The three dimensions of a Catholic school education are well illustrated in the theme for Catholic Schools Week January 29 to February 5. Faith. Academics. Service.
Faith is not just that one believes, it is also what one believes and confidence in one’s belief. Too often we only recognize the single dimension of faith. We have faith. Unfortunately some of us never move beyond that dimension. We know the answers because we have memorized them. Faith is more than belief; it is understanding what we believe and patterning our lives to conform to our beliefs. Finally we need confidence in the truth of our faith. This faith dimension is unique to our Catholic schools.
Academics is more than the curriculum, it includes the learning environment, the quality of the teaching and how to incorporate one’s educational experience into a Christian value-centered life. Information is not knowledge and knowledge that is not applied is betrayed.
Service to others and to the community is often lost in today’s self-centered society. Service is not just taught, it is modeled. In the end, one’s life is not judged by what one acquires but what one does with it. Catholic education calls on the student to model his or her life after the One who “came to serve, not be served.”
Faith. Academics. Service. The three dimensions that make Catholic education worth the sacrifice that so many parents make.
I have written earlier about the efforts of the Catholic Education Strategic Planning Committee to improve and enrich Catholic education for our children. We must constantly seek to improve our schools.
If you are asked to participate in the survey the committee will launch on January 28, 2012, please respond for the sake of our children and future generations.
This post is also available in/Esta entrada también está disponible en: Spanish