Catholic vs. Public School

I had the chance to go to both Public and Catholic high school, there are many differences between each of them, although many people might say one is better than the other, I believe that is all about the student and where they feel more comfortable. I started my High School experience in a public school and for the first two years it worked out perfectly for me but at the beginning of my third year I decided to change to a Catholic school. Here are five things that made the biggest difference between the two schools.

Community involvement is big in Catholic schools, at least in mine it is. This is something I love, giving back to those in need, it is the most gratifying feeling one can have. At St.Pius X there are numerous events which go on throughout the school year in order to give to those who are less fortunate, or to help local charities and programs. For example, St.Pius holds the annual Terry Fox run to raise money for cancer research and to spread awareness about the disease, the canned food drive and Christmas hampers where students bring in canned goods and items for those who are less fortunate in our school community. I believe this to be a positive factor not only for our community but also for the students at Catholic schools.

As high school students we go through ups and downs and a support system can really make a difference in a teenager's life. The Catholic board has an amazing support system for students who need help not only in the academic aspect of school but also in the mental and spiritual one. At St. Pius X, we are very lucky to have Richie to talk to when we need spiritual guidance, he is always ready to listen and pray for us and give us the best advice. Although the public school board also had guidance counselors, in my experience the Catholic board counselors look out for our best interests and advise us in our choices. They get to know us and help us feel comfortable with our choices. In the public board they are more concerned with having enough credits to graduate and get into university.

Catholic Schools are more of a community, school, church and family should come together for the benefit of the student and to have a more rounded and guided education. Throughout the school we have different liturgies that help us come together as a community and help students have stronger bonds, and support one another. In my first two years of high school, when I attended a public school the assemblies all related to school nothing spiritual. This makes students stick to the friends they already have and not get involved and help those who they are not familiar with. At St. Pius X, we always have a Liturgie at the beginning of the school year, this helps students put their school year in God’s hands and to ask for a better understanding and guidance in their classes. Throughout the school year we are lead in prayer every morning and we also finish the day with another one, I believe this helps set a good tone everyday and it reminds us that God is with us at all moment and if we ever need better sight of our day to day we can go to the Chapel, kneel down and communicate with God.   

Values are taught by all the teachers and have a place in every classroom, in Catholic schools values are taught to students as universal ones and every teacher implements them in their classes throughout the school year.  In public schools teachers don't touch on the subject because it may infringe on someone’s rights. They treat values as different for each person. I believe, as a religious person, that teaching students the principal values throughout their high school experience benefits them a lot. It forms their conscious (the voice in the back of their heads) and because of these values students usually to do the right thing or at least know what the right thing is!

As a grade 12, graduation is something that stresses us more and more as we see it right around the corner. The difference between the Catholic and Public on graduate expectations was very clear to me once I changed school because at the Public board the only expectation of a graduate is to successfully finish high school and move on to university, while in the Catholic Board we are expected to do more than that, we are expected to be the best we can, not only in the classroom but everywhere we go.   

As different as the two boards are, I don’t think one can say one is better than the other, I believe that it depends on the student and what they prefer to be part of. For me the Catholic board has worked better, I can see it in my marks and in my involvement on school activities, but for someone else the Public board might be a better fit.

Personality Types

This assignment has made me reflect on myself, and on my personality. After taking the Keirsey Temperament Report I came across a lot of things that really apply to me, but that I had not really thought about and that maybe didn't realize I should work a little bit more on. My personality type is "Guardian (SJ's)" that is describes as: "the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to maintenance and supply -- and they use all their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses". 

The Keirsey report, pointed out that I was Dependable and trustworthy. I consider myself this was and think this is very accurate, I can see this with my friends as they can come to me with their problems and know that they can be sure that their problems will stay only with me. 

In my mentorship experience I can see the trust from Ms. De Souza and Ms. Valois, sometimes when Ms. De Souza is busy she has the confidence to let me go on my own to classes or stay in the resource room and work with those who need help.

Moreover, a characteristic that I believe it's really a strength and really helps me on a day to day basis, is the fact that I am really Down-to-Earth. I think I gained this from my mom, as a single mom she often had to be at work long hours to be able to be successful so my siblings and I had to take care of each other. I also think it is very helpful in the resource room as it makes me really practical and it benefits my involvement with student. It helps me understand them better and be more relatable. 

I think one of the most important qualities to work in the resource room, in my opinion, is to be able to understand that everyone that comes in has different need, different weaknesses and straights. The Keirsey Report described me as "On the job, you seem to innately understand how to create smooth, working processes in your environment. You can excel at directing others to fulfill their duties", as a mentorship student in the resource room, I often work with students that have special needs. When I first started my placement here I had never have the experience on working with this kind of students, but I understood as soon as I sat down to work with them that the work that they needed to do couldn't be done in a traditional way. Without having to read a book about it or even having to get instructions from my  mentorship teacher I was able to be successful and help them as much as I could, realized, after reading the lesson, that being a feeler plays a big role on how successful I am at my work in my mentorship placement and consider myself really lucky to get the chance to experience this side of myself. I still have a lot to understand and to become better at, but i believe that I am doing a good job and with the help of my mentorship teacher and the student I will be able to do the best possible. 

Change can be a good friend but it can also set you back, although I don’t hate change and sometimes I even look for it I am really cautious about it. I like to look into every single outcome before I am prepare and ready to move on from what I am familiar with. At this point on my life change is inevitable, as much as i want to graduate and start an “adult life” it is still very scary to move on from what is so familiar. Being open to the possibility of maybe moving away is something that frightens and it is why I have decided that the only place I would move is to somewhere I have a already live and know, as it said on the report I am not very comfortable winging it or blazing new trails.