All through college, I hear people saying “I miss high school,” or even worse, asking me if I miss high school. My response will forever be - a big fat NO! Why would I miss high school when college is so much better? I am surrounded by more mature, open-minded people, not people who judged my every action. While I am not being critical of any particular religion, or type of education, my experience in a Christian high school was far from perfect, and here’s why:
1. I was taught that dressing like a woman was bad.
All throughout high school, we had this silly rule that girls could only wear dresses to the Prom. Other than that one event, we were scolded for wearing them. This subconsciously taught me that dressing like a woman was bad. Dresses distracted guys, and why would we want that?
2. They cared more about the color of my socks then what I was learning.
My senior year, I can’t even count how many detentions I had because my socks were not white, black, or navy. I remember hearing more about how my socks were the wrong color, then learning about any other subject in school. It was to the point that if I was not wearing appropriate socks it ruined the educational part of my school day.
3. Yoga Pants were sent from the devil.
My senior year we were fortunate enough to travel to Europe for our senior trip, we travelled to several countries. However, we were told SPECIFICALLY not to bring yoga pants, not to wear yoga pants, to not even say the cursed words.……yoga pants. I like many other girls although sad, did agree not to bring them. One day, on a beautiful day while in Luxemburg, I decided to wear sweatpants. The Principal’s wife came over and exclaimed very loudly that yoga pants were not allowed! I agreed and told her I was wearing sweatpants. She then said, “Well they look like yoga pants on you!” Hearing this, even as a senior in high school, still hurt. All that over yoga pants that I wasn’t even wearing.
4. It turned me off to religion entirely.
This is the sad one, going to a Christian School completely turned me off to any God that may or may not be out there. Religion was shoved down my throat like cauliflower. We had chapels, a mandatory religion class every year, prayer before every class or event, and we had religion integrated into every course in one way or another. I know, I went to a Christian school, shouldn’t I expect to be surrounded by God, and religion? The way that I was taught about anything was through a “Christian lens” and the whole process turned me off to God, which is really sad.
5. It keeps you in a “Christian Bubble” and you get a culture shock when you leave and enter the ‘real world’.
I remember when I went off to college how happy I was to no longer feel judged for my decisions. However, I also remember thinking how some of my fellow classmates would not make it in a public college. In public colleges, you are surrounded by everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Everything from drugs and partying to people that just live a completely different life than what those in a “Christian bubble,” are accustomed to.
6. Money seemed to be more valued than God.
Our slogan was “Where Christ is King,” yeah right - more like “Where Money is King.” If your family was a big donor, you could get away with pretty much anything. Getting caught doing drugs, or going to a party with underage drinking, or even sending naked pictures around the school. If your parents gave the school money, or you were a lead in all the school plays (which brought in tons of money) you could have done anything. For a school who values God, they value money a whole lot more.
My experience in this high school wasn’t all bad. I made some great friends, and I made some great memories. These are just reasons why I would never recommend this school to anyone, and why I would never send my future kids there. Ultimately it is your decision where you go to high school, but if you did go to a private Christian high school, I hope your experience was better than mine.
