It's a strange thing the differences between my Catholic school experience and when other folks describe what to me seems like almost caricature-ish type Catholic school experiences.
I don't know how things are where you grew up but it was only years later that I learned that most of the people who taught at my Catholic school did not have the required qualifications to teach anywhere else (and those that did were total creeps, like the molesty kind).
Most of them weren't equipped for the job they were doing and I've seen that in others in my own career(s). An important lesson about authority.
I think the nature of catholic schools being a diocese to diocese (or grouping of them) thing tends to create a lot of variety.
My school had similar teachers (this one sister and one priest aside) to any of the other local schools.
Also unlike the schools near me now ... it was basically open enrollment like any public school and the costs were on a sliding scale based on income. Many students (myself included) paid very little in tuition. The diocese picked up the tab for the rest.
Meanwhile the catholic schools where I live now are ultra exclusive and bonkers expensive. They like to hint at a very 'classical' education and a lot of discipline.
But at my school things were very much easy going and by the time you were a senior you effectively were taking mostly college classes from the local colleges, and coming and going from school as you pleased as you might at college. It was a great experience (although I proved to be a terrible college student... so maybe not as effective for me, but I wouldn't blame the school).
I'm thinking, this is as expected? There's selection bias: people will write about their experiences, if weird things happened. Otherwise, not much to write about.
