To mark Catholic Schools Week, Michael Burbidge, the bishop of the Diocese of Arlington (which basically covers northern Virginia’s Washington-area suburbs and exurbs), issued a nice statement about the importance of Catholic schools.
If you watch the video quickly, you might think it’s just standard public-relations boilerplate.
But pay closer attention, and you will hear some important distinctions the bishop is drawing between Catholic schools and secular schools — and not just the mentions of Jesus.
“The mission of Catholic schools is to assist parents in the education and faith formation of their children so they may grow in their love and knowledge of Christ and be moved to serve him and others,” according to the bishop.
When Burbidge thanks parents, he says, “Thank you for taking seriously your role as the first teachers of your children in the ways of faith.”
There are two crucial beliefs embedded in those phrases, both of which are countercultural.
The first is that parents are the primary educators of their children and that professional educators (teachers, principals, aides, et cetera) are the parents’ partners in the education of the children.
These days, America is too apt to believe in some radical division of labor in which parents ought to defer on educational matters to teachers, who are, after all, the professionals. This is an inversion of what is traditional and natural, and Burbidge is planting a flag for the old-fashioned view.
Burbidge also articulates a mission for schools that might be foreign to many parents in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Arlington — the wealthy suburbs in his diocese.
Schools are there to form children to grow in the love of God and the service of God and others. This implies that what we ought to want for our children is that they are loving servants.
The word “achievement” doesn’t appear in this video. The bishop doesn’t talk about preparing children for college or the workplace. He talks about forming children into loving Christian servants.
Many private schools (and, frankly, some Catholic schools) in the Beltway area are very explicit that their job is to get your child into the Ivy League or set him or her up for career success. The renowned public schools of Fairfax County are coveted precisely because they are seen as the path to worldly achievement.
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That a school system would hold different values is contrary to the spirit of the age. This is in keeping with what St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God.”