[As a disclaimer, I work in a Catholic high school so all of what I say can arguably be seen as biased opinion or marketing strategy. While the former may hold merit, the latter does not. True, my opinions have been shaped by my work at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, New Hampshire. And, true, my feelings about Catholic education have been formed by my role as parent and volunteer at Saint Mary Academy elementary school in the same said town. These schools have partnered with me in raising my children and I owe everything to the people who get paid little, but who love much. But my overall opinion is based on fact, knowledge, experience and lived truth.]
When I was a child, my mother gave me a small booklet of prayers to read during Mass. As the youngest of five children growing up in the 70s, I wasn’t allowed to have crayons, toys or Cheerios. The booklet was to be my only alternative source of “entertainment” if I became restless. I guess I must have been restless a lot because I learned every prayer in that booklet and even made up some of my own.
While I don’t remember a great deal about being a very young Catholic, I do remember a couple of things- my father’s fingers tapping in time to the hymns, my mother’s lovely singing voice, our handsome priest with the funny name: “Mon-see-nyore”. I also remember the exercises- the standing and kneeling, the standing and kneeling, the standing and kneeling. Every Catholic knows (and I learned early on) that Mass demands a certain patience and a certain agility.
It was during the many kneeling moments that I would peek under the pew ahead of me. Amidst the crumbs and dust, I noticed the many different shoes. Gentlemen’s loafers, lady’s high heels, and sneakers- lots and lots of sneakers. The sneakers, of course, belonged to the children in the families- the toddlers, the elementary children, the teenagers. The youth of our church (the youth of our Church) was revealed to me in mass numbers of Nike, Adidas, and Converse low-tops.
I’m not sure when I stopped peering underneath the pew but I did- until recently. And when I thought to do so, I didn’t see any sneakers. Not any.
Where have all the sneakers gone?
Some Sunday morning musings: secularism is strong, but Christianity is stronger. This I know to be true. Admittedly, however, the pull of iPods, iPads, iPhones seems to be more powerful than any Tesla magnet. The fangs of social media serpentine toward younger and younger children in the hopes of poisoning them with insidious messages of false validation. The joy and mystery and wonder and power of the Catholic faith (of Christianity) is getting lost on eyes and ears that seek affirmation from strangers, indicated by clicks and shares. It is heartbreaking to watch the innocent being stripped of their childhood by a handheld device that has no interest in the holder’s personal integrity, character development, moral formation.
Pope Francis inspired when he said, “Our generation will show that it can rise to the promise found in each young person when we know how to give them space. This means that we have to create the material and spiritual conditions for their full development; to give them a solid basis on which to build their lives; to guarantee their safety and their education to be everything they can be.“
How do we best create these “material and spiritual” conditions?
By allowing our children to access Catholic Education.
Never before has a young generation needed Catholic education more than it does now. Never before have adolescents needed Catholic education as their formative guide. And never before have parents needed Catholic education as their partner in child-rearing. Gone are the days of habit-wearing nuns and collared clergymen as classroom educators; the laity now makes up 97.4 percent of professionals, which includes teachers and administrators, according to the 2016-17 Annual Statistical Report from the National Catholic Educational Association. (i) They may not be cloaked in traditional (and albeit slightly formidable) attire but these lay members are doing a remarkable job.
Yes, Catholic schools differ by diocese and district but all are characterized by Gospel-based virtues. What makes a Catholic school different from all other schools- private or public- is its constant attention to the needs of each single student. Joe, Sam and Elizabeth. Emma, William and Sean. Each one uniquely special, each one known and recognized by his/her teachers.
In a day and age where children and adolescents suffer from anxiety, undue stress and self-doubt, the culture of a school has become even more important. When that culture is one of trust, compassion and mercy, a young person feels safe- safe to be him/herself, safe to follow an untapped interest, safe to voice an unpopular opinion. From this environment, contented adults are formed. How do I know this? Because I see it every day in action. I live it in real time. I am a bystander and witness to a living Christian mission.
Catholic education provides more than just superior academics. In a social world of increasing tumult, Catholic schools offer children a place of balance and a positive self-conception. Today, young people are tempted to scale their beauty against an unattainable perfection, one mirrored to them in airbrushed models on magazine covers. They’re dared to judge their human value on the number of “likes” reflected on their social media accounts. They meet their peers online, communicate feelings with emoticons, and dialogue with their thumbs. Catholic education doesn’t just help young people navigate through unparalleled adolescent challenges; it prepares them for a future not yet designed in this media-centric technological web of traps.
One of the prevailing untrue myths is that Catholic education is not affordable. It is, it is, it is! Catholic schools go to great lengths to open their doors to all. But without an inquiry, there can be no conversation. This is one of those real instances where an earnest dialogue can lead to a lifelong positive outcome. I’ve seen it over and over again- when an individual thinks a goal is not attainable, s/he often does not try to run towards it. Better to believe and receive than to deny and never try. For when the final school bell rings, as it will one day do, I’d like to think that children of all ages will be greeted by the Omniscient Headmaster- a brown-eyed Teacher in leather sandals- who only cares if the end-of-term report card demonstrates high marks in kindness, compassion and Christian living.
(i) 2016 Study by the National Catholic Education Association as quoted in the Catholic Schools Fact Sheet, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2017. Web.
