They are all curious, full-of-life, and in various ways eager to learn. Catholic School Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. Thus, the state exists to safeguard all human beings in the exercise of their rights and freedoms and to ensure that they can live in dignity.  It does not exist to acquire for itself arbitrary rights over human persons and families.  As we have seen, there is a role for the state in education.  But this role, following on from the principle of subsidiarity, facilitates rather than displaces the initiative of the family. What is the role of our schools within the greater patterning of our society and its evolution, and do our schools provide our children with the foundation they need in order to thrive? Obviously, more of their time is spent alone on the Internet, or socializing on Facebook and Twitter and so on.• In 2014, more than a quarter of college freshmen said that they did not identify with any specific religion — an all-time low.• According to a Higher Education Research Institute’s survey of 2009 college freshmen, almost 80 percent said being well-off financially was the reason they were attending college, the highest number of students responding in this manner since the poll began in 1966. “Developing a meaningful philosophy of life” which used to be the reason most students said they attended college, has dropped to its lowest reported level. As one of the early Jesuits told the King of Spain at the time: “The proper education of our youth will mean the transformation of the whole world.”This, I would argue, remains the great revelation of Ignatian pedagogy — that God engages each one of us as an educator par excellence, drawing us into a deeper and more profound experience of authentic life. Catholic education recognizes the importance of the effects of the environment on a child. Catholic schools, therefore, aspire to graduate students who will know that every person is made in God’s image and likeness and has value and that their education can help them contribute to the good of the larger community, not just themselves. Now, about half of college freshmen say they spend about 5 hours a week with friends. The annual National Catholic Schools Week is underway. The question I ask myself, to be blunt (and with a nod to The Who!) Later, during the 2015 Papal visit, Pope Francis showed the world exactly how he feels about Catholic education when he visited Our Lady Queen of Angels Elementary School in East Harlem, New York. How to help. I didn’t go to Catholic schools. "Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools.". The first part will discuss the nature of the philosophy of catholic school education. The Catholic School, # 80. A Jesuit University is also a mission of the Church, and should be a place that educates to the highest level for the purposes of engaging productively what the former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, called the “gritty realities” of social injustice, poverty, cultural misunderstanding, and fundamentalist intolerances of all kinds, both religious and secular.But giving our children a strong foundation needs to begin earlier than that, and this is where Catholic schools come in. is: are the “kids really all right?”I am a member of the Society of Jesus, a religious order founded by St. Ignatius — a Jesuit — and in the great tradition of Jesuit personal narratives, my own journey into education has been one of unexpected twists that looks like a series of accidents, but is also one of mystery and coherence. Catholic schools are as inclusive as any other type of school. Catholic education is important to me because I am able to practice my faith and get an individualized education that will help prepare me for college and for real life. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Lk 18:16) It was Ignatius’s greatest wish — like that of another famous Spaniard, Don Quixote — to be a knight and a soldier, and to perform great acts of chivalry. Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., President of Fairfield University, An address on the occasion of the Archbishop of Hartford’s St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, March 17, 2016. The relationship between Catholic education and the state has taken a variety of forms in different countries and at different times in history.  However, the "signs of the times" in which we need to think about the application of Catholic social teaching to public policy in education include as perhaps their most prominent feature a major decline in religious practice and a general indifference towards religion, especially in the upper echelons of Western political systems.  At the same time, however, there has been a greater recognition in many countries that, for both practical reasons and reasons of principle, parents should have greater autonomy when choosing schools.  Expanding opportunities to choose schools, however, have often been accompanied by more extensive regulation of schools. Clearly too, the mission of Catholic schools creates a climate that has a positive impact on student achievement and wellbeing. Catholic education was built upon the Church’s mission to encourage students to live the gospel, evangelize, and encourage them to live an authentic life that will lead them to heaven. They offer the pursuit of knowledge in an environment of faith, love and values. That is double the average tenure of a University President these days! That was another moment of discernment for me. If you’ve appreciated, Christian Perspectives on the Financial Crash, Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy, CHRISTIAAN ALTING VON GEUSAU & PHILIP BOOTH. What is really being proposed by secularist movements is that the pupil should replace whatever god he believes in with the secular god. Catholic schools are welcoming to all who seek to share their life and wish to entrust their children’s future to Catholic schools because of their explicit goals and acknowledged educational quality. But I also think that we have to acknowledge that the cultural conditions at the moment mean that many of our young people come to University needing a great deal of assistance from us.Here are few thoughts to consider:• According to a recent major study by UCLA involving 227 colleges and universities, more than half of college students say they have experienced “overwhelming anxiety” in the past year. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1977. "The Purpose of Catholic Education and the Role of the State." Christ-centred. School officials said that it was an inspiring time for the students, but it surely was inspiring for Catholic educators and students throughout the nation, especially with a speech like this: Sr Mary Bernard Father OSF speaks about the importance of Catholic education on 14 September 2019 at the Knock Conferences. Catholic educational institutions should have three goals in order to be able to fulfil their primary mission to allow students to "encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth" (Pope Benedict XVI). A Catholic education means giving a student the opportunity to learn about the Holy Scriptures. I thank you for your support for Catholic schools.Thank you for listening! Catholic education has always been at the heart of the Catholic mission. It is to those characteristics that I now turn. They are successful precisely because by their mission and foundation they are dedicated to human flourishing, and they hold as a promise in every dimension of their activities the conviction that each human life has a unique destiny in the eyes of God. posted 17 March, 2016by fairfieldthinkspace, This is the official Tumblr account of Fairfield University, The Importance of Catholic Education Today. Therefore, Religious Education in the Diocese of Cairns seeks to promote knowledge, deep understanding and skills about the Catholic and broader Christian tradition within the broader evangelising mission of the Church (Strategic Renewal Framework for Catholic Schooling, Archdiocese of Brisbane, 2012 – 2016). Catholic schools and parents share “in the central mission of the Church, which is to proclaim Jesus and His Gospel in the world today and, in so doing, hand on our faith to our children” (Bishop Frederick Henry, Diocese of Calgary - Education Liaison, Alberta Conference of Catholic Bishops). Christ as a model – The goal of a Catholic education is to help children mature into Christ-like people. We know that math scores are higher. I was certainly passionate about my area of study, history, and I thought I was suited to a life of study and scholarship and so I also wanted to pursue that. And it was while he was recovering from his wounds that Ignatius had his conversion. Philip Booth is Editorial and Programme Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London.  He also serves as Professor of Insurance and Risk Management at Cass Business School, City University and has been a Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.  He was a Catholic school governor for 20 years.  Booth has worked on a number of projects developing insurance and finance education in Central and Eastern Europe.  His edited and co-authored books include Christian Perspectives on the Financial Crash, Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy, The Road to Economic Freedom (a compilation of the work of a number of Nobel Prize Winners in Economics) and Investment Mathematics.  Booth is Deputy Editor of Economic Affairs. But at the same time I became aware of a desire to be fully taken up in a great project, a project bigger than my own desires and ambitions — and I felt that perhaps the Society of Jesus would be a good fit for me. It is at this point that the primary importance of what we would call "virtue-oriented" formation becomes visible.  Catholic schools should let the educational endeavor be guided by a constant promotion of the virtues, especially the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.  No matter how strong the faith of a person might be, without a certain degree of practice in the virtues, it will be hard not to be led exclusively by the emotions and impressions that constantly enter our minds. The Importance of Catholic Education Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School. Then in 1547, the town leaders of Messina in Sicily asked Ignatius if he would found a school there to educate their young men — and St. Ignatius after some thought, agreed to found and staff a school.That is how Jesuit education began, over 450-years ago. While the latter part will focus on its application to the 21st first century, to the world and its education … This year, during Catholic Schools Week, the Office of Schools hosted an essay contest to hear from students how their lives have been impacted by attending a Catholic school. “Catholic education sees the quality of education as linked to the Christian vision of man and of the world, which it receives from the faith. They benefit our families, our parishes, and our society. What a pleasure and an honor it is to have been asked to speak with you all today on a subject for which we all share a great passion and commitment — the advancement of Catholic schools and education.My own journey through Catholic education has led me into higher education and to Fairfield University — a Jesuit University of about 4000 undergraduates and 1500 graduate students in Fairfield, Connecticut where I am privileged to serve as President. It is not reduced to a specific time or to a particular activity: it is present in the entire educational mission of the school or university, in such a way that the student acquires a true synthesis of faith, culture and life,” he said. How should Catholic social teaching approach the question of public policy in education?  As in other areas of Catholic teaching on matters to do with political economy, there is no "correct" Catholic answer to the question, "To what extent should the state be involved with education? In order for Christians to be able to effectively promote the true, the good and the beautiful, there is the vital need for coherence in word and deed.  Pope Paul VI brought this strikingly to the point when he observed that "(M)odern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 1975).  Young people are especially sensitive to this for they are shaped more by the concrete experiences in their lives, and thus the lived example of their teachers, than by the best of pedagogical techniques.  Any form of Catholic education will ultimately fail when the student is confronted with the word being spoken not conforming to the life being lived. Sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association, schools observe the week with Masses, open houses, and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. So I suppose the overarching question for me is: “What do young people need in terms of their early schooling and formation in order to be truly creative, compassionate, joyful, civilized, and productive members of society? A good Catholic education has … Excerpted from Catholic Education in the West:  Roots, Reality and Revival (2013) by Christiaan Alting von Geusau and Philip Booth, the latest volume in Acton's Christian Social Thought Series. Given that freedom in education is an extension of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion more generally, it is important to note that the Catholic Church is not calling for privileges for Catholic parents and children.  In many traditionally Catholic countries (though also in the UK) systems of Catholic education have become intertwined with the provision of free state education more generally.  This means that parents can choose a Catholic education that is funded by government on the same basis as secular education.  However, this freedom is not necessarily available to all parents.  Furthermore, Catholic parents can be limited in their choice of schools to those the state wishes to authorise (with places and the building of new schools often being severely limited).  The Catholic Church, in the authentic promotion of her teaching, does not wish to defend such arrangements as privileges.  The Church believes that freedom in education should be available to all parents.  It is a fundamental human right and should not merely be a special arrangement for Catholics in countries where Catholics are sufficiently numerous. 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