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**myotch** · 01-31-2013, 08:52 PM

Do you think kids prone to violent acts or thoughts become self-regulating because of the threat of suspension/expulsion?

I think there is a greater degree of parental involvement and interest in the lives of private school students - an investment factor of sorts.

amyrose5 · 01-31-2013, 09:03 PM

(01-31-2013 08:52 PM)myotch Wrote: Do you think kids prone to violent acts or thoughts become self-regulating because of the threat of suspension/expulsion?

I think there is a greater degree of parental involvement and interest in the lives of private school students - an investment factor of sorts.

To your question, no. Often problem students take a kind of pride in suspension. Like they won something.

To your observation, I thought that once upon a time. It was back when I was a new young teacher proud to have a job in a Christian school where the parents would be more invested in their kids and all of that good stuff. Then I taught for a year. And then for 15 more.

There are as many kids in private religious schools with uninvolved and disinterested parents as any other school. The added bonus is that many of those parents feel that they have done their duty by their kids by enrolling them in that school and that the teachers will take care of their moral and religious upbringing. That is what they are paying tuition for. Bad news for them: teachers have their kids for six and half hours a day, five days a week for 36 weeks. They have them for 18 years. It should be obvious who has the greater impact. Unfortunately, it is not.

**myotch** · 01-31-2013, 10:30 PM

I was one of those kids with a disinterested parent in private school. From what I perceived, I was the rare case, but there were some others.

Interesting that you include the moral as well as the religious upbringing. I think for the student with a disinterested parent, this is incredibly key. And for the kid with involved parents, so much more the key.

School violence involving death or serious bodily harm is rare at any school, which makes it so newsworthy when it happens. It's practically non-existent in private schools.

Here in Atlanta, today we had an episode of gun violence at a school. Kid was shot in the back of the head by, I believe, another student. Profoundly sad.

amyrose5 · 01-31-2013, 10:41 PM

(01-31-2013 10:30 PM)myotch Wrote: I was one of those kids with a disinterested parent in private school. From what I perceived, I was the rare case, but there were some others.

Interesting that you include the moral as well as the religious upbringing. I think for the student with a disinterested parent, this is incredibly key. And for the kid with involved parents, so much more the key.

The religious part is more difficult on a school level, though. Catholic school won't make your kids into good Catholics if you never bother to take them to church. The message they receive is that it is not really important outside of school and that only odd people like their teachers care about it. I actually had seniors claim to me that clearly all of us teachers only thought attending mass and getting married in the church, etc...was important was because we were paid to think so. Because in their minds, adults living in the real world don't care and don't need to. And that was because their parents didn't. Yet the same parents would wonder how WE didn't communicate those things to their kids adequately.

**exOBCstudent** · 02-01-2013, 08:19 AM

(01-31-2013 10:30 PM)myotch Wrote: I was one of those kids with a disinterested parent in private school. From what I perceived, I was the rare case, but there were some others.

Interesting that you include the moral as well as the religious upbringing. I think for the student with a disinterested parent, this is incredibly key. And for the kid with involved parents, so much more the key.

School violence involving death or serious bodily harm is rare at any school, which makes it so newsworthy when it happens. It's practically non-existent in private schools.

Here in Atlanta, today we had an episode of gun violence at a school. Kid was shot in the back of the head by, I believe, another student. Profoundly sad.

Just saw that on the news today. Looks like armed security stopped it from getting worse. Good for them.

kristensdaddy · 02-01-2013, 11:58 AM

I have no research to back this up, just supposition..... private schools students probably come from two parent homes more often than public school students (as a percent of enrollees). Huge difference in social/anti-social behavior.

dramaturge · 02-01-2013, 01:28 PM

(02-01-2013 11:58 AM)kristensdaddy Wrote: I have no research to back this up, just supposition..... private schools students probably come from two parent homes more often than public school students (as a percent of enrollees). Huge difference in social/anti-social behavior.

I teach in a private, religious school. A third of my students are from broken homes. Last year it was closer to half. It varies from year to year. I also know of at least two couples who ought to be divorced, but aren't. I contend that's a whole lot more influential than an even modestly amicable divorce. Since divorce rates among professed Christians is comparable to "secular" couples, I'm not terribly sure there's an appreciable difference.

kristensdaddy · 02-01-2013, 02:27 PM

(02-01-2013 01:28 PM)dramaturge Wrote:
(02-01-2013 11:58 AM)kristensdaddy Wrote: I have no research to back this up, just supposition..... private schools students probably come from two parent homes more often than public school students (as a percent of enrollees). Huge difference in social/anti-social behavior.

I teach in a private, religious school. A third of my students are from broken homes. Last year it was closer to half. It varies from year to year. I also know of at least two couples who ought to be divorced, but aren't. I contend that's a whole lot more influential than an even modestly amicable divorce. Since divorce rates among professed Christians is comparable to "secular" couples, I'm not terribly sure there's an appreciable difference.

Maybe the I should amend my supposition to say that parents who send their kids to private schools are at least "more engaged" in the expected outcome than those who send them to government schools.

amyrose5 · 02-01-2013, 02:31 PM

(02-01-2013 11:58 AM)kristensdaddy Wrote: I have no research to back this up, just supposition..... private schools students probably come from two parent homes more often than public school students (as a percent of enrollees). Huge difference in social/anti-social behavior.

Class of 2000 at the Christian school I taught at graduated 18 seniors. Four had parents married to each other. At Catholic school, it averaged just over half of students had parents married to each other--which sadly was higher than Christian school. We had one class once that were the absolutely most fantastic kids ever, across the board. And it occurred to the family consumer science teacher one day that of the 27 kids in that graduating class, only one had parents who were divorced and they attended school events together with never a hostile look. She started keeping track by class.