|
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TEACH IN A
CATHOLIC SCHOOL?
The above question is an important one. We have an excellent
system of Catholic Schools here in the Diocese of Rapid City, and we appreciate
your interest in becoming part of our school community.
We are also concerned that you understand clearly what we are trying
to do in our schools, and the commitment that each teacher makes when
he/she accepts a position here. It would not be fair to you, or to us,
to encourage your application if you are not in agreement with this philosophy.
Please reflect upon the following general statements of philosophy and
objectives, which have been adopted by the Diocesan Board of Education
as applicable to Catholic education in our community. The following statements
from the American Bishops’ letter on Catholic education describe
the special aims of our Catholic schools; they pursue these in addition
to maintaining high academic and professional standards.
- CATHOLIC SCHOOLS:
The educational mission of the Church is an integrated
ministry embracing three interlocking dimensions: the
message revealed by God which the Church proclaims;
fellowship in the life of the Holy Spirit; service to the
Christian community and the entire human community.
Of the educational programs available to the Catholic
community, Catholic schools afford the fullest and best
opportunity to realize the threefold purpose of Christian
education among children and young people.
These Catholic schools are called to integrate religious truth and values
with
the rest of life. While this is done by curriculum development, it is
accomplished
especially by the presence of teachers who express an integrated approach
to
learning and living in their private and professional lives.
We believe that building and living community must be prime to explicit
goals
of the contemporary Catholic school.
These Catholic schools are called to be communities of living faith
in which
the formational efforts of Catholic families are complemented, reinforced,
and
extended. Parents, teachers, and students are involved in this together.
Toward this end, the Board and Catholic Schools are committed to develop
programs whereby Catholic schools will continue to serve persons of
all races
and all economic levels.
In order that you may see how the schools fit into the broad program
of Diocesan Catholic education, we give below the
statements, which apply to every aspect of the Church’s educational
mission here.
- To Nurture a Hunger for God--Developing within our
children strong
and permanent Christian morals;
- To Build on the Catholic Tradition of Excellence in Education--
Providing the knowledge, courage, and faith needed to succeed;
- To Foster a Caring, Christian Community of Peace, Justice,
and Love--
Working together in harmony with respect, open communication, and self-
discipline;
- To be Accessible to All Who Want to Benefit from Catholic
Education--
Striving to see that no child is turned away because of finances or
special needs;
- To Be a Dynamic Community Partner--Actively participating
in wider
communities in which the school exists; and
- To Promote Life-long Education--Developing life-long
learning.
The Board, the Superintendent’s and Principal’s Offices recognize
that Parents are the first to communicate the faith
to their children and to educate them. Further, it recognized
that the Christian community must make a generous
effort today to help parents fulfill their duty. The larger Christian
community shares this effort with the parents and
includes pastors, all members of the presbytery, professional religious
educators, and the board of education.
These following excerpts from “Catholic Schools and the Common
Good” embody concepts, procedures, and values to
which our Catholic School System is dedicated:
- Catholic schools exist for the express purpose of instilling a basic
set
of values, derived from religious tenets, as moral absolutes that will
guide
their students through the vagaries of life. Parochial schools do not
shrink
from concepts like “right”, “wrong”, “good”,
“evil”, pride”. But they also
emphasize that while morals are absolute in abstract terms, one’s
capacity
to judge is not. Thus, they caution that even as one pursues what one
believes
is good, one’s righteousness may be corrupted by pride and ambition.
- Parochial schools, respond to the demands of parents through the discipline
of the market. They compete for students on the basis of quality teaching,
attention to individual needs, results, and overall results, all in
accordance
with their expressed religious mission.
- Effective Catholic high schools function on the basis of four foundational
characteristics: a delimited technical core, communal organization,
decentralized
governance, and inspirational ideology.
- Catholic high schools work well because instead of trying to teach
everything,
they confidently prescribe a college-preparatory curriculum for all
their students,
Schools cannot be renewed without that spiritual energy and authority
of ideals.
- U.S. Catholic schools find themselves in a paradoxical position. Their
academic
prestige has never been higher, but the strain to balance their budget
is relentless.
Their situation is like that of a movie-maker who has just won Academy
Awards
for best picture, best script, and best director, but has to scramble
to finance his or
her next film.
|
