MGB:_When I went to Catholic elementary school, half the teachers were sisters. We paid their expenses, they had little cash and they lived out their vocation by working for next to nothing and paying no rent. Tuition was obscenely low and no one was turned away. Any elite status the school had (and it did) came from the quality of the education provided and the talents of the students. Many were military brats or contractor brats, so we ranked pretty well. Actually, Mary Help of Christians was the number two Catholic school in the nation in terms of achievement. Not bad for $200 per year for families of 3 or more, and it was less when I graduated.
Catholic parish schools have the same commitment to excellence, including those that are charter schools (which has been, of late, replacing vouchers). Rich, white parishes likely won’t go charter, but perhaps they should. They have become hotbeds for elite education. A wealthier clientel also means a more entitled student body and more conservative parents, which sometimes affects the life of the entire parish. That is not necessarily a good thing if the Republicans are true to form and use of Knights of Columbus and Pro-Life Committees to try to enforce orthodoxy, not to Church, but to Party.
Vouchers, charters and preferably public funding (which is possible if the Church ever has the courage to challenge the Blaine Amendments in most states in federal court) would all be good things to bring a bit of ideological diversity to Catholic life. Having school parents insist on voicing the pro-choice position would help the pro-life committees hone their arguments and abandon their relationships to the local Republican committees. We should also see some compromises on unionizing Catholic Schools. Give the schools money, let the unions organize teachers. It seems like a fair trade to me.
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