Just wondering what everyone's thoughts on faith (single religion) schools were.

Are they important pillars of the community that help preserve culture and language whilst at the same time creating a sense of well-being and confidence in children...

...or are they divisive institutions that lead to racial and religious segregation and are more highly strung, racially divided society?

In my opinion single faith schools are segregating the society we live in, the feelings of confidence children will get from being at these schools is false simply because it is not preparing these children for life outside of the pretence bubble they have been educated in. For example, the education system has such a huge impact on the sorts of people being ejected out into the world if teachers at these schools have had extreme views and these views are deemed normal by the student in question,then we will undoubtedly have a very large problem on our hands.

I believe that if children are not permitted to mix with others from other racial or religious becakgrounds we are encouraging divisions and is that really the sort of world we want future generations to live and thrive in?

I think that every family should be able to choose where there taxes go, so if they wanted to go to public school they would put there taxes there and it would be free, but if they wanted to go to a private school there taxes would go there and it would be free as well... the only thing is that you actually have to test into most private schools so not everyone theoretically could go if they didnt make it in

Then how can you ensure that everyone gets the same education? Would colleges have to depend completely on standardized testing to determine the level of academic smarts? We've already gone down that path and it isn't working.

And based on my understanding of how the voucher system currently works if a student from a poor district got a voucher then their parents would still have to pay the difference between the voucher and the cost of the private school.

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Originally posted by TalkingTomatoe:
Don't you think we should be asking why those discrepancy's exist, and start working to change public schools for the better??? Private schools might be "better" but they are also very expensive. Don't you think that everyone deserves the same chance to have a good education?

I know that it's possible to create a public school where the teachers truly care, etc. because I have attended one.

Yes I do think everyone should have a chance to get a good education. This is why I support a voucher system.

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Bushsupporter:
In all of high school you knew of ONE Muslim.

I also only knew one black person. My area may not be very diverse, but again, that's not representative of the public school system in general.

Don't you think we should be asking why those discrepancy's exist, and start working to change public schools for the better??? Private schools might be "better" but they are also very expensive. Don't you think that everyone deserves the same chance to have a good education?

I know that it's possible to create a public school where the teachers truly care, etc. because I have attended one.

I believe that private schools are very good. They teach at a higher standard than public schools. You acquire better friendships. And the teachers truely care about every student, that doesnt happen in public schools very often. My only dissapointment in private schools is there are not as many classes and extra curricular activities available

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Originally posted by clpo13:

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Bushsupporter:
How many Muslims are in the public school system? Honestly. In all my years of school, I never met a single muslim. Now I know others will get on here and claim they did and made great friends, but I know they are going to be lying.

You know for certain they're going to be lying? So I must be lying when I tell you I knew a Muslim at my high school. We weren't great friends, but I knew she was Muslim. How many times must you be told that your experiences don't accurately represent the world?

I am not saying it is impossible to meet a Muslim in school, I am simply saying I never met one. I realize other probably have, but you see, you met ONE. In all of high school you knew of ONE Muslim. I don't call that very diverse. It is OK. We can't force schools to be diverse.

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Bushsupporter:
How many Muslims are in the public school system? Honestly. In all my years of school, I never met a single muslim. Now I know others will get on here and claim they did and made great friends, but I know they are going to be lying.

You know for certain they're going to be lying? So I must be lying when I tell you I knew a Muslim at my high school. We weren't great friends, but I knew she was Muslim. How many times must you be told that your experiences don't accurately represent the world?

[/QUOTE]
How many Muslims are in the public school system? Honestly. In all my years of school, I never met a single muslim. Now I know others will get on here and claim they did and made great friends, but I know they are going to be lying.[/QUOTE]

You say you haven't met any Muslims in all your years of school, what about those who are Jewish, Lutheran, Baptist, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, etc.?

Also, what type of area do you live in? Do you live near a mosque? If not, then there probably aren't any Muslims living in your school district.

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Originally posted by TalkingTomatoe:
You mention that figures show children in faith schools perform better than those in regular state schools; I really think that those figures also speak to another issue, the quality of public schools in America.

It would be really interesting - and beneficial - if we could get a comparison of how the two are run. Do the faith schools get more/less funding? What are the criteria for their teachers? Are they higher paid? What types of locations are faith schools most commonly found in? How much extra help is available, should students require it?

In general I think that the separation of church and state should be honored, but that the government could maybe learn some things from the faith schools.

Sometimes they get less funding. On average, private school teachers are paid less and get less benefits.

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Originally posted by ustinov85:
These are all valid points about the advantages for any child who happens to be in a faith school, which figures show do perform slightly better than regular state schools.

The big question is what does it mean for the rest of us in society to bring up a generation of Christians with no Muslim friends and Muslims with no Christian friends.

In 2008's world does that sound like a good idea?

How many Muslims are in the public school system? Honestly. In all my years of school, I never met a single muslim. Now I know others will get on here and claim they did and made great friends, but I know they are going to be lying.

You mention that figures show children in faith schools perform better than those in regular state schools; I really think that those figures also speak to another issue, the quality of public schools in America.

It would be really interesting - and beneficial - if we could get a comparison of how the two are run. Do the faith schools get more/less funding? What are the criteria for their teachers? Are they higher paid? What types of locations are faith schools most commonly found in? How much extra help is available, should students require it?

In general I think that the separation of church and state should be honored, but that the government could maybe learn some things from the faith schools.

These are all valid points about the advantages for any child who happens to be in a faith school, which figures show do perform slightly better than regular state schools.

The big question is what does it mean for the rest of us in society to bring up a generation of Christians with no Muslim friends and Muslims with no Christian friends.

In 2008's world does that sound like a good idea?

Faith schools: good for religious people, bad for non-religious people.

Done.

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Private religious schools are a valuable part of our society.

I agree in many respects. They allow the Church to remain an important voice in the spiritual and intellectual growth of our country.

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I think a far better way to preserve culture and promote the confidence of children is to teach the basic, secular philsophies behind the American system instead of trying to push a single religion.

That's a fair point, but it is true that religious schools teach far more that religion. They teach basic facts and usually do a better job of it than public schools.

Private religious schools are a valuable part of our society.

I think a far better way to preserve culture and promote the confidence of children is to teach the basic, secular philsophies behind the American system instead of trying to push a single religion.

Faith, in my experience, is a poor way to run the world.

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Are they important pillars of the community that help preserve culture and language whilst at the same time creating a sense of well-being and confidence in children...

True