What Does it Mean to Teach at a Catholic School?


Christianity is not a religion about God; it is a relationship with God. Christianity is not a subject to be studied and mastered; it is a relationship with God where we learn more through humility and acquiescence. It is a romance with God by which we encounter the Truth of who we are, not by being taught and by learning so much as by Loving and by being Loved. Many understand Catholic education as a system of private schooling for the elite and college-bound. But this is not the origin of Catholic education. The origin of Catholic education was not college preparation for the social elite. If we look at the history of Catholic education, we find that it is rooted in the dream that especially the poorest and most oppressed members of the human race need a sense of Hope that they are more than what the rest of their society may tell them they are. It is a Hope rooted, not in mastery of academic sciences or arts, but in relationship with One who Loves perfectly and without exception. It is a relationship with one who is the highest level of excellence. How could a system so known for its focus on excellence come into being unless there was always a sense of perfect excellence in the essence of God?
Catholic Pedagogical Theory demands each student, teacher, administrator, and stakeholder to place God at the center of their studies for the purpose of developing a relationship with God so we can encounter the Truth of who we are made to be. Excellence only comes if we first know what excellence looks like, and if we know God, then we always have that image and likeness of excellence before us. This is the fundamental driving force behind the Theology of Catholic Pedagogical Theory. But how do we define excellence? How do we develop a relationship with God? How do we integrate this theology into classes that modern educational theory claims has nothing to do with theology? How do we help our student to encounter God in real, efficacious ways so as to help them discover the Truth of who they are?
This is not a blog about teaching Catholicism. The goal of this blog is really to discuss the purpose of Catholic Schools in a real, theological manner and to share stories that I have gathered in my years of teaching and ministry. I desire to explore the theologies that underlie the systems that many of us have encountered as students, teachers, parents, colleagues, or bystanders. Perhaps the most important goal of this blog is to help teachers put into perspective the True purpose of their Vocation as that purpose goes far beyond grades or assessments or even success in college. The purpose of all education, not just Catholic education, is really to help students discover what God desires for them and to form them into their Authentic Selves.
(My most recent home of learning. Photo Credit- Patrick Smith)

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