just to put it out there

I dont necessarily agree with that, but i wouldnt vehemently disagree either.

 

https://scotslawthoughts.wordpress....n-catholic-schools-and-education-in-scotland/

 

Hmmm, interesting enough wee piece from a proponent of Catholic Schools, but as much as i admire his attempt to sell the concept, at the end of the day, it is still a religion attempting to corral its future adherents......by subtle coercion.

One of the purposes of the OO - To cultivate Christian character, promote brotherly love and fellowship.

 

Your comments tell me that you

A. Didn't read it.

B. Couldn't comprehend it.

C. Had an unwillingness to acknowledge it.

D. Another reason.

Which one was it?

 

No. It's ridiculous and im Catholic by the way.

 

I,

(A) Did read it.

(B) Thought i comprehended it, but obviously im not as educated as you, so some of it may have gone over my head.

(C) I did and do acknowledge that the Catholic Church tries to portray itself as an institution designed to help the people of the world and breed tolerance and acceptance of all creeds etc, but in reality, for all the centuries in history that it had the western world all to itself, it (along with its Protestant offshoots)was barbaric and ruthless and a world away from the 'Christian' image it attempts to portray in the modern world. Although even today, it has the nerve to send out missionaries to 'help' and 'save' the poor people of the world, while still denying them consent to contraception in Aids ravaged countries, rife with over population and poverty.

(D) There is no other reason, i am an atheist with the same contempt for all religious organisations.


Your comments tell me you agree with his views, (to a point)and have an unwillingness to acknowledge that the Catholic Church could be capable of attempting to guarantee the next generation of devotees as its number one priority by remaining so involved with the children of its flock.

 

"interesting enough wee piece from a proponent of Catholic Schools".

I'll leave you to ponder this diminutive slur you posted.

 

Which schools should be closed?

Bear in mind we're at where we're at.

Pray tell us.

 

I dont need to ponder it. I tried to acknowledge the guys fair attempt to back his cause, but obviously i disagree with it so it is hard to not come across as condescending in such a case.

I have no problem at all with people having a viewpoint, even if poles apart from my own, but if you are going to put such a Pro piece in this thread, obviously im not going to not give it my support.

 

It wasn't a "fair attempt".

A 'pro piece'.

Really?

A 'pro piece' of what?

Your agenda is glaringly obvious.

So, delineating the current situation and why said situation came about is a biased piece in your eyes.

Only someone with a contempt for his well thought out elucidation of the current situation would conclude that there is an agenda

Care to tell us what this said agenda is?

 

Was it not a 'pro' piece then? You could have fooled me.

Maybe to someone who agrees with him, (im guessing you dont agree with all he had to say, or maybe im wrong?!) it was a well thought out elucidation, but as well thought out as it was, it seemed pro to me.

I do think it was well enough written, and did a fair job convincing me of certain merits of the present system, but not enough that i would do a 180.

Yes, he managed to cover a few bases, including patronising the OO too, amazingly enough, but that doesnt mean it was balanced, it was from my reading of it clearly designed in support of Catholic Schools. (and others)

Interpretation was never a strong suit for me, so if i have misread it's meaning, maybe you could explain to me how you read it?

 

Was too busy doing a couple of things at once there and didnt answer all your points.

Yes, my agenda is glaringly obvious, because ive stated it in written actual words over and over again, not only in this thread but many others before, that is, that i want a secular school system in place in this country.......there is nothing hidden about it.

Yes, he did give a good account of the previous and current situation, but i still read it as pro, sorry. Id honestly be surprised if anyone didnt read it as pro. Maybe someone will.

Explaining how it came about and why it remains does not necessarily mean it should be retained for eternity. Time moves on....things change.

 

Ooooh, "Time moves on.....things change"

Whose schools should be retained for eternity, if not Catholic Schools?

Which ones do you want to be retained and which ones do you want to get rid of?

Think carefully on this as we basically have two types of schools in this country that are predominant.

I look forward to your response.

 

I think you do have a problem. It's fairly evident....

You don't understand why? Someone worship a holy place turns your stomach and makes you angry?
Why the * would you get angry at that? What sort of life do you lead that some person doing something that has no effect on you whatsoever makes you sick and angry?
I think you have a problem.

You probably don't need to as you do it here often enough. :smiley-laughing002:

 

But what do you think these articles are based on? Do you think sources like the Belfast Telegraph, The Scottish Herald, The Telegraph, the Department of Education are all "Champions of Catholicism" and are making up stuff to paint Catholic schools in a good light?! The articles and sources which have subsequently been posted by others confirms that the Catholic education system is successful and outperforming its counterparts- whether that's in underprivileged parts of Belfast or privileged parts East Renfrewshire.

Are these admission policies at schools common practice? If they are, to repeat what I've said already, then I think it's wrong and should be reviewed. However, what it would also suggest is that there is an obvious demand for these over-performing Catholic schools and the logical solution is to try and meet that demand.

Catholic schools are outperforming their counterparts- on the whole. As I said we shouldn't be looking at snapshots of particular areas when looking at this topic. Or scratching our heads wondering why every Catholic school isn't at the top of these leagues- particularly when such schools are in the minority!

 

The point of them is they are proven to be a better product. Which is better to have a moderate percentage of very good and a larger percentage of OK schools or have 100% OK schools? Should Catholic schools not provide an incentive for the state to improve standards?

 

I wonder if the Catholic schools had a lower standard than the secular schools would there be a problem. I suspect many would be encouraging Catholics not to attend state run schools as "yous have your own ones go there and stop polluting ours"

 

That's what I'd like to know, like I said. The articles do a lot of surmising and general chit chat but don't provide any real sources of the information.

Look, I'm not saying that Catholic schools aren't top drawer (I attended one and look at me, after all! :smiley-laughing002, I'm just saying that when all schools teach the same curriculum there have to be other factors at play.

For me, those factors in certain schools are the way in which they pick & choose their students. like I said, the "riff raff" get admitted if and when there are any places left after the children from good Catholic families are admitted. That tactic ensures that the school takes in the children from the more settled homes first.

Also, other socioeconomic factors play a part.

Of course they're common practice, it's been happening since well before my time. There's been very recent reports of surges in school-age Baptisms in various parts of Scotland, which is done to try and "win" assurances that your child will be given a place at the school of their choice.

As for the demand, like I said, there's demand for any school that performs well. It stands a child in good stead moving forward, and it has to be noted that of the top ten performing schools in Scotland Catholic schools account for one, so it's not a Catholic thing.

Where we see a difference is in the admissions policy. The other schools aren't favouring certain children before others.

If you consider the results drawn from the year-long results and performances of every school in Scotland to be a "snapshot" then I don't know what to tell you.

It's a bit like saying that the football team who wins the league isn't the best performing side in the country, and that the league table only provides a "snapshot" of how they're doing.

 

If we're brutally honest, the only way the state could improve the levels of other schools would be to follow suit and implement some form of admissions system that sees children from more settled homes being given priority to school placements over those who's home life isn't quite so settled.

That would undoubtedly see the results spike, as it's generally well known that children who come from settled homes, for the most part, perform better than those who don't.