Nature and Purpose of Catholic Schools - Essay Example

?Nature and Purpose of Catholic Schools Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXXXXX of XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX Subject Code: XXXXXXX Date of Submission: XX – XX – 2012 Introduction: Catholic Education system has been a part of the cultures for several decades. Religion has always proven to have a role in the overall education system. Like the marks of the Church, Catholic schools also have five main marks that differentiate them. These include “being inspired by supernatural vision, founded on Christian anthropology, animated by communion and community, imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum, and sustained by gospel witness” (Miller, 2006). Catholic schools have been developed with a different aim and have been able to provide excellent education for several decades. The main aim of this paper is to discuss the nature and purpose of Catholic education as per the documents published by the Catholic Church. In order to gain a clear perspective of the nature and the purpose of Catholic Education, a brief background and history has been discussed. Following this, a detailed discussion of nature and purpose has been presented. History of Catholic Education: Catholic schools are ‘Permeated by Faith’. In 1823, the Benevolent Irish Society opened up a school in St John’s to help poor people as a form of charity. This school was originally known as Orphan Asylum School, and went on to be used by Roman Catholics and Bishop Anthony Fleming. One of the major concerns then was the non-support from the Government to provide any form of financial support to the school (From Slate to Chalk, n.d.). Of great concern to Bishop Fleming was the government’s refusal to help the Orphan Asylum financially, despite the fact that it was the islands largest school and other denominational schools were receiving government support (From Slate to Chalk, n.d.). The year 1836 saw the introduction of ‘The Act for the Encouragement of Education’, passed by the Newfoundland House of Assembly. As time passed, Bishop Fleming brought out the idea of expanding the Catholic education system. The Orphan Asylum was converted into a boy’s school and a new school was opened for girls, thereby putting an end to co-education in the province. In 1842 saw the development of a new act which was based on dividing the grant for the schools evenly between the Roman Catholics and Protestants (From Slate to Chalk, n.d.). As time passed several changes and improvements were brought about in the schooling systems and by the mid twentieth century, the focus was now on improving the overall facilities in the schools and making them more effective, in terms of provisions like electricity, water supply and convenience for the students (McBrien, 1994). However throughout the improvements that were being made, the main focus of the schools was on discipline and need for well grown individuals. The next section will detail the nature of catholic education. Nature of Catholic Education: As per the Vatican II document – Gravissimum Education, the nature of Catholic schools has been expressed as: “The Catholic school pursues cultural goals and the natural development of youth to the same degree as any other school. What makes the Catholic school distinctive is its attempt to generate a community climate in the school that is permeated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and love. It tries to guide the adolescents in such a way that personality development goes hand in hand with the development of the 'new creature' that each one has become through baptism. It tries to relate all of human culture to the good news of salvation so that the light of faith will illumine everything that the students will gradually come to know about the world, about life, and about the human person” (Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association, 1996). Clearly, Catholic schools tend to be inclined towards spiritual development as well as intellectual development (Robinson, 1996). As per the document from the Catholic Church, these schools tend to integrate element of faith into all aspects of the programs and help in developing and improving the overall relationship in the world and the human culture. Both religion and education complement each other and are always set down together as a combined approach. Here these schools tend to be focused on developing a ‘whole person’, not just a spiritual individual, or simply an academic, but a combined and a complete person. ‘Whole person’ refers to “concepts of intelligence, free will, feelings, rights and responsibilities, interpersonal relationships, and the call to a specific mission in the world” (Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association, 1996). With the increasing levels of awareness of the church’s essential nature, Catholic schools were also an “authentic expressions, conduits and experiences of Church” (Mclaughlin, 1998). The Catholic schools present the most important characteristic of the church’s nature, i.e. communitarians (McBrien, 1994). As very well explained, in the Declaration on Christian education (1965), “What makes the Catholic school distinctive is its attempt to generate a community climate in the school that is permeated by the gospel spirit of freedom and love” (Mclaughlin, 1998). Purpose of Catholic Education: Next considering the main purpose of the Catholic education, it is crucial to note that all Christians were reborn of water and the Holy Spirit; hence all the people are called children of God. Christian education does not only focus on maturing of the human person but is based on principals and goals. The main focus is to make people more aware of God and the Fater in Spirit and Truth (cf. John 4:23). The main purpose of Catholic schools is to produce authentic educational environment and to make individuals more faithful and cultured with human values which are affirmed. Also, the main purpose can be explained as the aim to integrate the knowledge and gain a clear sense of the ultimate truth as well as the relationship between God and human is not only taught but also well practiced (Robinson, 1996). As very well explained by, British philosopher Haldane, “The primary function of Catholic schools, therefore, is to provide forms of education through which the essential doctrines and devotions of Catholicism are transmitted” (Haldane, 1996, p. 133). The main purpose of the Catholic Schools is to provide education to the poor and marginalised irrespective of whether they are Catholics, non Catholics, or even non-Christians (Mclaughlin, 1998). This is simply a means of reaffirming the Second Vatican Council’s position of the need to provide education to the poor first or individuals who are deprived from love and affection and are far from faith (Declaration on Christian education, 196S, par.9). However there have been numerous schools which have focused on children of practising parents, or wealthy parents and these are clearly not authentic Catholic schools. However in the third millennium, there has been an urge to the catholic schools to provide usefulness to the public (Miller, 2006). Here this has been discussed and argued earlier by several authors and has also been presented by another document of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Hence based on the overall purpose of the catholic schools, it can be expressed, that these schools are irreplaceable to a great extent and the true and genuine schools prove to be very helpful to the society and to nature (Haldane, 1996). Also, in the current times where religion has to some extent taken a backseat, these schools provide a ray of hope for enriching the power of faith. Also this is an excellent means of churches being part of the scholastic field and is also present for the benefit of the human families (The Catholic school, 1977, par.62). The purpose of the Catholic schools can also be recognised to be for the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and to identify the living values of Jesus (Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association, 1996). This simply helps in aspiring people to work in the right direction and work in the right relationships for peace, and charity, and also justice and liberty. Catholic schools are also a means of developing a hop of building a strong link between people and Christ. Conclusions: Clearly, the main purpose and nature of Catholic schools is one which is focused on developing a religious link and also improving oneself to follow the teachings of Christ. However in reality this is not the case, and more than schools being for people who are underprivileged, there is a focus on more successful people and the wealthy. Also, there is simply little evidence of the students growing up with an intense personal relation with Christ and more of an incipient relationship, with little or no commitment to the Catholic church (Robinson, 1996). As very well explained by Mclaughlin (1998), “However, this is not the essential issue because "Jesus did not proclaim himself - he proclaimed the Kingdom”... Indeed, Jesus prayed: "Thy Kingdom come not Thy church come” (Mclaughlin, 1998). Also, as identified by Paul VI, there is a constant need for authencity in the younger generation. Hence with this urge to find the truth, the success of learning is more so by being witness rather than by being taught by a teacher (Robinson, 1996). Bibliography Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association, 1996. Catholic Schools – Permeated by Faith. [Online] Available at: http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/catholicpd/articles/permeated.pdf [Accessed 4 September 2012]. From Slate to Chalk, n.d.. History of Catholic Education. [Online] Available at: http://fromslatetochalk.ca/ [Accessed 05 September 2012]. Haldane, J., 1996. Catholic education and Catholic identity. In: The contemporary Catholic school. London: Falmer. McBrien, R., 1994. Catholicism. Melbourne: Harper Collins. Mclaughlin, D., 1998. Catholic schools in the third millennium: Views from Rome Word In Life. Journal of Religious Education , 46(3), pp. 29-36. Miller, A. J. M., 2006. Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools. [Online] Available at: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0395.htm [Accessed 05 September 2012]. Robinson, G., 1996. The handing on of the Catholic faith. Bulletin ed. Sydney: Sydney Archdiocesan Catholic School Board. Read More