Maybe There is Another Way, Chris

I send my children to Catholic school here in BC.  I don't do it because I am a practicing Catholic, though I am, nor do I do it because I hate the public system or fear secular teaching.  I do it it because my son gets a more focused education that better meets his needs.  I made a decision based on the educational methods in his local public school and the attitude his teachers displayed towards his "special needs" and what he would receive in the local parish school.  That's my right, my right to decide what is best for my son.

Today I read this article by Chris Selley.  Chris, like so many others, seems to think that Catholic schools should be just like public schools.  He decries the difference in moral teachings in the Catholic Church run schools as unreasonable.

"The problem, as ever, isn’t so much the Catechism that guides Ontario’s Catholic schools, but its total incongruity with modern political life on hot-button questions like gay rights and abortion."

 Well, isn't that exactly the point?  Aren't parents supposed to make the decisions on the moral upbringing of their child?  Is it really the state's job to force children to listen to other opinions?  And maybe it wouldn't be so bad but the judgement so plainly evident in Selley's piece shows that he is quite comfortable using the school to push his version of morality because, I guess, it is congruous with modern political life.

So Selley thinks it's best to remove public funding from Catholic schools in Ontario.  Here in BC my son's school doesn't take the full amount the government is willing to give and the reason is the school doe not want to be beholden to the government lest they start mandating anti-Catholic moral teachings.  When the government pays, the government call the tune, right?  That's what Mr. Selley wants.

So let's assume they do what Selley is espousing and the province of Ontario either removes public funding from Catholic schools or takes them over.  Well, Mr. Selley, there is no such thing as "public" money, only the pooled moneys of a lot of private citizens with a diversity of opinions.  Public schools were intended to educate our children in things like math, and English (or French).  They weren't set up to indoctrinate children into the majority culture.  We tried that and it was called the Indian Residential School system.  It was wrong then and it is wrong now.  Schools should not be used to push any group's agenda, not even Mr. Selley's.

The facts is public schools are there to educate, not indoctrinate, and a publicy funded education is a right in Canada, yet people thousands of children do not receive that publicly funded education.  Any child whose parents would prefer not to be taught the latest social theory emanating from each province's equivalent of OISE can choose to send their child to a private school but they must pay out of pocket as well as pay school taxes.  They do not receive that publicly funded education.  And yet there is a a very simple solution, elegant even, and that is to fund the child and not the system.  Set a standard and basic curriculum any school must teach, one that focuses on education, math, languages, science, and let the schools decide what morality they wish to teach and how much that extra will cost.   You can bet the majority would send their children to the schools Selley likes and some would send them to schools that teach a different morality, and some like me would get to choose the best compromise to meet their child's individual needs.  What a concept.