Category: Spirituality and Catholic Life. In Essex, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School students are learning everything from leadership to the importance of volunteer work. “It’s a lot of hard work. [and] the ability to make judgments about what is true and what is false." Educators, administrators, parents, and bishops guide the school to make choices that promote "overcoming individualistic self-promotion, solidarity instead of competition, assisting the weak instead of marginalization, responsible participation instead of indifference.". Emerson said several students also came together to paint and do outside maintenance at the school. Discovery and awareness of truth leads man to the discovery of Truth itself. The Catholic philosophy of education has always paid special attention to the quality of interpersonal relations in the school community, especially those between teachers and students. You think you’re just going to color with the kids, but they have a lot of needs.”. Catholic teachers are to cultivate in themselves and develop in others a passion for truth that defeats moral and cultural relativism. Dirty water is very bad for our bay’s aquatic creatures.”. Moreover, they are measurable benchmarks, forming the backbone and inspiring the mission of every Catholic school. The Ten Commandments also form a basis for a spiritually healthy society and are included in … What steps are you taking to improve your effectiveness? A Catholic Education The Catholic schools of the Diocese of Sioux Falls have a longstanding and well-deserved reputation for academic excellence. It would serve society well if the following seven moral values were taught to students in schools. Regis Catholic Schools is dedicated to educating students of all faiths in a Catholic, Christ-centered environment. Faith and culture are intimately related, and students should be led, in ways suitable to the level of their intellectual development, to grasp the importance of this relationship. The gospel of Jesus Christ and his very person are to inspire and guide the Catholic school in every dimension of its life and activity – its philosophy of education, its curriculum, its community life, its selection of teachers, and even its physical environment. Now, more than in the past, teachers and administrators must often encourage parental participation in the school's mission and life. . All instruction, therefore, must be authentically Catholic in content and methodology across the entire program of studies. What Catholic Values means to us: College-bound peers – The vast majority, approximately 95% of Catholic school graduates, pursue higher education. They should learn to be critical and evaluative. We value and promote positive, healthy relationships and school culture. It is a concept which includes a defense of human rights, but also attributes to the human person the dignity of a child of God. Committed to the development of the whole person, they hand on Christian values and a shared Irish culture to the next generation. A school's physical environment is also an integral element that embodies the genuine community values of the Catholic tradition. The bishop's particular responsibilities include ensuring that teachers are sound in their doctrine and outstanding in their integrity of life. The Holy See's documents insist that, in order to be worthy of its name, a Catholic school must be founded on Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. Please join us this … This conviction about the nature of truth is too important for Catholics to be confused about. This goes beyond the personal relationships of those involved. All these signs embody the community ethos of Catholicism. In the words of a recent Vatican document: Consecrated persons are thus leaven that is able to create relations of increasingly deep communion that are themselves educational. Such a partnership is directed not just toward dealing with academic problems but also toward planning and evaluating the effectiveness of the school's mission. We promote these values by our words and deeds, and Catholic doctrine and practice therefore permeates every aspect of the school’s activity.Our school which seeks to live out the values of Jesus Christ. This concern ensures that the student is seen as a person whose intellectual growth is harmonized with spiritual, religious, emotional, and social growth. This is how the Church evangelizes. Vatican documents speak of an education that responds to all the needs of the human person: The integral formation of the human person, which is the purpose of education, includes the development of all the human faculties of the students, together with preparation for professional life, formation of ethical and social awareness, becoming aware of the transcendental, and religious education. Statement on the Removal of the Priestly Faculties of Father Justin Ross, OFM Conv. 3 - Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools, An Anthology of Catholic Teaching on Education. In measured terms, the Congregation's document Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith describes the student-teaching relationship: A personal relationship is always a dialogue rather than a monologue, and the teacher must be convinced that the enrichment in the relationship is mutual. The Church sees education as a process that, in light of man's transcendent destiny, forms the whole child and seeks to fix his or her eyes on heaven. Finally, it proposes Christ, Incarnate Son of God and perfect Man, as both model and means; to imitate him is, for all men and women, the inexhaustible source of personal and communal perfection. Theirs is a supernatural calling and not simply the exercise of a profession. Their communion fosters appreciation of the various charisms and vocations that build up a genuine school community and strengthen scholastic solidarity. This means that educators should develop a willingness to collaborate among themselves. Catholic schools have been entrusted with an "awesome responsibility" to teach Gospel values that can help students to recognize, reject and work against racism and other forms of discrimination, Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory told Catholic educators Oct. 20. It is important that the bishop be involved in Catholic schools not only by exercising veto power – whether over texts, curricula, or teachers – but also by taking an active role in fostering the specifically Catholic ethos of schools under his jurisdiction. Such a position would foster the misunderstanding that faith and life can be divorced, that religion is a merely private affair without doctrinal content or moral obligations. At Catholic schools, you have an identity.”. If you’ve appreciated, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, The Current Situation of America's Catholic Schools, The Shepherd and the Rock: Origins, Development, and Mission of the Papacy. Catholic theology teaches that grace builds on nature. While Catholic schools conform to government-mandated curricula, they implement their programs with an overall religious orientation. Nor is it for "clients" and "consumers" in a competitive marketplace that values academic achievement. be the object of your special attention as shepherds of the People of God." Our School is a place where each child believes in their own potential, in an environment where they can succeed and achieve. In particular, pastors should set in place "specific programs of formation" that will enable the laity to take on responsibilities for teaching in Catholic schools. Unfortunately, far too many in government, business, the media, and even the educational establishment perceive education to be merely an instrument for the acquisition of information that will improve the chances of worldly success and a more comfortable standard of living. The more profound foundation for such trust is shared adherence to the person of Jesus Christ. A primary way of helping Catholic students become more committed to their faith is by providing solid religious instruction. If Catholic educators, parents, and others who dedicate themselves to this apostolate fail to keep in mind a high supernatural vision, all their talk about Catholic schools will be no more than "a gong booming or a cymbal clashing" (1 Cor. How many principals will stay after school and help you with your homework and know every kids name? Students and their parents make the choice of attending a Catholic school, and by doing so, imply a commitment to Catholic values. Shortly after his election, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the kind of witness required of all teachers of the faith, including those in Catholic schools: The central figure in the work of educating . Schools form students within their own culture, teaching them an appreciation of its positive elements and fostering a more profound integration of the gospel in their particular situation. The code, which was posted in the school in 2008, includes terms such as responsibility, hard work, self-respect, tolerance, forgiveness and honesty. I believe that a school should be a place where children are encouraged to practice and model the life of Jesus and continue God’s Reign through the values of equity, respect, tolerance and forgiveness. Imbued with a Catholic Worldview throughout its Curriculum. In most cases, if you love someone, they will love you back. Realizing that a portion of my audience was made up of teachers who do not teach religion class, I focused on ways that teachers in any subject area can reinforce Catholic identity in their learning environment in the Catholic school. Archbishop Miller is a specialist on the papacy and modern papal teaching, he has published seven books and more than 100 articles, scholarly, popular and journalistic. To be integral or complete, Catholic schooling must be constantly inspired and guided by the gospel. chap. Elementary schools "should try to create a community school climate that reproduces, as far as possible, the warm and intimate atmosphere of family life. What steps is it taking to foster its catholicity? It is especially important that this "school-home" be immediately recognizable as Catholic: From the first moment that a student sets foot in a Catholic school, he or she ought to have the impression of entering a new environment, one illumined by the light of faith, and having its own unique characteristics. The specific purpose of a Catholic education is the formation of boys and girls who will be good citizens of this world, loving God and neighbor and enriching society with the leaven of the gospel, and who will also be citizens of the world to come, thus fulfilling their destiny to become saints. Emphasis on the supernatural destiny of students brings with it a profound appreciation of the need to perfect children in all their dimensions as images of God (cf. Repeatedly the Holy See's documents emphasize the need for an educational philosophy built on a correct understanding of who the human person is. The Congregation for Catholic Education has written that "the Catholic school tries to create within its walls a climate in which the pupil's faith will gradually mature and enable him to assume the responsibility placed on him by Baptism.". I would like to conclude this essay with a suggestion that might help to strengthen the Catholic identity of America's elementary and secondary schools. It strives to develop virtue "by the integration of culture with faith and of faith with living." Even though Catholic identity and faith formation play a critical role in our Catholic schools, nearly 15 percent of children who attend our schools are from non-Catholic families. Catholic educators recognize that the bishop's pastoral leadership is pivotal in supporting the establishment and ensuring the catholicity of the schools in his pastoral care. "Our schools are the privileged places to learn the Gospel. © 2020 ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE, ALL RIGHT RESERVED, Charity In Truth: The Blog of Archbishop William E. Lori, The Joy of Believing: A Practical Guide To The Catholic Faith, 2020 School Policy Manual (Updated 10-19-20), Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Fourth Sunday of Advent. . © 1996-2019 Catholic Education Resource Center | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Sitemap, CERC is an entirely reader-supported web site and non-profit charity. Still, we must always take special care to avoid the error that a Catholic school's distinctiveness rests solely on the shoulders of its religious-education program. We promote these values by our words and deeds, and Catholic doctrine and practice therefore permeates every aspect of the school's activity. . "The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only by word but also by every gesture of their behavior.". This includes an adequate physical plant and adequate equipment. This witness becomes a proper reference point to the extent that the person can account for the hope that nourishes his life [cf. How does a Catholic school know whether it is achieving its specific mission? ", Knowledge and understanding are far more than the accumulation of information. These might or might not be marked by warmth and friendship, depending on the concrete situation. But while a solid curriculum and the latest technology are vital, Catholic schools offer something else essential to a child’s foundation – timeless lessons on values, morals and the importance of giving back. Educators and ecclesial authorities should cooperate closely in fostering a school's catholicity. It calls for the fullest development of all that is human, because we have been made masters of the world by its Creator. When students and their families come together with this common moral ground, they can build a beautifully nourishing community. Leonard Franchi, Ed. Truth. (The Catholic School, 35) This is done in a community imbued with high expectations emphasizing personal responsibility and the dignity of each person with Christ as the model. Like the marks of the Church proclaimed in the Creed – one, holy, catholic, and apostolic – so, too, does the Holy See identify the principal features of a school as Catholic: a Catholic school should be inspired by a supernatural vision, founded on Christian anthropology, animated by communion and community, imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum, and sustained by gospel witness. Teachers, administrators, bishops, parents have many reasons to pursue a Catholic school ''... 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