Theology of Catholic Pedagogical Theory: What it Means to Teach at a Catholic School

    Well, it took a while, but I had some downtime during my break from education, and I decided to write a book. A novel. Sure, it’s not a book about the nuances of Catholic Anthropology or the nitty-gritty of Hans Urs Von Balthasar or the theological and mystical parallels between Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, D.T. Suzuki, and Thomas Merton. My educational path deviated from that of your run-of-the-mill academic scholar, and I never had a mentor or an advisor who could vouch for me and support me in the way most scholars get their start as writers, but I’ve been thinking over the last few years, and, if the purpose of academic theology is to articulate theological Truths in a way that makes it easier to encounter said Truths, then why not cut to the chase? Why not use the methodology I have been using for the last twenty years to evangelize, disciple, and educate regarding these Truths?      I call it Narrative Theology. Think Flannery O’Conner, a fellow Georgian. Maybe Graham Gr

 Last night I had a conversation with my neighbor. She has three kids; one in elementary school, one in middle school, and the last in high school. My neighbor, herself, works as a social worker in schools and in many conversations, while our dogs play with each other, she and I have come back to the topic of mental health in kids today. Her kids vary in their skills as students. The youngest is not interested in school at all, preferring to go outside and play on his own. The middle schooler is an avid reader, but she struggles in the classroom just to keep up. The high schooler is a self-started and typically succeeds in the classroom. Right now, none of them are doing well in school; all of them are suffering from anxiety. Adare, County Limerick, Ireland. I just like this picture because it reminds me of a Beautiful place! Obviously, I worry about the two younger kids. They may have already given up on the classroom component of school even before COVID, but at least they had th

  It’s been a while. Let’s just say, for the last year, I have been discerning my relationship with Catholic education. I won’t go into the details, but, essentially, I have decided to step away, for the time being. I’m going to start up this blog again, though, and focus on what I know to be the real heart of Catholic education… encounter with Jesus. I have written before, but all education needs to be directed to something greater than just mastery of content knowledge or practical skills. Education must be directed to an encounter with Truth… the Truth of who we are created to be. Ultimately, that is the only knowledge that will fulfill us. Any school that orients students to a material or temporal Truth is setting limits on who the student can be and how much fulfillment or happiness they can experience. Summit Lake, Colorado. I just like this picture. If you can make a connection between this blog and this picture, go for it. (photo. P. Smith) From a Catholic Anthropological p