the courage and wallet of my convictions

I have, by choice, sent my child to a Catholic school, since day one. I believe he would get an adequate education in a public school. The public schools where we live are some of the best in the state, and that's all well and good. They don't allow, let alone promote, prayer though, and that's the cornerstone of what I think their cirriculum is lacking. People have a cow if a kid mentions "God" in his or her validictorian address in a public school and will sue to stop it. While there would be shock, no similar lawsuit would occur if a student used the words "fuck" or "nigger". (In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the ACLU made sure nobody violated his or her right to use those words.) Yeah, that makes me wonder what happened to our priorities, and it makes me wonder why people are stumped by things like kids shooting kids in school. No one thing is the answer to that, but we slid down that slippery slope years ago and prayer in school is just one of the speed bumps we yanked out of the way. Morals and values bowled over by 11 year olds watching South Park and playing Halo are more of the same erosion. No, blood and death video games, in and of themselves, don't cause Columbine, but it all adds up. Just my opinion, but it reinforces some of the bigger reasons the youngster goes to school where he does.

With all that in mind, the wife and I went to an open house for the local Catholic High School yesterday. Very nice presentation. I was impressed. The school has a population of around 360 kids. That's three hundred and sixty. The public high school the youngster would attend has more than that in the freshman class alone. A lot more, and they're frantically building "portables" (school district word for double wides) to hold even more. Considering the youngster's learning issues, and how easy it would be for him to slide through the cracks, I want him in a smaller classroom where he can't hide. I also want him in a place where his sense of right and wrong gets reinforced...where he learns about his responsibilities to those around him...where he learns that it's not only OK to pray in school...sometimes it's a necessity. The other thing is..100% of the kids who graduate from this school get accepted to college. I realize it isn't something where you send him there and *poof* he's smart. He has a lot of challenges and hard work ahead of him, and I probably do too. I did get the feeling though, with the population being what it is, there's a lot of individual attention and everybody knows everybody...and everybody looks out for everybody..and that's priceless. No, you can't smother him in a life version of bubble wrap to protect him, but you can try to give him an environment where learning and values are the focus. I think he needs that, and I want that for him.

Priceless, but it comes with a price..and for me, that price was sticker shock. I had a feeling it would be an increase from 8th grade, but sitting there looking at the forms, I realized that his annual tuition will be more than mine was at Villanova University in the 70's. Granted, that was 30 years ago, but it was still a private college, and a fairly pricey one at that. The cost of what I believe in jumped...exponentially. The youngster's lucky most of his Christmas stuff is already on order or the cuts would probably start there. They will affect what the wife and I get though. I know we'll manage, but it will be more of a sacrifice that I ever thought it would be...and in the process, I'll say a silent "you're welcome" to the local public school system, which I won't overcrowd by one more student and yet will fund (under penalty of law), on top of my own child's education.