Government Favoritism In Our Schools - Mar 30

True, high school is still 3 years away for my eldest daughter, but as a mom I want to be prepared. Most of her friends will graduate grade 8 and start grade 9 in a huge (and poorly rated) secular high school. They'll be taught the theory of evolution as fact. They'll be taught how to put a condom on, how to protect yourself from STDs, how having a homosexual relationship is okay and even acceptable forms of birth control. As a matter of fact, those kids will be taught every form of birth control with one exception: Abstinence. Apparently it's unrealistic. Young Christian teens will have to wade through all kinds of unbelievers in hopes of finding someone to date who loves the Lord like they do. This is why secular school is NOT an option for me.

Catholic School. There's one close by. I can only assume they will not be exposed to so much in their Health classes, and it is paid for by the government..... but we aren't Roman Catholic. I called the school and was amazed to learn that not all the students were Catholic. Turns out they didn't need to be. "Great!" I thought as I hung up the phone, "Kind of defeats the purpose of Catholic school." Since the government decided to give the Catholic school board public funding, their numbers have gone up dramatically. Parents with troubled teens seem to think that 'A good Catholic school will straighten them out.' Okay, so now Catholic school is out too.

Homeschooling? Well I'll be honest, that's about as far as that idea went.

Last choice: Christian school. I called the principal. Nice guy who loves God and teaches abstinence as the only acceptable form of birth control. The school was full of Christian kids, Christian teachers and a Christian principal. It offered a good group of kids for my girls to interact with. I hung up the phone and smiled to myself. "At last, a choice I could live with." That was until I looked up the fees on the internet. Long story short, I'm looking at around $12, 000.00 a year to send my daughter to a Christian high school.

Here's my beef: Why are Catholic schools paid for by the government and not Christian ones? Are they really so different? Where does the issue of equality fit into all this? My taxes go to the two schools that don't represent my beliefs, and then I have to pay to a third school (Christian) on top of all the taxes in order to find one that does.

I guess the irony of it all is that if the government DID pay for the Christian high school, it wouldn't be full of exclusively Christian kids. It would be very much like the Catholic schools have become.

I can only assume that this is yet another example of government favoritism.