fund all religion based schools...either way the constitution has to be changed.

Wow, I never imagined that Canada would have this kind of system.

In America, everything is seperated. I guess you can say I am biased that it should be secular and open. However, its not my nation to decide what is best for their citizens and i do not want to seem to pass judgment on it.

It blows my mind that there is a constitutional amendment for this. I guess I always thought of Canada as a more open minded society, with free health care and such. Shows how much I know though.

The reason why it's in the constitution basically boils down to this. When England took power of Lower Canada (now Quebec) the population of that province was entirely French Catholics, while the rest were english Protestants. The english made some concessions allowing the French to keep their language and their schools (which of course were religious based).