Why Catholic Schools Don't Matter

[hyperdulia again]

I'm not orthodox enough to bear the soul responsibilty for the faith formation of my children. i am grateful for catholic schools.

[hyperdulia again]

*sole

[Kilroy the Ninja]

Thank you Hyper.

[thicke]

*sole

I almost wonder if you didn't have it right the first time. ;)

[PatrickRitaMichael]

yeah, if there were some sort of adult education thing at my church (besides rcia) i would definitely attend. i'm not even sure if i am called to have kids, but i know that i would personally benefit from it b/c i know nothing. (i didn't go to catholic school and my parents didn't really teach me anything, either, but it's not completely their faults).

Edited February 13, 2004 by PatrickRitaMichael

[littleflower+JMJ]

that article was right on. if the parents dont know the faith then its almost impossible for the kids also to learn.

parents are the children's first teachers and will always be the primary and source of instruction for their whole lives. that focus on parents needs to be there.

my parents had all four of us in private school and she said they made you go to Catecism classes for parents, it was mandatory. and nows shes grateful, she learned thru all those years what she never knew before and was able to guide all of us at home with the classes the private school provided for all catholic parents.

parents are the key to implementing what they learn in the classroom, to home and outside the classroom.

its like love and marriage, you can't have one without the other! LOL

+JMJ

[Sinner]

Come on...... Catholic Schools are primarily SCHOOLS.... you know- Reading, Writing, Arithmetic. And they are good at it......For the most part, there are several studies that show they educate more with less....and if you are lucky, your kid will learn a few Catholic issues and maybe even be exposed to a kinder and gentler environment. For my dollar, I'll take every advantage I can afford for my kids.

Any parent that thinks their child should get their faith formation from Catholic Schools also probably believes their children should learn all their moral values in Church!! This is BUNK. Parents have the sole responsibility for educating their children in all of these issues (and so much more). This same mentality leads to "quality time" with children watching TV and playing video games "together". The Catholic School and the Church HELP parents raise children and will never do the job themselves. As parents we have to get off our self centered ass..essments and spend real time with our kids teaching real spirituality and values.

Yeah, adults need ongoing formation. Myself included.

[dUSt]

Question for the masses. (no pun intended)

Does anyone's parish offer adult education?

Mine sorta does. We have this thing called F.I.R.E., where we take turns going to eachother's houses to learn stuff. It's more of an entire family thing rather than an adult thing though.

[hyperdulia again]

mine does, but it's not really educational...it's after the 8:30 am and Dr. McGraw reads some stuff out of this book of bible history...people mostly come for the breakfast the old ladies come to socialize.

[Norseman82]

Question for the masses. (no pun intended)

Does anyone's parish offer adult education?

Mine sorta does. We have this thing called F.I.R.E., where we take turns going to eachother's houses to learn stuff. It's more of an entire family thing rather than an adult thing though.

We have a bible study that meets twice a month.

Regarding the need for adult education, I will tell you that Cardinal George here in Chicago agrees and openly asked for suggestions, because he heard of stories of parents in their 30's who were complaining that their children knew the faith better than they did!

[BLAZEr]

I work in a parish, so perhaps I see this a little different.

What we have in our parish:

9 am on Sunday is a class for adult faith formation

Thursday Night at 7PM Father and I teach a class on Church History

I teach a confirmation Class to Sophomores and THEIR PARENTS AND SPONSORS once a month on the 2nd Wednesday

Thursday Nights at 8PM I lead the Communion and Liberation School of Community

But the PRIMARY EDUCATIVE TOOL of the Parish is the Mass. Father teaches the parish through his homilies, both Sunday homilies and Weekday homilies. Our daily Mass attendance has grown by 800% since Father arrived in July.

I recognize very acutely what he says. I'm a Youth Minister. I cannot, in 2 hours a week (and 1 hour of religious ed) possibly instill the Catholic Faith in young people.

In fact, it's not my job. My job is to offer them an encounter with Christ. This happens easier, better, and more realistically if they are well catechized.

PARENTS ARE THE PRIMARY EDUCATORS OF THEIR CHILDREN. This is a teaching of the Church. This is for both religious and secular learning. Obviously parents have their natural limitations so their are others (school teachers and catechists) who assist them in this role, but the PRIMARY EDUATOR is mom and dad. If this is not the case, then you have disfunction.

If you don't trust your education in the faith, your orthodoxy then you should, dare I say must, educate yourself somehow to the teachings of the church. If you do not do this than you are being irresponsible in your vocation as a parent.

You must be the one who teaches your kid what it means to be a Christian by catechesis, prayer, and most concretely love as a reality in your home. This is the parents primary responsibility in the raising of their children.

It would be better if your child never learned to read but learned all his catechism than vice-versa. A parents duty is primarily to their child's soul.

Their are millstones waiting for those who abdicate this responsibility.

[hyperdulia again]

MMy knowledge of the Catholic faith matches that of anyone else here...my acceptannce of what i know the church teaches leaves much to be desired in some areas, so i trust the parochial school sytem to fill in what i lack.

[thicke]

Does anyone's parish offer adult education?

We do a few things. There is a Thursday morning teaching/breakfast gathering after 8:15 Mass. This just started and the first teaching subject is the book of Revelation. There is also usually a Thursday night class, which right now is doing "Catholicism for cradle Catholics". I have heard it is very good. Both our priests at my parish alternate weekly teaching this class. Then, our DRE does Theology on Tap once a month. This is always on a specific subject with a guest speaker, this month (tonight as a matter of fact) is "Contraception and the Catholic Church, what's up with that?" and the guest speaker is the diocesan DRE.

[Norseman82]

PARENTS ARE THE PRIMARY EDUCATORS OF THEIR CHILDREN.

True, but let's add this to the mix:

In the "good ol' days" of my parents and their brothers and sisters, my grandparents still sent them to Catholic schools and CCD, partly because a school has a structure and syllabus to what was taught. They obviously knew the faith better. WHAT HAS CHANGED?

My OBSERVATION: todays young adults are the product of a period from the mid-70's to early 90's in which there was no working catechism and everything was based on "what's the loving thing to do", which is why many can't give a correct answer to simple questions (of course, there are some who would say there is no such thing as a correct answer anymore!!). As Cardinal George pointed out in a talk, the "nuts and bolts" were thrown out in favor of an "experencial" approach to education; the "nuts and bolts" need to come back.

[Norseman82]

Then, our DRE does Theology on Tap once a month. This is always on a specific subject with a guest speaker, this month (tonight as a matter of fact) is "Contraception and the Catholic Church, what's up with that?" and the guest speaker is the diocesan DRE.

You guys do TOT year round? We normally do it during the summer, mainly July.

How orthodox is your TOT? Here in Chicago I've heard some complaints about questionable stuff.