Why Catholic Education
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An excerpt from:
Catholic Schools As Models - by Timothy Walch
In a 1993 study, Catholic Schools and the Common Good,
three social scientists outlined the successful hallmarks of
Catholic education (...).
Foremost among the qualities of parish-based education is
decentralization. For the most part,
parish schools are administered at the local level. Funding for the
schools comes from the community and teachers are hired by
principals without interference from school superintendents or other
educational bureaucrats. Parents have a greater involvement and
effectiveness in the education process because they are working
single institutions in their own neighborhoods rather than a
centralized bureaucracy. A second quality related to the first is
the fact that parents, students, and faculty share a broad set of
beliefs that give each school a moral purpose. Shared values are
possible if parents, students, and faculty care about education.
Another hallmark of parochial schools worthy of emulation is
size. The small size of most parish
schools promotes interaction between students, parents, and staff.
Because teachers serve in many different roles during the school day
(disciplinarians, counselors, and friends as well as specialists in
one or more academic disciplines) they become mentors and role
models. The small size of most parish schools insures that parents
and teachers know one another and their children well.
Finally, parish schools place a special
emphasis on academics. Small size and limited resources
necessarily requires administrators to concentrate on basics. The
result is a student body well grounded in the mathematical and
literary skills so necessary for success at future educational
levels. Large schools with cafeteria-style curricula may very well
meet short-term demands for relevant instruction, but there is
little evidence that courses in industrial management and family
living are as valuable as literacy and mathematical skills in a
constantly changing society.
The parents of the children who are educated in these schools
will determine the future of Catholic parochial education in the
United States. More than two centuries ago, the parents and pastor
of St. Mary's Parish in Philadelphia established the first American
parochial school. As long as there are parents and pastors
interested in parochial education, these schools will survive. Even
though American Catholic parochial education is unlikely to attain
the position of influence it had in the mid-twentieth century,
parish schools will remain important education laboratories for some
time to come.
Bibliography
Buetow, Harold A. 1988. The Catholic School: Its Roots,
Identity, and Future. New York: Crossroad.
Bryk, Anthony S.; Lee, Valerie E.; and Holland, Peter B. 1993.
Catholic Schools and the Common Good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Dolan, Jay P. 1985. The American Catholic Experience: From
Colonial Times to the Present. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Dolan, Jay P., et al. 1989. Transforming Parish Ministry: The
Changing Roles of Catholic Clergy, Laity, and Women Religious.
New York: Crossroad.
Perko, Michael F., ed. 1988. Enlightening the Next Generation:
Catholics and their Schools, 1830 - 1980. New York: Garland.
Walch, Timothy. 1996. Parish School: American Catholic
Parochial Education from Colonial Times to the Present. New
York: Crossroad.
Youniss, James; Convey, John; and McLellan, Jeffrey, eds. 2000.
The Catholic Character of Catholic Schools. Notre Dame, IN:
University of Notre Dame Press.
Youniss, James, and Convey, John, eds. 2000. Catholic Schools
at the Crossroads. New York: Teachers College Press.
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