{"id":4685,"date":"2012-01-11T10:00:21","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T16:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?p=4685"},"modified":"2015-03-13T16:54:38","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T21:54:38","slug":"i-dont-mourn-when-a-private-school-closes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2012\/01\/11\/i-dont-mourn-when-a-private-school-closes\/","title":{"rendered":"I Don’t Mourn When a Private School Closes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

A host of Catholic schools in Philadelphia are closes. Big deal.<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018This is tantamount to a death\u2019<\/h3>\n

By Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer<\/p>\n

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia\u2019s announcement Friday that it was closing 45 elementary schools and four high schools set off shock waves of anger and grief that are reverberating across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is tantamount to a death,\u201d said Michael Wetzel, a veteran English teacher at Monsignor Bonner\/Archbishop Prendergast in Drexel Hill, which will close in June. \u201cWe\u2019re taking it so hard because it was so unexpected and so unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joan Weeney, who has taught at Our Lady of Mount Carmel elementary in South Philadelphia for 35 years, said teachers at her school had feared the worst.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of knew,\u201d the fourth-grade teacher said. \u201cWe all dressed in black. It was a total day of mourning.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

via \u2018This is tantamount to a death\u2019 \u2013 Philly.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve written before, I\u2019m a big proponent of public\u00a0education. \u00a0Homeschooling is bad<\/a> for society. \u00a0So are private schools.<\/p>\n

Public education is in trouble, especially in a place like Philadelphia.\u00a0I know that<\/a>. But as long as people pull their kids out of public schools \u2014 and, let\u2019s be honest, that\u2019s usually the kids with the highest aptitude and the most resources \u2014 then our schools will continue to be in trouble.<\/p>\n

When we, as a society, gird up our loins and give the public schools the resources they needs \u2014 and that means the finances and the children \u2014 then they will thrive. \u00a0And nothing will benefit our society more than strong public schools (except maybe campaign finance reform<\/a>).<\/p>\n

And, just to preempt my friend Patrick\u2019s inevitable comment, while I don\u2019t think that the teachers\u2019 unions necessarily need to be broken up, I do favor a system of merit-based pay and the discontinuation of tenure.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A host of Catholic schools in Philadelphia are closes. Big deal. \u2018This is tantamount to a death\u2019 By Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer The Archdiocese of Philadelphia\u2019s announcement Friday that it was closing 45 elementary schools and four high schools set off shock waves of anger and grief that are reverberating across the region. \u201cThis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1061],"class_list":["post-4685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-education"],"yoast_head":"\nI Don't Mourn When a Private School Closes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A host of Catholic schools in Philadelphia are closes. Big deal. 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