The informal debate about funding Catholic schools in Ontario goes on. However, because the provincial government and politicians won’t participate, the debate seems to be going nowhere. Christina Blizzard’s June 2 editorial in the Peterborough Examiner on June 2 , “Pope Dalton’s rationale pure hypocrisy,” tackles the topic with some suggestions and observations.
Blizzard asks and answers her own question: why did Education Minister Laurel Broten and Premier McGuinty chose Catholic schools for their children?
The Catholic system does what the public system cannot. It teaches morals and values and ethics to children. It’s able to enforce a stricter code of discipline, because it can expel students to the public system.
Blizzard is partially correct: the Catholic system can expel students it doesn’t want, but the morals and values and ethics are Catholic ones and are very inflexible. They do not meet the needs of the students, and most student rebel either quietly or very loudly.
Blizzard presents two suggestions: one to McGuinty: make up your mind
either leave the Catholic schools alone. Or pull their funding and go with one public school system.
and one to Ontario taxpayers: vote with your feet.
And everyone, please. Simmer down and do us all a favour. It you don’t subscribe to Catholic beliefs, don’t put your kids in Catholic schools and don’t have family members teach in them.