The following, which appeared September 7 on the First Things blog site, was written by Andrew Seeley, tutor at Thomas Aquinas College, and Elizabeth Ryan Sullivan, director of communication for St. John Bosco Schools in East Rochester, NY.
In a bid to save Catholic education, major Catholic archdioceses are closing many schools and turning others over to the control of regional boards. This sad necessity has become an occasion for soul-searching within the Catholic educational bureaucracy…. At the cutting edge of the effort to restore Catholic education are a number of schools, private and even diocesan, that are finding growth and enthusiasm in the rediscovery of a rigorous, classical liberal arts curriculum.
This movement first emerged among Catholic homeschoolers in the 1970s and 1980s, then spread to small independent schools in the early 1990s. Today, around 100,000 Catholic students are homeschooled, and thousands more are enrolled in independent Catholic schools outside of the diocesan system….
The last 15 years have seen an explosion of classical schools and homeschooling organizations among non-Catholic Christians. The Association of Classical and Christian Schools has 229 members, Classical Conversations claims to help 37,000 homeschoolers and the Circe Institute offers an impressive array of training services and products.
Although not yet so well organized, many independent Catholic schools also have embraced the classical approach. At first schools like the Lyceum Academy in Cleveland, Ohio and St. Augustine Academy in Ventura, California, were considered outsiders and even threats to the Catholic educational establishment.
But the evident successes of these schools in forming strong Catholic academic communities with students knowledgeable about their faith, their Church, and Christian civilization have led pastors, bishops, and superintendents to open their arms toward these schools. In the diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, [Bishop] Robert Morlino has lent his support to the independent St. Ambrose Academy to such an extent that he teaches there on a regular basis.
In 2009, St. Jerome’s parish school in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., faced dropping enrollment and major debt that forced a diocesan review process. A group of parishioners approached Pastor James Stack with the idea of a classical curriculum, a bold move for an urban, socioeconomically and ethnically diverse school.
Father Stack and Principal Mary Pat Donoghue embraced the idea, and a volunteer curriculum team of educators, theologians, and philosophers hammered out the 120-page educational plan for the pre-K-8 school. The superintendent supported the initiative, and St. Jerome’s today has gained national attention for its early successes. Some classes now have waiting lists.
After the first year with the new approach, math and reading scores jumped. Disproving the notion that a classical curriculum is elitist, many students who previously struggled found motivation and success through the rich content and lively discussions that required them to think deeply….
To read the original posting, click here.
What strikes me is the mention of all sorts of independent schools dissociated from the diocesan system so as to teach actual Catholicism. That seems to be pretty much what the monastic system did in ages past … ie, save Catholicism from the diocesan educational machines. Dioceses seem to be good with social programs but not so good with spiritual feeding. In past times the monastics and friars stepped forward to defend Catholicism against the seducible bishops; today it seems that the laity has stepped into this role … but the problem is that the laity needs holy bishops. Where are they?
My parents and grandmother taught me by bringing me up as a ‘practicing’ catholic ,no need for a catholic school.,just good parents..
I have 2 children 5 grandchildren and none lapsed’ yet’ thank God.
But then what do we mean by ‘lapsed’.
I prefer to worship in a Monastery!
I think this is a step in the right direction. They use materials that are not Catholic and some of them are not accurate. Perhaps with some years of teaching experience and research they will be able to develop Catholic materials that will be far superior to what is currently available. Classical education is very challenging and it really needs to include science because this is the area where atheism has made tremendous inroads into both private and public education.
True science is not atheistic. The greatest scientist were Catholics!
Yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Retired Engineering Marketing Manager
k, you’re using a huge house type paintbrush to paint by the dots on a small canvas.
JLS, their curricula and book lists are online.
k, I can take any material and morph it into a Catholic instructional. Boast? Well, yes, the way I phrased it; but, the reason I can do this is because of the life of Christ, body, soul, mind and heart, that melds with His faithful. Don’t get me wrong, though; I’m not saying that I can or have ever instructed anyone on any topic at all … that would be up to them?
A great classical education is fun, enriching, and teaches students to think logically and for themselves, which most students enjoy, rather than requiring them merely to memorize and regurgitate endless rules and facts, which many learners find boring. While the above condensed version of the original article is intriguing, I recommend clicking on the blue “click here” link to the original version for a richly fleshed out exploration of this fascinating topic.
Maryanne Leonard, thank you for that recommendation. It really is good to see the whole article. I also notice that the article is forcused on recently formed classical schools and does not mention Kolbe Academy which is Ignatian and classical and Catholic. It has been around for 30 years. We used some of their materials when we homeschooled.
The Padre Pio Academy in Garden Grove, CA is turning out top knotch graduates who excell in our so downgraded Universities. These graduates of Padre Pio Academy are reporting how easy they find College curriculums when compared to their struggling classmates. They actually don’t have to take dumb bell English, or dumbell math. They start out with College English and some start out with real Calculus. They even excell in, get this, sports!
But, oh! they are attached to that horrible Our Lady Help of Christians with those priests who felt that the Sacrifice of the Mass was more important than their official faculties and their so called benefits. Horrible men these priests who feel the Mass is so important, they might even be put in the same place as St. Padre Pio who stated “the world could more easily exists without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”! St. Padre Pio only celebrated the Novus Ordo ONCE, and then he asked and was immediately granted from the Holy Father an Indult to say the Mass of St. Pius V again!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
It’s nice to read this. Truly nice that Bishop Morlino is involved and helping. Sounds like a good role model.
How about St. Joseph’s Academy in San Marcos. Faithful school!