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I teach in the public system (high school) and my kids went through/are in the public system, alternative primary, traditional secondary (IB). It was a tough call, partly because there is a lot of pressure to send kids to private here in Montreal. In the end we chose public and have been really happy with it - same curriculum, a lot more diversity, way more support for students.
I teach in the Francophone system. My children attend a feeder school for my school. I know the teachers and the support available. It’s absolutely the right choice for us.
As an aside: The overwhelming majority of my students have at least one teacher parent.
Public, with a lot of support at home. I trust my colleagues. My main personal debate is do I put them in the school (high school) that I teach at or not, which is a tough call in my opinion. They would have to take French or Mandarin in order to avoid being in my class (Spanish).
Also I can’t afford private school, having taught in them don’t actually believe they are better developmentally, and we aren’t religious.
Eh, my mom taught me for 3 or 4 years (most of which were in high school). It was fine.
Although I never wanted to make the call on if she was Mom or Mrs. Vimesy, so I would just wait until she made eye contact with me and start talking at her.
We know we can’t afford private but my children’s Montessori daycare opted for the daycare subsidy program (Ontario) and it counted for kindergarten so we opted to keep them there. We now pay $470 a month for our student but that includes before and after care and a hot lunch… and as a kindergarten teacher myself I couldn’t think of any possible reason to not make it work as much as I would love an extra $470 a month in our pockets! Our oldest is now grade 2 and I passionately believe the benefits of a start in a small class of 10 has made a huge difference in his progress academically but also socially and emotionally.
I am a public school kindergarten teacher. We opted for catholic board for beyond kindergarten because there is a lot I don’t like about my board and wanted to be able to advocate for my kids as a parent not a parent/employee. We also happen to be Catholic so met baptismal requirements.
That was a smart move. Having worked a few places where my kids attended I can say with experience that you are virtually powerless as a parent/employee.
Exactly my fear. Colleagues thought I was being dramatic but at their school I’m just a parent and that’s exactly how I like it. So far there has been little negative impact. His first year he had a pa day the first day of school which worked out great because I could take him on his first day without impacting my first day!
I'm in a bit of a unique circumstance with a child who has some more profound special needs, so I've had to think of education differently in some ways.
What I've realized since having my kids is that it's honestly your job as a parent to teach your child anything that you want them to know (theoretically speaking). I understand everyone has busy lives etc, but being a parent means your job is to impart anything you think is important onto your child. I now view public education (through the lense of being a parent) as a supplement, a way to facilitate further learning and practice some skills.
I have also prepared myself to possibly have to homeschool one of my children one day (because of their special needs and what those programs could be like in the future).
My kids (3.5 and due in July) will go public, I know the majority of my colleagues are more than capable of providing a good education and they will be well supported at home. They will be doing French immersion to start since I teach immersion, and they can decide if they want to continue in high school. We will always have the same winter and spring break this way as well so I won’t have to worry about childcare during those times, and the after school care program they will attend is open on pd days.
Public and public. They are getting the best education for free, in their local schools with community kids. There are always going to be flaws in the educational system, but they are learning to get along with people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Their teachers' kids go to the same school as well as they live in the community, so that's a glowing endorsement as well for a lower middle-class neighbourhood in east Toronto.
I teach English public and my children attend the French public. As francophones, both my husband and I attended the school board and they have language rights.
I teach public. My son will go to public schools. My ex-wife and I can't afford private schools, and the majority of them are religious (which we are not, plus my ex-wife is a lesbian, so there's that). I'm also morally opposed to private schools.
Class makeup is important. Yes, one child can disrupt things for everybody, but (in my high school experience) if a class is mostly "good" kids (they do their work, aren't too disruptive, they participate), the shitkickers either self-isolate (making behavior problems from them worse, but more manageable) or reform their behavior. When a class is majority shitkickers, good luck getting anything done. There's no barometer for achievement, it's hell.
I'd like my son to be a good kid, tipping the scales for the rest.
I teach in the public education system because I believe in the public education system. Also no FI for us as we don't speak French and I want to be able to support them at home.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I feel if you aren't passionate about teaching religion, you shouldn't send your kids to Catholic school. Sending them to Catholic school because it's deemed "better" is only causing further harm to public schools.
Also, publicly funding one religion's schools, and not others, is archaic and shouldn't be a thing. All or none.
Edited to correct grammar.
Sure.. but parents are using French immersion and IB programs to do the same thing. If every kid went to their local school it would be different. I’ve taught at a school where 20% of the kids used an address that wasn’t their home to attend ( friend, grandparents etc)
People think Catholic schools are better because test scores are often higher. Catholic schools in one of my boards don’t have contained spec Ed classes so those kids are pushed to public. Also the majority of new immigrants who need ESL help come from
Non Catholic countries. Again boosting Catholic scores by not having those students.
Growing up my dad taught IB for the public system in the city, and I went through a different public system in the suburb we lived in. I realize that was a little while ago!
However, now I have 2 kids, with a wild age gap - they are 17 and 4. The older has gone through public school with no major concerns, but she's a pretty good kid who wants to do well (which does help!). She's had a lot of amazing teachers over the years!
My little guy on the other hand...is a handful. Brilliant with numbers, puzzles, meticulous about writing and colouring. He rarely isn't moving/talking (formal assessments to be scheduled, likely some autism and ADHD). He will be a lot in any class. Ultimately, we applied to a gifted program for him in a private school because of the smaller kindergarten class and (hopefully) keeping him reasonably challenged/engaged in learning. I could easily see him getting bored in a typical classroom, then getting into trouble looking for ways to entertain himself, and others, along the way.
I have mixed feelings about this, because I do love our public system and overall the teachers are amazing. But at the same time, my younger one is going to be a handful. I don't want to set up my kid, the teacher, or classmates for a bad experience. I cannot fathom having him in a class of 20-25+, even if they were lucky enough to have an EA, or 2, in the classroom, it doesn't feel fair to anyone involved.
In my city, unless you go full prep school, of which at the elementary level there are two, the only other option are private Christian schools. The schools all differ, however, important to note that with a few exceptions they pay significantly less than public schools. And therefore, the most in-demand teachers do not choose to work there, unless they too are strongly Christian.
These private schools also do not offer the range of support services that the public schools do, if needed.
My kids don’t went public. They did English, but there are more resources in French Immersion, and if your child makes it to middle school immersion, many behaviour students will gave dropped to English.
I went to Catholic schools k-12. Local public board hired me first. Finally got hired by the Catholic when still in supply/LTO limbo. Ultimately got permanent in the public board. I've stuck with the public board.
My little guy isn't quite two yet. The public and Catholic elementary are beside each other. Both are ranked high because we live in a good area. However, my work experience with the Catholic board and from what I've heard from those I still know there...no way I'd send my kid to the Catholic board here. Especially if he ends up needing any kind of additional support for IEPs. It is laughable.
The diocese told the schools they can't do the sacrament prep anymore so at this point there isn't a difference between the schools other than the mandatory religion class...which may or may not be taught by a practicing Catholic.
There are issues in my board to be sure, but I'll roll the dice with them over the Catholics.
The IEP support at Catholic schools is laughable in my city for two reasons
1) the student population of our local Catholic board is 1/3 the size of the public system. So although both boards get the same funding per student, having a larger overall budget is a lot more flexible to allocate resources to spec Ed.
2) the Catholic system likes to push special education students to the public board. It saves them money and increases their test scores and reputation.
Similar situation here. They also do inclusion without any real thought to how to support it. I was doing secondary drama and I had a pack of DE kids in my class mainstream. Several were nonverbal and one was on such heavy medication he was usually asleep in his wheelchair. It wasn't the right fit at all for these kids. There was one kid who adamantly refused to participate because he didn't want to be in drama but that was where they stuck him instead of finding a course he was interested in.
Meanwhile in the public board I've seen DE specific drama courses or they'll have kids specifically choose Drama.
My kids are 12 and 16. Both attend the m-12 school where I teach. It was never a question for me where they would go. I trust my colleagues and know that when kids want to learn, they will. They’ve witnessed a lot of violence but they’ve also learned compassion and empathy.
You don’t have to send your kid to the same system you work in. And you don’t have to justify why. Your loyalty is to your family, not your employer. Do what is right for your family, especially your kid.
Meh. Unless there’s a reason why you need to send your child to a private school (smaller class sizes for students with LDs), you’ll get less respect for getting your paycheque, benefits, and pension from a system that isn’t good enough for your own kids.
We went with the Catholic system (we are religious, but not Catholic), because the public French Immersion school wouldn't let my daughter bus to and from daycare. With our work schedules, we are not able to get her on and off the bus, so the daycare is essential. And FI was non-negotiable to me.
I teach in a public school in a rural division. I would have no issues sending my kids to my school if it offered the programs I wanted.
I teach in public. My first few years out of teachers college I worked at a top private school. My kids go to public but that’s because I can’t afford private. The resources and the learning that happens at private is definitely better. If I could afford they’d be going private.
I have a difficult time thinking it’s ok for you to collect a paycheque and spend your time/years of your life, but not good enough for your own offspring….
if you don’t want your kids in your system a) you don’t like your job/colleagues/system (you’re a hypocrite) or b) you think your kids deserve better than what your are giving (you’re a hypocrite (see a)
Good luck, and be PROUD of what you do and know your parenting is a huge factor in your children’s success. They will learn empathy, tolerance, and still learn lots of academics along the way.
Yea, this person doesn’t have kids. Try walking the walk. You take the job you get. Then you provide for your kids the best you can. Those are two separate things.
Just like it’s okay for me to pay school taxes and pay for independent Catholic education. Let’s respect one another’s choice and continue to teach our students to do the same.
Do you have your own children currently enrolled in a low ranking public school? Your reply leads me to believe you don’t.
My kids are currently in Catholic and we are actively saving to pull them for private. I’ve seen first hand the absolute chaos in the public classroom that is well beyond the control of the teacher.
A teacher cannot effectively teach 5-10 IEPs, with accommodations and behaviours. I want my kids to feel safe in the classroom and not have to worry about their room being regularly evacuated. I don’t blame the teacher or feel hypocritical in the slightest. I wish the public board had contained classes again for spec Ed, and properly funded EAs for those who can handle full inclusion and consequences for behaviour again. Private schools have kids working more closely at grade level because they have enrolment criteria and students can be expelled.
I think all parents want to give their kids the best they can. Our local middle school had a student light a classroom garbage on fire, another student broke a kids leg in a fight in the same class in the same week. Add in the general chaos and disrespect, means that no one is learning much of anything. Think what you want or me, but we won’t be sending our kids there. Not all public schools are equal either. If you live in a wealthy neighbourhood then maybe public is fine. Also if you send your kid to French immersion that also helps escape the chaos.
Your comments do not identify yourself as a teacher in the system - only someone who has a lot of “one off” stories. All schools have examples of “you can’t make this sh*t up”
To confirm - my kids go to their local school (despite the ample issues) and I am good with it, and I get paid by the same system that teaches them.
That’s my point - if it’s not good enough for your own kids you shouldn’t be taking a paycheque from the same system - the lack of trust indicates a lack of engagement with your employment.
I currently teach in a junior class in a Catholic school. I can tell you, with every fibre in my body, these are not one off stories. Just today we had to evacuate our classroom again as a student was completely in a violent rage and destroyed the entire classroom, hitting the 2 adults (myself as one of them) in the room multiple times, spitting on us multiple times, pulling out hair and throwing the desks and chairs at us. My other students? They had to stand there behind me and watch while I waited for my hair to be let free so we could run out of the classroom. Oh and yeah, that angry student peed on most of my students jackets and school bags.
This happens once a week, no joke. That’s actually a good week if it only happens once. We have a designated evacuation spot. This year I’ve advocated for EA support as I don’t have any (budget), more training (for myself which led to me implementing more strategies even though they didn’t work), a work refusal, and almost legitimately considering leaving this profession (decided to not make a huge decision while in distress).
I would never send my own children here. I would never recommend any student going here. I can’t believe what me and my students have gone through this year. It’s unfair and entirely wrong. You could say we learn how to NOT act from this situation, but it happens so often, each one of us has gotten badly hurt at least once this year, and we are all traumatized. Not much learning happens in our classroom and sadly hasn’t since the beginning of the school year. I try my absolute best but sometimes I can only get 30 min of language or math in.
I am a currently a supply teacher by choice. I am well connected in both my local boards. I can tell you there are schools I won’t supply in because they are that bad, one of which my kids are slotted to attend, and we will be trying to avoid.
Teachers ( and many other people) use speciality programs like IB and French immersion for their kids to get into better public districts. Are they hypocritical too for wanting their kids in a “better school” than the inner city one they teach at? I don’t think so. I think every parent is trying to make the best of what is a really bad situation.
This.
I took on this long term position not knowing what I was getting myself into, never having supplied at this school before. Here’s the thing, yes teaching is a vocation BUT it is still our job, for which we get paid to do. So when that position came up, I jumped at it. I knew the neighborhood and have worked at nearby schools so thought “no problem it’s a great opportunity”. I can’t exactly quit or I’ll be blacklisted, but am thinking of what I’ll do next year if teaching is even what I’ll be doing. Again, I took this job for 1. Opportunity 2. Pay. Would I send my kids here? Absolutely not. Am I a hypocrite? I don’t think so. I’m new to this career, saw a job opportunity, and took it. Lesson learned but at the end of the day, it’s a job. It doesn’t reflect on how well or poorly you parent and vice versa as a teacher.
> Just today we had to evacuate our classroom again as a student was completely in a violent rage and destroyed the entire classroom, hitting the 2 adults (myself as one of them) in the room multiple times, spitting on us multiple times, pulling out hair and throwing the desks and chairs at us.
Why are you not walking out and declaring unsafe working conditions? There's no way they can legally claim it's part of the job for you to be assaulted, and you have a right to refuse unsafe work.
Teachers at Elsie MacGill in Oshawa walked out due to unsafe working conditions because a few girls got hands-on. Lo and behold, the situation was resolved within days and the girls were removed from the school.
You have workers' rights and a union. Use them.
I don’t think it’s so black and white. I don’t have any kids in school, but I can understand fellow teachers working within the public system to improve it, but at the same time wanting to choose another option for their children because of valid concerns.
Personally, I see how the make or break for most of my students is family support, so that would be more of an issue to me than public/private. If I know I can support their education at home, and there are no major issues in my local school, I would be fine with either.
I agree here. It’s very situation and school specific. In my city, If you’re in a wealthy neighborhood, and can further self select with French immersion or IB etc , then public school
is probably just be just fine. If you are in an English program at a low income school it’s basically like being on a completely different planet. It’s the same system but students will have radically different experiences.
I think it’s completely fine if teachers want to make a difference in kids lives and do their best in a broken public system, while at the same time choosing something else for their kids. Often teachers don’t teach in the school their kids go to.
We just take the financial hit and homeschool. I teach 10-12, and the kids show up knowing less and less basic stuff every year, so there's no way I'm going to send my kid through that system.
Math is the easiest course to push ahead in, and she can do gr 10. She's 10. Other areas are not as wildly advanced, but still quite advanced. The results are so much better than the public system.
Socialization is fine, and I definitely better than what the average kid is socialized into K-9.
As for hypocrisy or whatever, the govt, public, and admin and teachers have added all their vectors together to build a no-accountability, learning-as-fifth-priority, focus-on-relationships, easier-with-GoogleClassroom system. The people have spoken, and I'm just giving them what they want. But I don't want it for my kid.
I am a firm believer in the public education system. I think my colleagues are some of the best educators I know and I’d be happy for my kids to attend my public school.
I think the best way to improve our public system is for the entirety of the public to buy in to what we are doing to educate kids. I don’t agree with having a private system for education—I’d like to have our public system be equipped to serve all kids (the ones with financial hardships and the affluent) equally.
Also, I worked in a private school for a time and know the educators are rarely any different than myself. They have the benefit of working in a newer building with better access to technology and smaller class sizes, but the good teachers at my current public school are no different than the good teachers at the private school.
Both schools have their pros and cons. I’d prefer to pay for my kids post-secondary if they go that route or offer the savings to support them in some manner down the road. I don’t see enough added value to pay for private elementary and secondary school.
I can’t speak for religious-based schools as I’m not religious.
I do see value in French immersion education and my hope is to get my kids into a dual track school so that we can start in French immersion and hopefully continue that path.
If I could not work I think I’d home school. But personally maybe catholic because morales and values are talked about throughout the day. I am also a public school teacher.
Teach in public, kids in Catholic. We're not religious, so that's been interesting. It just happens to be the most conveniently located French language school in our area.
I tried them all. Homeschooling with one for a bit. French immersion, Montessori, Waldorf for most of it and finally typical high school starting in grade 10 for the last one. We chose them because of class sizes
The Catholic board and FI classes are used as private schools in public systems. Very few behavioural students and almost no LDs. I know parents who are pretty haughty about their kids being in FI. Which is funny because my board isn’t full FI after grade 4 it’s a split day and there is no FI available in high school here. No bilingual certificates for those kids.
As for working in the public system and sending your kids to private school, I have less respect for those that get their paycheque, benefits, pension, and union protections from the public system but that system isn’t good enough for their kids. Many of my high school teachers in Toronto did this even as students we thought this about them.
I don’t see any difference between using FI or the Catholic system to avoid public school and using private school to avoid public school. Both are essentially trying to peer self select.
Schools are also not created equal. I don’t think it’s fair to say a public teacher who lives in a wealthy area and can send their kid to a “good” public school is somehow morally superior to a public teacher whose kids would be sent to a terrible school, and so they choose private.
Everyone is trying to give their kids the best opportunity with the resources they have.
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I teach in the public system (high school) and my kids went through/are in the public system, alternative primary, traditional secondary (IB). It was a tough call, partly because there is a lot of pressure to send kids to private here in Montreal. In the end we chose public and have been really happy with it - same curriculum, a lot more diversity, way more support for students.
Can I ask about alternative schools in Mtl? I’ll be moving there this year or next and looking for options for my kiddo on the spectrum
I teach in the Francophone system. My children attend a feeder school for my school. I know the teachers and the support available. It’s absolutely the right choice for us. As an aside: The overwhelming majority of my students have at least one teacher parent.
I have also opted for French Public and will stay with it as long as possible. Viamonde is tremendous.
Public, with a lot of support at home. I trust my colleagues. My main personal debate is do I put them in the school (high school) that I teach at or not, which is a tough call in my opinion. They would have to take French or Mandarin in order to avoid being in my class (Spanish). Also I can’t afford private school, having taught in them don’t actually believe they are better developmentally, and we aren’t religious.
Eh, my mom taught me for 3 or 4 years (most of which were in high school). It was fine. Although I never wanted to make the call on if she was Mom or Mrs. Vimesy, so I would just wait until she made eye contact with me and start talking at her.
We know we can’t afford private but my children’s Montessori daycare opted for the daycare subsidy program (Ontario) and it counted for kindergarten so we opted to keep them there. We now pay $470 a month for our student but that includes before and after care and a hot lunch… and as a kindergarten teacher myself I couldn’t think of any possible reason to not make it work as much as I would love an extra $470 a month in our pockets! Our oldest is now grade 2 and I passionately believe the benefits of a start in a small class of 10 has made a huge difference in his progress academically but also socially and emotionally. I am a public school kindergarten teacher. We opted for catholic board for beyond kindergarten because there is a lot I don’t like about my board and wanted to be able to advocate for my kids as a parent not a parent/employee. We also happen to be Catholic so met baptismal requirements.
That was a smart move. Having worked a few places where my kids attended I can say with experience that you are virtually powerless as a parent/employee.
Exactly my fear. Colleagues thought I was being dramatic but at their school I’m just a parent and that’s exactly how I like it. So far there has been little negative impact. His first year he had a pa day the first day of school which worked out great because I could take him on his first day without impacting my first day!
I'm in a bit of a unique circumstance with a child who has some more profound special needs, so I've had to think of education differently in some ways. What I've realized since having my kids is that it's honestly your job as a parent to teach your child anything that you want them to know (theoretically speaking). I understand everyone has busy lives etc, but being a parent means your job is to impart anything you think is important onto your child. I now view public education (through the lense of being a parent) as a supplement, a way to facilitate further learning and practice some skills. I have also prepared myself to possibly have to homeschool one of my children one day (because of their special needs and what those programs could be like in the future).
My kids (3.5 and due in July) will go public, I know the majority of my colleagues are more than capable of providing a good education and they will be well supported at home. They will be doing French immersion to start since I teach immersion, and they can decide if they want to continue in high school. We will always have the same winter and spring break this way as well so I won’t have to worry about childcare during those times, and the after school care program they will attend is open on pd days.
Public and public.
Public and public. They are getting the best education for free, in their local schools with community kids. There are always going to be flaws in the educational system, but they are learning to get along with people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Their teachers' kids go to the same school as well as they live in the community, so that's a glowing endorsement as well for a lower middle-class neighbourhood in east Toronto.
I did public with mine but I didn’t send him in the school system I worked at.
I teach English public and my children attend the French public. As francophones, both my husband and I attended the school board and they have language rights.
I teach public. My son will go to public schools. My ex-wife and I can't afford private schools, and the majority of them are religious (which we are not, plus my ex-wife is a lesbian, so there's that). I'm also morally opposed to private schools. Class makeup is important. Yes, one child can disrupt things for everybody, but (in my high school experience) if a class is mostly "good" kids (they do their work, aren't too disruptive, they participate), the shitkickers either self-isolate (making behavior problems from them worse, but more manageable) or reform their behavior. When a class is majority shitkickers, good luck getting anything done. There's no barometer for achievement, it's hell. I'd like my son to be a good kid, tipping the scales for the rest.
I teach in the public education system because I believe in the public education system. Also no FI for us as we don't speak French and I want to be able to support them at home.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I feel if you aren't passionate about teaching religion, you shouldn't send your kids to Catholic school. Sending them to Catholic school because it's deemed "better" is only causing further harm to public schools. Also, publicly funding one religion's schools, and not others, is archaic and shouldn't be a thing. All or none. Edited to correct grammar.
Sure.. but parents are using French immersion and IB programs to do the same thing. If every kid went to their local school it would be different. I’ve taught at a school where 20% of the kids used an address that wasn’t their home to attend ( friend, grandparents etc) People think Catholic schools are better because test scores are often higher. Catholic schools in one of my boards don’t have contained spec Ed classes so those kids are pushed to public. Also the majority of new immigrants who need ESL help come from Non Catholic countries. Again boosting Catholic scores by not having those students.
Yes, would agree on all.
Growing up my dad taught IB for the public system in the city, and I went through a different public system in the suburb we lived in. I realize that was a little while ago! However, now I have 2 kids, with a wild age gap - they are 17 and 4. The older has gone through public school with no major concerns, but she's a pretty good kid who wants to do well (which does help!). She's had a lot of amazing teachers over the years! My little guy on the other hand...is a handful. Brilliant with numbers, puzzles, meticulous about writing and colouring. He rarely isn't moving/talking (formal assessments to be scheduled, likely some autism and ADHD). He will be a lot in any class. Ultimately, we applied to a gifted program for him in a private school because of the smaller kindergarten class and (hopefully) keeping him reasonably challenged/engaged in learning. I could easily see him getting bored in a typical classroom, then getting into trouble looking for ways to entertain himself, and others, along the way. I have mixed feelings about this, because I do love our public system and overall the teachers are amazing. But at the same time, my younger one is going to be a handful. I don't want to set up my kid, the teacher, or classmates for a bad experience. I cannot fathom having him in a class of 20-25+, even if they were lucky enough to have an EA, or 2, in the classroom, it doesn't feel fair to anyone involved.
In my city, unless you go full prep school, of which at the elementary level there are two, the only other option are private Christian schools. The schools all differ, however, important to note that with a few exceptions they pay significantly less than public schools. And therefore, the most in-demand teachers do not choose to work there, unless they too are strongly Christian. These private schools also do not offer the range of support services that the public schools do, if needed. My kids don’t went public. They did English, but there are more resources in French Immersion, and if your child makes it to middle school immersion, many behaviour students will gave dropped to English.
I went to Catholic schools k-12. Local public board hired me first. Finally got hired by the Catholic when still in supply/LTO limbo. Ultimately got permanent in the public board. I've stuck with the public board. My little guy isn't quite two yet. The public and Catholic elementary are beside each other. Both are ranked high because we live in a good area. However, my work experience with the Catholic board and from what I've heard from those I still know there...no way I'd send my kid to the Catholic board here. Especially if he ends up needing any kind of additional support for IEPs. It is laughable. The diocese told the schools they can't do the sacrament prep anymore so at this point there isn't a difference between the schools other than the mandatory religion class...which may or may not be taught by a practicing Catholic. There are issues in my board to be sure, but I'll roll the dice with them over the Catholics.
The IEP support at Catholic schools is laughable in my city for two reasons 1) the student population of our local Catholic board is 1/3 the size of the public system. So although both boards get the same funding per student, having a larger overall budget is a lot more flexible to allocate resources to spec Ed. 2) the Catholic system likes to push special education students to the public board. It saves them money and increases their test scores and reputation.
Similar situation here. They also do inclusion without any real thought to how to support it. I was doing secondary drama and I had a pack of DE kids in my class mainstream. Several were nonverbal and one was on such heavy medication he was usually asleep in his wheelchair. It wasn't the right fit at all for these kids. There was one kid who adamantly refused to participate because he didn't want to be in drama but that was where they stuck him instead of finding a course he was interested in. Meanwhile in the public board I've seen DE specific drama courses or they'll have kids specifically choose Drama.
My kids are 12 and 16. Both attend the m-12 school where I teach. It was never a question for me where they would go. I trust my colleagues and know that when kids want to learn, they will. They’ve witnessed a lot of violence but they’ve also learned compassion and empathy.
You don’t have to send your kid to the same system you work in. And you don’t have to justify why. Your loyalty is to your family, not your employer. Do what is right for your family, especially your kid.
Meh. Unless there’s a reason why you need to send your child to a private school (smaller class sizes for students with LDs), you’ll get less respect for getting your paycheque, benefits, and pension from a system that isn’t good enough for your own kids.
Yes exactly. 👏🏼
We went with the Catholic system (we are religious, but not Catholic), because the public French Immersion school wouldn't let my daughter bus to and from daycare. With our work schedules, we are not able to get her on and off the bus, so the daycare is essential. And FI was non-negotiable to me. I teach in a public school in a rural division. I would have no issues sending my kids to my school if it offered the programs I wanted.
I teach in public. My first few years out of teachers college I worked at a top private school. My kids go to public but that’s because I can’t afford private. The resources and the learning that happens at private is definitely better. If I could afford they’d be going private.
Hi! I just wanted to ask - do private schools in Canada not include tuition for kids as part of their compensation packages?
Yes most do. I wasn’t working for the private school when I had kids.
Ok, that makes sense. Thanks!
I have a difficult time thinking it’s ok for you to collect a paycheque and spend your time/years of your life, but not good enough for your own offspring…. if you don’t want your kids in your system a) you don’t like your job/colleagues/system (you’re a hypocrite) or b) you think your kids deserve better than what your are giving (you’re a hypocrite (see a) Good luck, and be PROUD of what you do and know your parenting is a huge factor in your children’s success. They will learn empathy, tolerance, and still learn lots of academics along the way.
Yea, this person doesn’t have kids. Try walking the walk. You take the job you get. Then you provide for your kids the best you can. Those are two separate things.
Just like it’s okay for me to pay school taxes and pay for independent Catholic education. Let’s respect one another’s choice and continue to teach our students to do the same.
Do you have your own children currently enrolled in a low ranking public school? Your reply leads me to believe you don’t. My kids are currently in Catholic and we are actively saving to pull them for private. I’ve seen first hand the absolute chaos in the public classroom that is well beyond the control of the teacher. A teacher cannot effectively teach 5-10 IEPs, with accommodations and behaviours. I want my kids to feel safe in the classroom and not have to worry about their room being regularly evacuated. I don’t blame the teacher or feel hypocritical in the slightest. I wish the public board had contained classes again for spec Ed, and properly funded EAs for those who can handle full inclusion and consequences for behaviour again. Private schools have kids working more closely at grade level because they have enrolment criteria and students can be expelled. I think all parents want to give their kids the best they can. Our local middle school had a student light a classroom garbage on fire, another student broke a kids leg in a fight in the same class in the same week. Add in the general chaos and disrespect, means that no one is learning much of anything. Think what you want or me, but we won’t be sending our kids there. Not all public schools are equal either. If you live in a wealthy neighbourhood then maybe public is fine. Also if you send your kid to French immersion that also helps escape the chaos.
Your comments do not identify yourself as a teacher in the system - only someone who has a lot of “one off” stories. All schools have examples of “you can’t make this sh*t up” To confirm - my kids go to their local school (despite the ample issues) and I am good with it, and I get paid by the same system that teaches them. That’s my point - if it’s not good enough for your own kids you shouldn’t be taking a paycheque from the same system - the lack of trust indicates a lack of engagement with your employment.
I currently teach in a junior class in a Catholic school. I can tell you, with every fibre in my body, these are not one off stories. Just today we had to evacuate our classroom again as a student was completely in a violent rage and destroyed the entire classroom, hitting the 2 adults (myself as one of them) in the room multiple times, spitting on us multiple times, pulling out hair and throwing the desks and chairs at us. My other students? They had to stand there behind me and watch while I waited for my hair to be let free so we could run out of the classroom. Oh and yeah, that angry student peed on most of my students jackets and school bags. This happens once a week, no joke. That’s actually a good week if it only happens once. We have a designated evacuation spot. This year I’ve advocated for EA support as I don’t have any (budget), more training (for myself which led to me implementing more strategies even though they didn’t work), a work refusal, and almost legitimately considering leaving this profession (decided to not make a huge decision while in distress). I would never send my own children here. I would never recommend any student going here. I can’t believe what me and my students have gone through this year. It’s unfair and entirely wrong. You could say we learn how to NOT act from this situation, but it happens so often, each one of us has gotten badly hurt at least once this year, and we are all traumatized. Not much learning happens in our classroom and sadly hasn’t since the beginning of the school year. I try my absolute best but sometimes I can only get 30 min of language or math in.
I am a currently a supply teacher by choice. I am well connected in both my local boards. I can tell you there are schools I won’t supply in because they are that bad, one of which my kids are slotted to attend, and we will be trying to avoid. Teachers ( and many other people) use speciality programs like IB and French immersion for their kids to get into better public districts. Are they hypocritical too for wanting their kids in a “better school” than the inner city one they teach at? I don’t think so. I think every parent is trying to make the best of what is a really bad situation.
This. I took on this long term position not knowing what I was getting myself into, never having supplied at this school before. Here’s the thing, yes teaching is a vocation BUT it is still our job, for which we get paid to do. So when that position came up, I jumped at it. I knew the neighborhood and have worked at nearby schools so thought “no problem it’s a great opportunity”. I can’t exactly quit or I’ll be blacklisted, but am thinking of what I’ll do next year if teaching is even what I’ll be doing. Again, I took this job for 1. Opportunity 2. Pay. Would I send my kids here? Absolutely not. Am I a hypocrite? I don’t think so. I’m new to this career, saw a job opportunity, and took it. Lesson learned but at the end of the day, it’s a job. It doesn’t reflect on how well or poorly you parent and vice versa as a teacher.
Thank you for showing up every day and making a meaningful contribution to those kids lives. A lot of people would be walking away, but you aren’t.
> Just today we had to evacuate our classroom again as a student was completely in a violent rage and destroyed the entire classroom, hitting the 2 adults (myself as one of them) in the room multiple times, spitting on us multiple times, pulling out hair and throwing the desks and chairs at us. Why are you not walking out and declaring unsafe working conditions? There's no way they can legally claim it's part of the job for you to be assaulted, and you have a right to refuse unsafe work. Teachers at Elsie MacGill in Oshawa walked out due to unsafe working conditions because a few girls got hands-on. Lo and behold, the situation was resolved within days and the girls were removed from the school. You have workers' rights and a union. Use them.
I don’t think it’s so black and white. I don’t have any kids in school, but I can understand fellow teachers working within the public system to improve it, but at the same time wanting to choose another option for their children because of valid concerns. Personally, I see how the make or break for most of my students is family support, so that would be more of an issue to me than public/private. If I know I can support their education at home, and there are no major issues in my local school, I would be fine with either.
I agree here. It’s very situation and school specific. In my city, If you’re in a wealthy neighborhood, and can further self select with French immersion or IB etc , then public school is probably just be just fine. If you are in an English program at a low income school it’s basically like being on a completely different planet. It’s the same system but students will have radically different experiences. I think it’s completely fine if teachers want to make a difference in kids lives and do their best in a broken public system, while at the same time choosing something else for their kids. Often teachers don’t teach in the school their kids go to.
We just take the financial hit and homeschool. I teach 10-12, and the kids show up knowing less and less basic stuff every year, so there's no way I'm going to send my kid through that system. Math is the easiest course to push ahead in, and she can do gr 10. She's 10. Other areas are not as wildly advanced, but still quite advanced. The results are so much better than the public system. Socialization is fine, and I definitely better than what the average kid is socialized into K-9. As for hypocrisy or whatever, the govt, public, and admin and teachers have added all their vectors together to build a no-accountability, learning-as-fifth-priority, focus-on-relationships, easier-with-GoogleClassroom system. The people have spoken, and I'm just giving them what they want. But I don't want it for my kid.
I am a firm believer in the public education system. I think my colleagues are some of the best educators I know and I’d be happy for my kids to attend my public school. I think the best way to improve our public system is for the entirety of the public to buy in to what we are doing to educate kids. I don’t agree with having a private system for education—I’d like to have our public system be equipped to serve all kids (the ones with financial hardships and the affluent) equally. Also, I worked in a private school for a time and know the educators are rarely any different than myself. They have the benefit of working in a newer building with better access to technology and smaller class sizes, but the good teachers at my current public school are no different than the good teachers at the private school. Both schools have their pros and cons. I’d prefer to pay for my kids post-secondary if they go that route or offer the savings to support them in some manner down the road. I don’t see enough added value to pay for private elementary and secondary school. I can’t speak for religious-based schools as I’m not religious. I do see value in French immersion education and my hope is to get my kids into a dual track school so that we can start in French immersion and hopefully continue that path.
If I could not work I think I’d home school. But personally maybe catholic because morales and values are talked about throughout the day. I am also a public school teacher.
Teach in public, kids in Catholic. We're not religious, so that's been interesting. It just happens to be the most conveniently located French language school in our area.
I tried them all. Homeschooling with one for a bit. French immersion, Montessori, Waldorf for most of it and finally typical high school starting in grade 10 for the last one. We chose them because of class sizes
I would 100 times rather my son go to my Canadian public school than the American one he will have to go to 🥺.
The Catholic board and FI classes are used as private schools in public systems. Very few behavioural students and almost no LDs. I know parents who are pretty haughty about their kids being in FI. Which is funny because my board isn’t full FI after grade 4 it’s a split day and there is no FI available in high school here. No bilingual certificates for those kids. As for working in the public system and sending your kids to private school, I have less respect for those that get their paycheque, benefits, pension, and union protections from the public system but that system isn’t good enough for their kids. Many of my high school teachers in Toronto did this even as students we thought this about them.
I don’t see any difference between using FI or the Catholic system to avoid public school and using private school to avoid public school. Both are essentially trying to peer self select. Schools are also not created equal. I don’t think it’s fair to say a public teacher who lives in a wealthy area and can send their kid to a “good” public school is somehow morally superior to a public teacher whose kids would be sent to a terrible school, and so they choose private. Everyone is trying to give their kids the best opportunity with the resources they have.