The Four Ingredients of Catholic Education
In the last post, we explored the four components of what makes an education “Classical.” As a follow-up, I thought it would be fitting to explore the idea of what it means for an education to be “Catholic.” Similar to the last article, we will break the topic down into four “essential ingredients.” Given that the Christmas Season is still recent in our memories, I will also include a few references to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol that I believe will help illustrate some of the points.
The first ingredient of Catholic Education is that the student must be viewed as being made in the image and likeness of God. This image and likeness is the source of our profound Human Dignity, which is applicable to all people. This dignity demands that each student receives an education that recognizes he has an immortal soul and an eternal destiny. The recognition of this eternal destiny is what gives weight and meaning to our lives, our moral choices, and consequently our education. To illustrate this point, think about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. If one removes the element of Scrooge having an immortal soul from that novel, then the vision of Jacob Marley’s ghost, which begins Ebeneazer’s moral conversion, may as well have been “a bit of undigested beef” and nothing more. Eliminate the supernatural from A Christmas Carol and you are left with a story that would be vapid with no purpose. The same can be said for education.
The second ingredient of Catholic Education rationally follows from the first; a Catholic Education must lead to an encounter with Jesus Christ. There are three areas where this encounter must happen. First, is in the community, which should be animated by a spirit of Charity that Jesus preached in the Gospel. The participation of parents, students, and teachers in the sharing of charity for one other is essential for this to be realized. The second area of encounter is in study. Theology classes are the backbone of the curriculum for the school. Each subject, from English to the empirical sciences, is respected as its own field. At the same time, students learn that God is the author of all Truth and because all Truth has the same source, students learn to see the underlying unity across the whole curriculum. Faith, Reason, and Science, are learned as co-harmonious subjects. This challenges students to think critically about issues and ultimately delve deeper into their studies. The third and most profound way in which students encounter Jesus is through the celebration of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, which is a topic worth exploring in an article for another time.
The third ingredient of the Catholic School is that teachers are called to not simply careers, but to spiritual vocations as well. To live out this vocation, the Catholic Church states that teachers should have three qualities. First, they should be educated in both secular and religious knowledge. Knowledge of theology should not be limited to the religion teacher, and science class cannot be taught without the proper education and training in that field. Second, teachers must have developed teaching skills that produce inspired learning in their classrooms. Third, through their instruction and in the conduct of their lives, the teachers are called to model the Christian values which the school adheres to. Living the values of the Christian Faith allows teachers to serve their students as powerful witnesses.
The final ingredient of what makes a school “Catholic” is its goal. In recognizing that students have an eternal destiny, the goal is primarily to assist them on their journeys toward Heaven. A secondary goal is to provide them with the necessary skills to live a happy life. A Catholic school that boasts winning sports programs and financially successful alumni means nothing in the end if the graduates share Jacob Marley’s fate of being wrapped up in chains. Success in sports, academics, and work are all good products of a Catholic school, because it means the school has instilled a desire for pursuing excellence in its students. Ebeneazer Scrooge, however, was an excellent businessman traveling the “highway to Hell.” If the school has not oriented its students on the path towards heaven, then the school has failed in its primary mission.
The Catholic School is not limited to Catholic students only. All children are recognized as being made in the image and likeness of God, and have the full dignity that accompanies it. If financial restraints are a concern, we work very diligently to raise scholarships so that our education can be accessible to all. Having said that, you are invited to our Open House February 3rd, which will run from 6-8 pm. I invite you to come learn more about Catholic and Classical Education, and how it is one of the greatest gifts you could give to your children or grandchildren.