m The ChrisM'oin In Ak \ n toluea-Kon A & L 1 0 7 £ on 1 •HRHI The Christian In Action w MÊÊÊmÊmm m t A e / i e M g f E a n r i l y L i f e / "The Christian I n Action —In Education" "The Christian In Action—In Education" A series of nine radio programs presented on "The Christian in Action" (ABC, 11:30-12 Noon EST) during the months of April and May, 1951. "The Christian in Action" is produced by the National Council of Catholic Men in cooperation with the American Broadcasting Company. « f i LCTvli s&r&i/ NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC MEN 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. Washington 5, D. C. Printed and distributed by Our Sunday Visitor Huntington, Indiana TABLE OF CONTENTS EDUCATION: WHAT KIND OF MAN DOES IT MAKE? 7 THE FORGOTTEN FOURTH "R" 17 PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING 27 WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? / . . . . , . . . . . ' . . . . . . . 39 THE MAKING OF A TEACHER ...s .... 51 WHO TEACHES THE TEACHER? . 65 PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE 75 THE FUNCTION OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 87 THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 100 MAKE? Address Delivered on April 1, 1951 A Discusion by Very Rev. Msgr. John S. Spence, Rev. George Burnell, Sister Janet, and Brother Gerald MSGR. S P E N C E : I t happens every September. John, age six, with his hand clasped in his mother's climbs breath- lessly up the steps of a building clearly marked St. Mary's School and is ushered into a small office where a pleasant looking nun is sitting at a desk. "Good morning, Sister," John's mother says. "We just about made it. But, Sister, noth- ing matters, now that we are here on time. Sister, here is our latest contribution to your school en- rollment. He makes number five from our family. John, this is Sister Dolores, Principal of the school where all of your brothers and sisters went. She will take good care of you and see to it that you t u r n out to be a fine young man your mother and f a t h e r will be proud of." "Sit down, John," says Sister. "We are glad to have you at St. Mary's. Now, tell me, do you know yet what you want to be when you grow up?" "Yes," says John, "I want to be a pilot in a plane." "Fine," says Sister. "Let's see if we can't help you be- come what you want." And so it goes on year a f t e r year as regularly as the arrival of spring. A mother, confident and self-sacrificing; the child, eager and boyant; the teacher, purposeful and serene. Sister Janet, you have had a long ex- perience in the field of Catholic education. Per- haps you could tell us what it is t h a t causes the recurrence of this scene every year. What is it that prompts Catholic parents to cope with incon- venience and bear heavy burdens of many kinds to provide their children with Catholic schooling? SISTER J A N E T : Well, I would say, Monsignor, that Catholic par- ents, whether they would express it exactly this way or not, accept a fundamental and universally approved principle of educational philosophy. That education must work toward the full de- 8 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION velopment of all the natural and supernatural g i f t s of boys and girls. In a Catholic school con- sideration will be given to the spiritual and ma- terial; intellectual, physical, moral and religious aspects of their nature. None of these can be isolated from one another because of the unity of the human personality. And religion is the foundation of the entire process in which recog- nition may be paid to the fact that we are funda- mentally dependent upon God f o r all the g i f t s we have. During that twelve years which the child will probably spend in the Catholic school, his parents may justly expect that he will be aided in the development of all his God-given talents, whether few or many. But he will discover his own potentiality and choose the place in life where he may live with happiness and satisfac- tion and Christian perfection as an individual and at the same time contribute to the welfare and happiness of others in whatever way has been destined f o r him by his Creator. MSGR. S P E N C E : Brother Gerald, you wanted to ask Sister a ques- tion? BR. GERALD: Well, I believe that it should be recognized, Mon- signor, what Sister Janet speaks of now is the ideal Catholic education, the ideal that Catholic education sets for itself. However, in practice we Catholic educators realize, certainly, that we are neglecting some of our duties and that we do not always achieve our ideal. For instance, I believe Sister Janet, in one of her publications indicates that we reach only about 30% of the boys and girls between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. And for those that we do reach in our schools, why, I'm afraid that very often we do a f a r from perfect job. When you suddenly find yourself in a classroom with thirty or forty boys or girls, I mean the 1951 American type, why very often you feel so inadequate and the ideal of Catholic education seems difficult to attain because our boy and our girl of today is a tremendously com- plex individual largely due to the complex civiliza- tion in which he lives. Therefore, to develop a boy or girl fully, to develop the whole child, is a real challenge f o r the Catholic educator. I would EDUCATION: WHAT KIND OF MAN DOES IT MAKE? 9 say that we have room f o r great improvement. But the thing is, Sister, where should we s t a r t and what should we do? MSGR. S P E N C E : Well, Sister, do you agree that there is a defi- ciency in Christian social living and perhaps that deficiency is the result of inadequate education ? SISTER J A N E T : I have to admit that we do have some deficiency. Indeed, I believe that educators above people should be continually dissatisfied and seeking for better means of obtaining their objectives since they work with such precious persons as our youth. Modern schools, I should say, in thinking it over, s u f f e r primarily from three defects: the failure to follow in practice all that psychology has now discovered about the nature of learning, of individual differences, etc.; secondly, we have paid too much attention to individual develop- ment even with the view to worldly advancement, and too little to the accompanying social aspect. Conditions in the world today of complete dis- t r u s t among all nations, among social, political, and economic groups indicate the proof of the fact that we have not taught people to live with charity and justice toward one another; thirdly, curriculums and practices in schools, which in their beginning were closely related to the im- mediate light needs of the people have tended to become formalized and remote from life, because of the tremendous changes that have taken place through technological and scientific advancement. I am saying here, and stressing the fact, that we educators, if we wish to get the proper kind of Christian man and woman, need to study care- fully problems existing today in home and fam- ily living, in churches, in local, national and in- ternational communities, in working groups and in recreation pursuits. We need to examine our programs with critical eye, make changes in em- phasis where it is necessary in order to solve some of the problems and introduce new educa- tional experiences where existing ones offer no solution. Above all, in the Catholic schools, we need to bring religion closer to life so that it will enter into every action and decision of its pupils and graduates. 10 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MSGR. S P E N C E : Father Burnell, you would like to comment on Sister's statement? FR. BURNELL: Well, the five areas of need that Sister men- tioned, I think that certainly the f i r s t one, the home, is the most important and perhaps it is here that we are falling down on the job some- what. Certainly, the formative years of every child's life are f a s t in the bosom of the family and it is his constant school, as it were, his realm, his world. The life passed in the family f a r beyond any other external influence molds last- ingly the taste and temperaments, the attitude, the personality of the child. No human social in- fluence can compare-with the family in power to form and to direct the individual lives of men. And so, there are certain aspects of family life, f o r example, broken homes, and mothers working. All of these things are very important. At the present time we know that broken homes are in- creasing tremendously. Divorces have gone up percentage wise very greatly. To take the testi- mony of the recognized authority, J. Edgar Hoov- er, in a recent news release, he said that the greatest single factor in crime causation among juveniles today is the disintegration of the Amer- ican home. We need homes where children learn respect f o r their parents, respect f o r law, respect for God and the religious principles which must be perpetuated if America is to survive as a great nation. MSGR. S P E N C E : Well, it seems that we are all agreed what the greatest need is. What can we do about it? Sister Janet, do you have any suggestions? SISTER J A N E T : Well, I'd go back to my original statement that there are two ways in which we can do some- thing about this. Primarily, we can take existing school opportunities and try to direct them to- ward the solution of home problems. Biology and other sciences f o r example, can be taught with the emphasis upon their relation to life and growth and health. We could teach mathematics and include a unit on budgeting which is an im- portant problem in all homes. We may have to introduce some new courses into schools where EDUCATION: WHAT KIND OF MAN DOES IT MAKE? 11 they do not already exist, such as courses in food and meal planning, buying, clothing, courses in child care and home nursing. Certainly a very important thing is to work toward personality de- velopment so that all the personal relationships in the home will be of the true Christian nature and we need teachers who have a closer contact with parents. Whether we do this through personal conferences, through home and school associa- tions or through visits to the home, the latter of which would be the ideal manner in which we could help to solve home problems. MSGR. S P E N C E : Either of you gentlemen want to say anything f u r t h e r on t h a t ? Brother Gerald. BR. GERALD: Why, yes. I believe also that today the trend in education is quite different than it was some years ago and knowledge is not the essential thing today so much as correct attitudes and a development of these attitudes. I believe that ac- tually in the Catholic schools we have really, using modern terminology, an atomic weapon in the correlating of religion and marriage, because no other school other than the Catholic school gives a man the correct notion that marriage is the participation in the creative power of God and is something sacred; that love is dignity it- self and that womanhood should be respected. MSGR. S P E N C E : Yes, Sister Janet, you have something to add. SISTER J A N E T : I'm afraid that we'll leave this topic of the home before I have the opportunity to say what I think is important. There is protest on the part of some educators that we are invading the rights of the home when we begin to talk about educating for home and family living. They complain that the school is trying to take over everything. This is an unfair accusation. The school is always the agency of the home. But the thing which the school should stress at all times is that which in the home most needs to be stressed. Today, I think that the greatest need in society is the re- building and solidifying and the Christianizing of home life, and the school should be a powerful agent in helping toward that. 12 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MSGR. S P E N C E : I think you're right, Sister, and I'm sure that there is more that we could all say in extending the influence, the Christian influence, into the home, but for the sake of covering the other areas of need perhaps it would be well to proceed to the discussion of the necessity f o r Christian liv- ing in civic life which to my way of thinking ranks next in importance. And at the basis of this extreme need, it seems to me there lies a mis- understanding, or a lack rather, of understand- ing the very nature of democracy. It seems to me that we need to inculcate the idea f a r and wide, that religion is at the very basis of democracy. Within the minds of each one of us there should be a zeal for the preservation of our form of gov- ernment and for its purification. But religion is at the basis of all this understanding and at the basis of this desire for the preservation of and purification of the way of life that we enjoy in this country. It seems to me that in our process of education we have failed somehow or other, to impress upon the minds of all of our pupils that this is their government, that they have an obli- gation to vote. We see so many people letting their opportunity of voting, go by; we see a total disregard for principles behind voting. So many people vote for the man that has been suggested to them by someone. It might be that they vote f o r the person whose picture they admire most. But there is so little regard for the characteris- tics and the attributes that should be possessed by the people we vote into public office. I'm wonder- ing if there isn't something we can do through education to bring about a common public con- sciousness of the individual's part in the forma- tion of democracy. Father Burnell? FR. BURNELL: I think, Monsignor, that the greatest fact is the lack of responsibility in the individual. Certain- ly, we have many, many golden opportunities in the school to instill principles of responsibility and to provide opportunities f o r the practice of responsibility. There are many school organiza- tions, f o r example, the various student govern- ment organizations, which provide a very excel- lent ground where the student may learn to ex- ercise his responsibility. He may learn in the ex- EDUCATION: WHAT KIND OF MAN DOES IT MAKE? 13 ercise of student government how to vote intelli- gently, to vote f o r the person who really deserves the office. And he has the opportunity in the school to do it under guidance so that later on when he is on his own, when he is out in the world, he will be able to make a choice and may carry out the responsibility and obligation which weighs so heavily upon him. MSGR. S P E N C E : Sister Janet, would you like to say something? SISTER J A N E T : I would like to talk a little bit about the whole process of the teaching of social study. Presum- ably this should be the place where we build proper understanding and attitudes toward civic life. Social studies should be taught so they are really social. We should teach relationships among people. We should teach respect f o r all people and then we should be aware of the prob- lems that exist, both in our local communities and in the world around us. If we use problem solving techniques in social study classes we probably have one of the best ways of making our pupils aware of the fact that they have a responsibility f o r solving these problems. And incidentally, this method is one of the very best ways of de- veloping the mind. MSGR. S P E N C E : Brother Gerald, I know you want to say some- thing. BR. GERALD: In other words, Sister Janet, I suppose you con- tend that actually our schools in the past have taught too much the theory of civic and civic liv- ing and not enough of actual practice. SISTER J A N E T : Exactly. MSGR. S P E N C E : Well, I know that we could continue this discus- sion on this area indefinitely, but we do have two more topics that should be discussed, at least briefly, and one is work life. I'm wondering if we can suggest something that should be done to improve our educational system towards creat- ing the proper attitudes towards work in gener- al. Sister Janet. SISTER J A N E T : Probably the f i r s t thing that we need to do is to explain that all types of work have dignity and 14 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION deserve respect because human beings carry them on. Our democratic ideal of equality of oppor- tunity has tended to lead us astray and make us think that the only kind of thing toward which we should be aiming are the white collar jobs. Actually, the social nature of man as he was cre- ated by God indicates that we must have persons doing various kinds of work. The attitude of re- spect toward all types of work can be built from the elementary schools all the way through. MSGR. S P E N C E : I think there is another point we should bring up here and that is even though we have a good many leaders in industry and business and in other forms of work life, who ostensibly are Christians, we see amongst them a great failure to put into practice the principles of religion that they adhere to. And I'm wondering if there isn't something we can do to train leaders who will really live the religious principles that they be- lieve in. Brother Gerald? BR. GERALD: Well, recently here in the city of Washington, at the Catholic Teacher's Institute, one of the dis- cussions arose on this very topic and it was de- cided that it would be a good thing to have a questionnaire f o r each school here in the Arch- diocese, sent to all alumni asking them in terms of their present experience, what they think of the religion courses they received in the schools of the city and what they would recommend to be taught to s t u d e ^ s today. I think personally, that it is a very excellent idea. I know that in my own school we are going to start it out in a week or two. MSGR. S P E N C E : T h a t ' s fine Brother Gerald. Now, could we have just a word about recreational life and what ed- ucation can do to impart the proper concept of how to use leisure time? SISTER J A N E T : As the final one of these big areas, I should say f i r s t of all that this is one of those sections of living in which we have not been unaware of the tremendous changes that the technological ad- vance has made both in amount of time f o r re- creation and the kinds of recreation which are available. We need at present in schools to s t a r t EDUCATION: WHAT KIND OF MAN DOES IT MAKE? 15 building permanent recreational habits in our youngsters. Those in which they can recreate through self-expression through a wholesome emotional outlet and not be depended upon watch- ing somebody else's doing in order to be recreat- ing. It is of great importance, it would seem to me, in regard to all of these areas about which we have been talking that we should say the school alone can never hope to accomplish what we have set out here in a very brief and sketchy way unless there is great cooperation between the school and parents. Unless both groups under- stand what we are trying to do we are never go- ing to build a kind of Christian living towards which we have been aiming. Faculties must work with parents and pupils and other youth leaders out in the community must have a great con- sciousness of what the school is trying to do. Working toward common outcomes through co- operative efforts is going to achieve what we are looking for. SUMMARY MSGR. S P E N C E : F r o m our discussion it appears that we are all agreed that Catholic education insists on re- ligious development because only through this means will the individual know the guides and values of proper social living. And the same thing pertains to society in general. Unless so- ciety has religion as its basis, it too, will not know the guides and values of proper social liv- ing. Religion is at the very basis of our demo- cratic society and if our democracy is to develop then it must develop a consciousness of religion as its base. The second point on which we are all agreed is that there is a strong trend today to- wards relating religion to everything in life. We admit that in the past there has been a great deal of knowledge which has been theoretical, which has been departmentalized, and perhaps in , education there has not been given the opportun- ity f o r putting knowledge and t r u t h into practice. We agreed that in our present day form of ed- ucation, more opportunities must be provided f o r 18 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION forming habits of putting into practice the know- ledge that is inculcated through the school. We are f u r t h e r agreed that there should be a change of emphasis, in our high schools particularly, up- on courses that today are needed to suit the needs of the times. We may in certain individual in- stances have to add new courses. The point is that education must be brought up to date in the sense that it must be made to f i t the necessity of the times. We all recognize that there is a grow- ing demand f o r knowledge of Christian marriage, resulting from an acknowledged picture of deca- dent home life, and there is a clamoring for such courses in the schools. This also can be at- tained we think, through a revision in the social studies courses so that they will not just put forth a knowledge of facts but that they will im- part proper attitudes and relationships toward other people in society. And finally, we are agreed that there must be a much more direct, consolidating force between the home and school. We believe that only the home and the school united can produce the kind of a healthy, happy, prosperous, democratic society that is needed to- day. THE FORGOTTEN FOURTH "R" Address Delivered on April 8, 1951 A Discussion by Dr. Mary Synon, Edward Flanagan, Christina Brown and Theresa Cain Reverend William E. McManus Assistant Director, Department of Education National Catholic Welfare Conference The Catholic school in the United States has one purpose: It seeks to teach the child his relationship to God and to develop in him those understandings, attitudes and habits which are needed f o r Christ-like living in our American democratic society. The aim of Catholic education is not merely the informational instruction of the student. It aims to put the Christian into action, to show him how to live as a t r u e follower of Christ. This is what we mean by Christian social living. To help in this teaching, the Catholic schools in the United States have the aid of an educational agency, the Commission on American Citizenship. This Commission, established in 1938 by the Archbishops and Bishops of the United States, has been building a constructive educational program of social action. I t has brought out a Curriculum of Christian Social Living f o r Elementary Schools. It is working on a High School Curriculum. It has written the FAITH AND FREEDOM SERIES of Readers f o r Catholic schools. It has chartered more than 3,000 Catholic Civics Clubs of America. Dr. Mary Synon, editorial consultant to the Commission since its foundation, will give a brief summary of the Commission's work in re-emphasizing the forgotten fourth R in American Education and, with the children from St. James School in Mount Rainier, Maryland, will indicate the purpose and scope of these Civics Clubs. Dr. Mary Synon: We usually say that Education in the United States has been founded upon the three Rs: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. As a matter of fact, education in the United States—both before and a f t e r the establishment of our Republic—has been founded on four Rs; and the fourth R is Religion. The schools in the Colonies taught Religion; and between the home and the school, the young colonists grew up not only with knowledge of Religion but also with an idea of the application of their Religion to their daily living. The public schools in their beginnings of a century ago did not banish the 18 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION teaching of Religion. Only in the past half-century has this situa- tion come to pass. The Catholic schools, true not only to their own educational principles but also to the tradition of American education, continued their teaching of Religion. In time, however, the demands of State requirements—while they did not eliminate the teaching of Religion in the Catholic schools—brought about an increase in the teaching of secular subjects. In time—because of the pressures of required work and perhaps because of the general tendency toward seculari- zation—the teaching of Religion was pigeonholed into a course of one period a day. There were, to be sure, schools which did not accept this limitation; but the general tendency was the shortening of the time and the narrowing of the field of such teaching. What was the result of this kind of teaching? The result was the existence of millions of Catholics who had a good secular education PLUS a limited and frequently too academic knowledge of Religion. They knew their Catechism; but they did not necessarily apply the teachings of that Catechism to other sub- jects in school or to their daily lives outside school. Catholic educa- tors knew and deplored this situation. They sought to overcome it by valiant individual efforts, but even the sum of these efforts was not enough to make Religion the core of a Curriculum. From the turn of the century, however, there had been a grow- ing movement in Catholic education f o r the establishment of such a core curriculum, with Religion naturally becoming that core. This movement, captained by Dr. Thomas Shields, Monsignor Edward Pace, and Bishop Patrick J . McCormick, now Rector of the Catholic University, made headway so that the late Monsignor George John- Bon and Bishop Francis J . Haas of Grand Rapids, directors of the Commission on American Citizenship, were able to bring it to fruition in a Curriculum, GUIDING GROWTH IN CHRISTIAN SOCIAL LIVING, which is now the standard curriculum f o r the Catholic schools of the United States. This Curriculum integrates all subjects—reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history, everything—with Religion. I t does not do this pietistically. It does not say that two plus one equals three, the number of persons in the Blessed Trinity. I t does say that is you have two apples, and the boy next door has none, you should give him one of your apples, not merely because this is a good social act but because he is, like you, a child of God. In this Curriculum geography is taught with emphasis upon the problems of the people of various regions rather than upon the products of those regions. In this Curriculum reading is a tool f o r inspirational as well as f o r informational use, a guide f o r social as well as f o r individual living. The purpose of such a Curriculum—and of the Courses of Study THE FORGOTTEN FOURTH "R" 19 which have been and are being made from it by archdioceses and dioceses of the nation—is to develop in the children of the Catholic schools those understandings, attitudes and habits which are de- signed to endow them with the ability f o r Christ-like living in our American democratic society. I t is based on the idea that a child must be trained f o r good citizenship by a program much wider than a merely informational course. It is based on the f e a r that a man may know every election law of his State, every constitutional pro- vision of the Nation, and still be a very poor citizen, a fear, too, t h a t he may even know all the doctrines of the Catholic Church and still not be applying them to his own life. This Curriculum, already in use in hundreds of the Catholic schools of the nation, is, in structure, a road map of education; but it is also a great deal more. I t is a cru- sade in citizenship. To the builders of the Curriculum citizenship means f a r more than voting privileges. It means more than the rights and responsibilities required by law. I t means the whole character of a man: his relationship to God, to the Church, to his fellowman, to nature, and to himself. It was designed, as Monsignor Johnson wrote, to provide better men f o r better times. Since this program was definitely an action program the Com- mission needed methods of action. One such method is the organi- zation of the Catholic Civics Clubs of America. There are now more than 3,000 of these Clubs under the general supervision of Mon- signor Frederick G. Hochwalt, director of the Commission. Their membership comes from the 7th and 8th grades of the Catholic ele- mentary schools. Any class in these grades may apply to the Com- mission f o r a charter. The Club chooses its own names, its own activity. It elects its own officers. It holds its meetings according to parliamentary rules. I t reports its achievement to the President of the Commission, Bishop McCormick. The Commission keeps in touch with the Clubs both by direct mail and by use of the volun- teered services of the YOUNG CATHOLIC MESSENGER, a weekly publication which goes into all Catholic elementary schools. The Commission suggests to the Clubs that their work shall, preferably, be something f o r the benefit of the community in the neighborhood of their school. The reading of the reports from these Clubs is an inspiring ex- perience. Here are more than a hundred thousand children who are not only learning civic processes—the functions of mayors, and city councils, of police and fire organizations, of state and national legis- latures—but are also doing something to better a condition in their neighborhood. I t may be a crusade f o r a viaduct over a bad railroad crossing. It may be a campaign f o r safety. It may be giving hours of service in a neighborhood center. I t may be writing letters f o r blind persons in a neighboring institution. I t may be only the send- ing of letters to children in an orphanage. I t may be helping chil- 20 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION dren of Displaced Persons who have come to our land. It may be cooperating with the Junior Red Cross or with the Boy or Girl Scouts. I t may be ringing doorbells or working as baby-sitters in order to help get voters to the polls. Always, however, no matter how relatively important or unimportant the project seems, the youngsters of the Catholic Civics Clubs are practicing social action. They are cooperating with others for the benefit of all. They are showing the respect for their neighbors, the respect for human dig- nity which they have learned in their Religion classes. They are putting into action the f a i t h of their fathers. Among the Clubs that are engaged in this general work is the Saint James Civics Club of Saint James School in Mount Rainier, Maryland. And here to tell you something of what their Club is doing are Edward Flanagan, and Christina Brown, representing the Saint James Civics Club; and Robert Landolt, and Theresa Cain, representing the Saint James Junior Civics Club. Here, first is Edward Flanagan. DR. SYNON: What is your title, Edward ? EDWARD: I am the president of the Saint James Club. DR. SYNON: Were you elected to that office ? EDWARD: Yes, I was elected. DR. SYNON: Did any one run against you ? EDWARD: Yes, there were four of us nominated for the office. DR. SYNON: How many members are there in the Club now? EDWARD: There are 124 members of the regular Civics Club. There are 41 in 8th Grade, 51 in 7th Grade, and 32 in 6th Grade. DR. SYNON: How did it happen that the Sixth Grade was includ- ed? EDWARD: Well, they were so interested in what we started to do that they asked us to take them in. We voted on it, and their request won. DR. SYNON: Do you think there are any advantages in having the 7th and 6th Grades in the Club with the 8th Grade? EDWARD: Oh, yes. If these grades are in the Club, they can continue the work of the Club as they go up through tJ>» t r a d e s . Now, we're 8th Graders, and we'll THE FORGOTTEN FOURTH "R" 21 graduate this year. If the new class of 8th Graders next year didn't know anything about the work of the Civics Club, it would have to s t a r t all over at the beginning. But in this way, the 7th Graders who'll be 8th Graders next year will be able to carry on the work; and those who are 6th Graders now will know even more about it when they are 8th Graders. DR. SYNON: Is this the first year your Civics Club has been in operation ? EDWARD: Yes, this is the first year. We've had to plow the field. But we like being pioneers. DR. SYNON: How did you organize the Club ? EDWARD: F i r s t of all, we called a meeting of the 8th Grade class to take place a f t e r school hours- w « called it a Committee of the Whole. Our teacher, who is also principal of Saint James School, was the chairman of that meeting. She explained to us what the Civics Clubs meant. She said that it gave us the chance to put our Religion into practice in our neighborhood lives. She asked us to vote on whether or not we wanted the Club. Every one voted to join. Then she called an election of officers. She asked us if we wanted to vote by ballot. Most of us said yes. Then we held the election. A f t e r it was decided, our teacher turned the club over to us. DR. SYNON: How did you learn to run the Club ? EDWARD: We have the little blue book, GOOD CITIZENS. It tells us how to organize. It gives us the rules. If the officers don't do their work according to the rules, there's always some one in the Club who knows those rules, and who gets us and tells us how we should do it. We have to do everything according to rules of order. DR. SYNON: What was your first club project? EDWARD: Well, you see, we live in Mount Rainier, Maryland. That is in the Washington archdiocese but not in the District of Columbia. So we have a vote. We have a Mayor and a City Council and city officers. The f i r s t thing we did was a study of our local gov- ernment. We appointed committees to find out and report what the people in this government were sup- 22 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION posed to do. Then we looked around to see what we could do. DR. SYNON: What did you find? EDWARD: We found that there was a lot that we could do. For one thing, there was f i r e prevention. We appointed a committee to look over the neighborhood f o r any f i r e dangers. The boys and girls on this committee showed how some of these dangers could be pre- vented. The Mayor of Mount Rainier gave us an award for our work on f i r e prevention. We had an- other committee on police regulations. We found out how we could help the police, particularly in safety work. We had a clean-up campaign. We took up a study of interracial relations. DR. SYNON: What did that study do? EDWARD: It showed us our responsibilities toward children of another color. It helped teach us to be kind, cour- teous, f a i r and just toward these children. DR. SYNON: Was that difficult? EDWARD: Oh, no, not when we all felt the same way. DR. SYNON: Did you all feel the same way at the beginning? EDWARD: No, but we did before we'd gone very fax-. We saw that our f a i t h teaches us that we are all children of God; and so we knew that if we are good Catholics, we can't have any prejudice against other children of God. DR. SYNON: What else did your Club do ? EDWARD: We attended a session of Congress and went on a tour of the Capitol. We realized all the history that had been made there. We understood our democracy better by remembering some of the great states- men who had worked in that building. We did some other things, too. We made Sunshine Books f o r the soldier patients at Walter Reed Hospital. We worked on a United Nations project, and put up the United Nations flag. We set up a patrol at a corner where public school children had to cross a very busy street. DR. SYNON: Why did you do that ? THE FORGOTTEN FOURTH "R" 23 EDWARD: The crossing was too f a r from the public school to have their patrol cover it; but it was dangerous, and so we set up our patrol there. DR. SYNON: Thank you, Edward. That's a pretty large record f o r any Civics Club, and particularly f o r one in its f i r s t year. But that was not all that the Saint James Civics Club of Mount Rainier did. They had a very particular enterprise. And here is Christina Brown to tell you about that. CHRISTINA Mount Rainier is a very fine city, but there's one BROWN: thing it doesn't have. That-one thing is adequate recreational facilities. There are big spaces in the city without a playground. There is plenty of room around the houses, but children—especially boys— can't play in them because they might break the windows or disturb the people. We've known f o r a long time that there should be places—one place, anyhow, in the neighborhood of the school where children could play, especially at noon. All the child- ren don't go home f o r lunch. Sometimes both their parents are working. Sometimes they live too f a r away from the school to make the trip. They bring their lunches or buy them at the drug store or the lunch counter near the school. Then they have time on their hands. And what can they do? That's why the club voted that we should do something about starting a movement f o r more playground space. DR. SYNON: How did you s t a r t it? CHRISTINA: We sent a group of six to a meeting of the City Council so that we could find out the way to go about this. It just happened that, on this meeting night, the Council was hearing the complaint of a lady about the way children were playing in a. lot belonging to the city. The police had given permis- sion to the children to play basketball there, but the lady said they were making too much noise. Another lady in the neighborhood said, though, that the children were not too noisy and that they should have a place to play. The Council didn't decide any- thing at that time, and the Mayor asked Mrs. Chambers, one of the women who'd taken us to the meeting, to introduce the members of the Saint James Civics Club. Then the Mayor asked Edward 24 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION Flanagan, president of our Civics Club, to talk about recreational facilities. DR. SYNON: What did Edward say? CHRISTINA: He referred to the complaint, then asked where chil- dren could play if they were not to be allowed to use the open space where the police said they might gather. Then the members of the Council began to talk about the playground situation. Some one said that there had been a playground project started, • but it had been ruined by vandals. Now was the time, they all said, to take up the project again. So we're waiting in Mount Rainier for final action, and in the meantime we are doing all we can to interest the voters. DR. SYNON: Do any of you 8th graders expect to use this play- ground ? CHRISTINA: Oh, no, we'll be in High School next year, long before anything could be arranged. We're doing this f o r other children. DR. SYNON: J u s t f o r the children of Saint James School? CHRISTINA: Oh, no, f o r all the children of Mount Rainier who need a playground. There will be many more child- ren from the public school than from our school who'll be using it. DR. SYNON: What will happen to the project if nothing is done by your Club before you 8th Graders graduate? CHRISTINA: Oh, next year's Civics Club will keep right on with the project. And already a lot of people in Mount Rainier are interested in getting a playground. DR. SYNON: If the next year's Civics Club does not entirely accomplish the result it seeks, we may be sure that some one of its successors will win that result. Al- ready Saint James School has a Junior Civics Club. I t is composed of 2nd Graders, 65 of them. They started this club entirely on their own. In fact, they are probably the only Junior Civics Club in the na- tion-wide organization. Among the thousands of re- ports already sent in by the Civics Clubs there was one so different from all the others that it called f o r instant attention: It was a very informal report, set down in ink in very large and very legible hand- THE FORGOTTEN FOURTH "R" 25 writing. I t read: "Second Graders: Make friends on the school yard. Ask if they would like to play games. Talk over what you are arguing about with- out fighting. Don't do to somebody else what you wouldn't want him to do to you. The papers on the school growns (grounds) are disgraceful and you are in charge of picking them up. You have no school spirit. You should be interested in the school growns (grounds). (It was spelled g-r-o-w-n-s, but it knew what it wanted those grounds to be). Do your best to keep it clean." This very informal re- port was signed, Mr. President. And here, to speak f o r himself and his club, is that Mr. President, Ro- bert Landolt, eight years old, with Theresa Cain, almost eight years old, vice-president of the Saint James Junior Civics Club. Robert, is it hard to be a Mr. President? Not when you hold to the rules. We hold our Junior Civics Club Meeting every Thursday. Since we first started our Civics Club there has been a much better looking school ground with hardly any papers at all. The children all play together. They all love one an- other like Sister is always telling us. On the busses, the Second Graders are very polite. They give the old ladies their seats and carry their bundles and smile at them. At home, we t r y to be kind to our brothers and sisters. When mother tells us to do something, we do it right away. At school, we try not to talk or push in line. We pay attention to Sis- ter, and try to learn our school work. During Lent, we saved all of our pennies f o r the suffering child- ren of Europe and Korea. DR. SYNON: And now, Theresa Cain, vice-president of the Junior Civics Club. Theresa— THERESA As the Vice-President of our Junior Civics Club, I CAIN: try to give good example to the other members of the Club. At home, I t r y to mind my mother and father, and be kind to anyone who comes to my home. I try never to forget to say my prayers. I always say Grace at meal time. At school, I study hard and I t r y to obey Sister. I try not to talk in line. I try to be nice to all the children. In Church, I try to be very quiet and watch the priest, and I think how lucky I am to be at Mass. I say my Rosary and ROBERT LANDOLT: 28 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION think how happy I shall be when I make my First Holy Communion. SYNON: These youngsters, 8th Graders and 2nd Graders, have shown us the spirit of the Catholic Civics Clubs. Service to others. Even in Second Grade they have learned this Golden Rule. "Don't do to some- body else what you wouldn't want him to do to you." And the Civics Club in the Upper Grades is working f o r something which will help the public school children of their city even more than it will help the children of their own school. Find out what you can do best f o r your immediate community, then do it. That is the slogan of these thousands upon thou- sands of children, all across our nation, who are learning through practice how to apply the prin- ciples of Christian Social Living to their Daily lives. Already they are showing how Religion may be ta- ken out of the pigeonhole of inaction and made the spark-plug of service. Perhaps, some day, even be- fore the Second Graders are voting citizens, the Catholic Civics Clubs of America will have shown to men of all creeds the way to a good citizenship which will have f o r its base the love of God and the love of fellowman. PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING Address Delivered on April 15, 1951 A Discussion by Dr. Francis P. McQuade, Raymond Connolly, Raymond Minnio, Joseph Houston, Donald Bowdren and Rev. Joseph D. Hassett, S.J. INTRODUCTION BY FATHER JOSEPH D. HASSETT, S.J. By way of introducing Dr. McQuade I would like to tell what happened at a dinner I attended the other evening. It illustrates a fairly common misconception about philosophers and philosophy. At this dinner my conversation companion was an experienced medical doctor. A f t e r much discussion about various topics, he asked me: "And what subject do you teach at Fordham, F a t h e r ? " . ' "Philosophy" I answered. Well a look of utter consternation came over his face and he blurted out: "How"could that be? You seem down to earth. You seem to have your feet solidly on the ground." From that moment on, he evidently expected me to turn into a starry-eyed dreamer wrapped in a cloud! How down to earth philosophers and" philosophy can be Dr. McQuade, in discussion with his students, will show us today. This discussion will, I think, make us realize more clearly why Catholic Colleges have always insisted that philosophy occupy an important place in education. For if we are to train our students to be good citizens, we must first lead them to think correctly and profoundly. We must help them discover answers to the basic problems of life. In this way we can be sure that they will have their feet solidly on the ground, because they will have formed—in the light of truth— genuine inner convictions to guide their everyday living. Today Dr. McQuade will give us an example of how students are developing their minds along the lines of philosophy. Dr. McQuade's brilliance, learning, and genuine sense of the problems of everyday life have attracted large audiences to his lectures and numerous students to his classes. I t gives me great pleasure to present to you now Dr. Francis P. McQuade of the Philosophy Faculty of Fordham University. Dr. McQuade. DISCUSSION Today we have with us four students of the Fordham Univer- sity School of Education: Mr. Raymond Connolly, Mr. Raymond 28 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION Minnio, Mr. Joseph Houston, and Mr. Donald Bowdren. Two of these men are veterans of the past war and two look forward to military service at the end of the school year. These men have been studying philosophy for at least two years. They have delved into highly abstract but very necessary problems. What they have to say ought to prove enlightening and significant in contrast with the confused thinking of our day. McQUADE: Mr. Connolly, a f t e r two years of philosophy, just how do you feel about carrying the ideas you learn- ed in the classrooms into everyday living? CONNOLLY: Well, so far, the principles of philosophy learned in the classroom have been working quite well in my life as a student. McQUADE: What do you mean by t h a t ? CONNOLLY: Well, as a student, I'm in contact with teachers and fellow students. That helps me understand better the principles I've learned. McQUADE: Do you mean that you talk over philosophy with others ? CONNOLLY: Yes. It'g the general thing to do. For example. We discuss such things as God, or man, or society. Ideas like that. McQUADE: Well, just what is your idea of man? CONNOLLY: Well, I think of him as a little universe in himself. McQUADE: What do you mean—a little universe? CONNOLLY: I mean he's something like everything in the world. He's something like a plant because he has vegeta- tive life. He feeds, grows, and reproduces. McQUADE: Is he also something like an animal? CONNOLLY: Yes, because he sees and hears and touches. He feels joy and sorrow, love and hate. He has sensa- tion, emotion, and external action. McQUADE: And is he something like God? CONNOLLY: Yes, because he can think and will and choose. He has knowledge and freedom. McQUADE: In other words, man in his makeup has all the elements of the universe. With these insights into PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING 29 CONNOLLY: McQUADE: CONNOLLY: McQUADE: CONNOLLY: McQUADE: CONNOLLY McQUADE: CONNOLLY your nature as a man, do you think you can live any better. Do you have a fuller view of life? Certainly. Incidentally, speaking of life and living, we hear today a lot about a standard of living. They say we have to maintain a high standard of living. What standard do you think they're referring to? I'm afraid that they're referring to a high standard of material living. They're referring to the life of the body, and that means food, drink, clothing, and shelter. But these things are necessary, aren't they? Certainly. Since man is partly material, he needs these things. Are they enough, however, for the full life of the whole man? No. They wouldn't make him a complete man even if he had all the material things he could use. You could satisfy every one of his lower needs, and he still wouldn't be completely satisfied. The body must be cared for, but the soul must be nourished, too. The soul needs the natural t ru ths learned in phil- osophy and also the supernatural tr uths revealed by God Himself, the t ru t h s of religion. Without them you might say man would be living without real vitality, without the fullness of life. In other words, you say you live on several levels of life. First, the biological level, the level of the plant. Secondly, you live on the level of the animal, the psychological level, the level of sensation and emotion. Next, you live on the philosophical level, the level of thought and free- choice. And finally, you live on the theological level, the level of Divine Grace and supernatural life. This last dimension, the level of supernatural living, what is t h a t ? That's the life which God restored to us by dying on the cross. It's the life which the Church dis- tributes to us through the sacraments of our reli- gion. You're born into it in Baptism. You're nour- ished in the life of God in Holy Communion. It's restored to you in the Sacrament of Penance if you 30 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION lose it by sinning. And you're confirmed in your divine life through the Sacrament of Confirmation. McQUADE: In other words, the Church is maintaining the divine life in you daily through the sacraments. CONNOLLY: Yes. When you know that, it brings you the com- forting knowledge that you're not alone, you're not by yourself. But you're in union with other beings, making up what we call the mystical body Qf Christ, the Church. McQUADE: But even when you're cut off from the company of other men to know these tr uths certainly gives direction to your life. In society today there are many lonely people. Take a populous city like New York, where most people live in apartments. They live on top of one another, underneath one another, and behind one another. And yet f o r all their spatial closeness, they're miles apart mentally. CONNOLLY: Oh sure. They're what you call "Manhattan cliff dwellers." They look f o r security in large numbers. They think they'll find it in a big city, where there are lots of people. But they never find it. McQUADE: But the recognition that you're a dependent creature and that your soul is made to the image and like- ness of God, and that God is the one friend you can turn to at any time, even when you're alone—that's a very consoling truth. Isn't it? CONNOLLY: Certainly. My life became richer and fuller a f t e r I was presented with these truths in school. But the trouble now is that at the end of this school term, I look forward to being called into military service. And the conditions of military life will be altogether different from what I have experienced up to now. McQUADE: How different? CONNOLLY: Well, f o r one thing, I'll be away from home. I'll be away from my family. I'll miss the conditions of college life and become another face in a uniform, a serial number, a notation on an index card. This new state of life, these new circumstances, I'm not too up on. McQUADE; Well, how do you know what you do already? PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING 31 CONNOLLY: McQUADE: CONNOLLY: McQUADE: MINNIO: McQUADE: MINNIO: McQUADE: MINNIO: Well, what I've learned of the army life has been from the war stories of the veterans in school. And these stories are not too encouraging. The way I got it, the values of military life aren't too high. They seem to be very much on the animal level. They don't seem to call f o r much initiative or idealism. It's a matter of doing what the other fellows do. This is the very opposite of what was stressed in college. Naturally, it'll be difficult f o r me to carry my philosophy into these new surroundings. I'm afraid of becoming an entirely different sort of man. What do you mean by "different"? Well, of being brutalized, of having my ideas changed, of being dehumanized. Well, that brings us smack into a very basic problem in philosophy, the problem of the person and his en- vironment. Is a human being completely at the mercy of his surroundings or can he exercise his personal freedom and modify the social influences working on him? You're a veteran, Mr. Minnie. What do you think about this ? Well, I found the people in the army were pretty much like the people I met in everyday life. An army raised in time of emergency is not made up exclu- sively of the ones who make a trade of soldiering. It's made up more of the young fellows you're f a - miliar with in the neighborhood and in school. That sounds right. I t may be true that the barracks and the battlefield are not the best places to associate with others, but that just emphasizes the problem of how much a person is affected by those around him. Well, do you think you're influenced quite a bit by those around you. Philosophy hasn't taught you that persons live in a vacuum, has it? No. Certainly not. Philosophy agrees with the fact that we're influenced to some degree by the en- vironment in which we find ourselves. But it also tells us that we can in some degree also influence our environment—by means of our f r e e choice. 32 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION McQUADE: What do you mean—free choice? MINNIO: Well, I mean the ability to decide yes or no. McQUADE: You have the ability to decide yes or no. MINNIO: Yes. I'm not forced to do anything I don't want to. McQUADE : You mean there's a liberty in you prior to perform- ing an action. What's an indication of t h a t ? MINNIO: Well, Doctor, I believe the best indication is simply our own recognition that we have it. I'm certain I made decisions many times in the past. And I'm cer- tain I'll be called upon to make them all my life. McQUADE: You also ask a person f o r counsel and advice prior to making a choice and that implies you're f r e e to take one line of action rather than another. You want information so you can better make up your mind isn't that so, Ray? MINNIO: Yes. And a f t e r you perform some act you expect some kind of reward or punishment. The laws of society are based on the idea of reward or punish- ment f o r the choices we make. That is why we de- corate heroes with medals. It's also why we give long jail sentences to criminals. McQUADE: What do you think, Mr. Minnio, about some of the attitudes you hear today. For example, that man is just the product of his environment, that he's not f r e e in any sense of the word. What he is, is due to his glands, or to something that happened in his childhood, or it's due to backward economic condi- tions ? MINNIO: These are all subtle denials of personal freedom, an emphasis on things outside of man. They blame everything on the external. They fail to see that we may be conditioned or modified by outside influen- ces, but we're not determined or caused by them. McQUADE: Yes, there's quite a difference between a cause and a condition. Society may condition or qualify your actions. But in the long run those acts are caused by you. What really makes you f r e e is your possession of intelligence. Whenever a thing's presented to your mind and you analyze it, it may be compelling as f a r as your feelings are concerned. You may feel PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING 33 you can't possibly resist it. But if you think about it, if you compare that object with the idea you have of a completely perfect object, what then? MINNIO: Well, Doctor, then you see that the thing is in some way imperfect. It has defects and limitations. And in comparison with the idea of a perfect good, this object is not as complete, not as compelling as it could be. McQUADE: Right. Have you ever noticed that if you're in a situation where a temptation seems very strong, if you don't think about the evil involved, if you don't think about the trouble it'll get you into, then it seems irresistible. But if you get thoughtful, if you reflect a bit, then you're free to resist the attrac- tion? MINNIO: Yes, Doctor. That's especially true of strong desires towards pleasures of the flesh. If the usual re- straints of keeping a good reputation and not sham- ing your parents are removed, you may be more prone to let these desires run riot. But the army itself does not create these urges any more than college life does. McQUADE: That's why knowing the philosophical explanation of f r e e choice is really your guarantee f o r the exercise of it. If you hear false theories about man's sources of behavior, you tend to lose sight of the fact that you have f r e e choice. You let self- control go by the boards. You just follow your instincts. MINNIO: Definitely. Many people today never give these things a thought. They just seem to d r i f t along. But since we do have f r e e will, it's quite important to understand it. As long as you realize that life is pretty much what you make of it, then you can maintain high standards. More than that, you'll be able to make an impact on those around you. You can elevate their very thought and action. McQUADE: This is all quite true. But will anyone listen to these philosophical ideas outside of the classroom? Will the men you associate with in the army listen to them. You're another veteran, Mr. Houston, what was your experience? HOUSTON: Well, you might not believe it, Doctor, but the very 34 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION f i r s t book in philosophy I ever saw in my life was handed to me by an ordinary G. I. in a barracks room. That is pretty hard to believe. But how did you happen to have the book given to you ? Well, of course, it developed out of a discussion, out of a bull-session. Evidently I was wrong and this fellow wanted to prove it, so he brought me Jacques Maritain's Introduction to Philosophy. Did you get much out of the book? Well, at first it was rather difficult. You did plough through it though? I t took plowing through—two chapters a month. Well, how about those discussions in the army, those bull-sessions? Did you get any philosophy there? Well, the word "philosophy" never came up, but the main problems of philosophy certainly did. I recall one topic constantly talked about. Everyone won- dered when his number would be up. What do you mean by that—wondering when your number would be up ? Well, whether or not a bullet had your name on it. Whether or not living and dying were due to fate, as some believed. Or whether it was due to blind luck. Many men calculated their chances of survival in terms of the time they spent in action. But the ones who sounded like they knew what they were talking about were the ones who reminded us that God was still running the world. He had something to do with the destiny of his creatures, something very important. In philosophy they call that the Doctrine of Divine Providence. Yes. And the men who believed in it were the ones who made sense. Living and dying had meaning f o r them. They had a real grasp of life. McQUADE: Well, this idea of dying, Joe? Do you think there's McQUADE : HOUSTON: McQUADE HOUSTON McQUADE HOUSTON McQUADE HOUSTON: McQUADE : HOUSTON: McQUADE : HOUSTON: PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING 35 a tendency f o r people today to be too a f r a i d of death? One of the f i r s t examples you learned in a Logic class went something like t h i s : All men are mortal. John is a man. Therefore John is mortal. HOUSTON: That's a well known exercise in Logic. McQUADE: So well known perhaps t h a t you wonder if they couldn't think up a new one. But what do you mean by being mortal? HOUSTON: It means that no man is going to live forever. McQUADE: Do you think there's something in our very makeup that demands we die, break up, and decompose? HOUSTON: Well, I know that matter decays. I know that f o r sure. I've seen a log rot, seen a tree die, seen men die. McQUADE: In other words you've seen things fall apart. Now f o r a thing actually to be able to die and fall apart means that it must have physical parts. I t must have extension. HOUSTON: Right. When you come across that you know it's going to die. You expect it to. McQUADE: Well, is there anything about you that doesn't involve parts outside of parts, that doesn't involve extension, that doesn't involve measurement? HOUSTON: Well, there's one thing we can't measure, that's the product of our mind, a thought. McQUADE: A thought! What does thought have to do with this? HOUSTON: Well, thought ie reflection, an operation of the mind. When I reflect on myself, when I know that I know, then I become aware of the fact that my mind is not material. It's immaterial. It's spiritual and un- extended. McQUADE: Which gives you certitude t h a t since it's not material, it has no parts outside of parts, then it is unable to break up. Your soul, in other words, is im-mortal. You know some part of your beihg is of its very nature unable to break up and decompose. Does that affect your attitude towards dying? HOUSTON: Quite a bit. Undoubtedly, we believed on f a i t h t h a t 36 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION our soul would live on in another life a f t e r death. That was before we studied philosophy. But when you reinforce this religious belief with some reason from philosophy, some reason that demonstrates that the immaterial doesn't follow the pattern of the material, then your conviction is greatly reinforced. McQUADE: Isn't it wonderful to know that there's no contradic- tion between what you believe on religious f a i t h and what you know by reason! So what matters is not so much dying, but how you die? Isn't that so? HOUSTON: Sure. But coming back to bull-sessions in the Army, if a man has anything worthwhile to say, the fellows will listen to him. They want to know the answers. They don't care whether he got it from a philosophy book, or heard it in a classroom, or thought it out f o r himself—just so long as it makes sense. McQUADE: Well, none of us here is in the army yet. As a matter of fact, army life is just another aspect of living in general. But why is it that we seem to be right side up in our thinking, and the world seems upside down? Perhaps you can help us out, Mr. Bowdren? BOWDREN: Well, today there seems to be a tendency to change words and think we've done away with objective moral duties. For example, we'll call adultery by the less harsh name of an a f f a i r . We'll call stealing sound business practice. Lying we call diplomacy. And what we often call ambition or getting ahead is just plain greed. The whole thing amounts to a denial of moral evil through a substitution of words. McQUADE: That's right. We hear a lot today about sin being a medieval superstition, a kind of fiction. They say it really has no ugliness. They come along and make a survey of how people are behaving. And then be- cause they find out that the majority of people are acting in a certain way, whether it's sinful or not, they conclude it must be all right. They put Ethics on a quantitative basis. Isn't this a denial of the wonderful qualities of personality, a denial of virtue and nobility? BOWDREN: Yes. Many people are evil because they don't want to fulfill themselves, Doctor. They don't want to be good. But they cannot be satisfied with this imper- fection unless they rationalize it away. So they PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING 37 McQUADE: BOWDREN: McQUADE: BOWDREN: McQUADE: BOWDREN: McQUADE: BOWDREN: McQUADE: BOWDREN: McQUADE: change the meaning of words referring to evil in order to make them sound good. At times they even make them sound noble. I think a little education in moral philosophy has helped us quite a bit in dis- covering this. Along these lines Don, these rationalizers say that sin is just a lack of inhibition. What kind of inhi- bition are they talking about? Well, I'd call that inhibition my conscience. They want us to uninhibited on the level of our emotions but to become inhibited on the level of conscience. So it all depends on what kind of inhibition we're talking about. What happens when you try to be f r e e of conscience? Don't you become a slave to sin? You become so inhibited in your will that you become un- able to resist the pull of your uninhibited passions. That's right. The man whose conscience and will are uninhibited is only half a man. Take love and lust f o r instance. The lustful man is only half a man. But the man who loves honestly and faithfully is a full man. In love everything is a matter of sacrifice, of generous giving. You go out of your- self to another. But in lust you are selfish; you are out to get all you can f o r yourself. Well, now, since sin is a privation, a loss, a lack, how is it that you become aware of its incompleteness. How are you able to recognize it as such? Well, through my mind. I know how men ought to live. I can figure that out. And once I know a way of life is not what it should be, then I see it is evil, and I'm disappointed with it. Do you think that disappointment, disillusionment, disenchantment, is the hallmark of our age? Certainly, that's the greatest tragedy of our time. Everyone seems to be disenchanted. They're look- ing f o r something. What were they looking f o r in the nineteen-^ twenties ? Don ? They were looking f o r easy money, f o r thrills, f o r a wild time. But that bubble burst. - And what did they try in the thirties ? 38 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION BOWDREN: They put their trust in new social plans, in water- tight systems of complete material security. McQUADE: And in the forties, they found that didn't work. BOWDREN: So here they are in the nineteen-fifties. Still look- ing. — McQUADE: I suppose some people will always be looking—but never finding the truth. It's the very nature of our mind to look f o r answers. That's almost what the word "philosophy" means in Greek—a search a f t e r wisdom. But it doesn't mean that simply because man looks f o r lasting truths, he has never found any. These young men this morning have amply demonstrated they grasp many lasting truths. They are wiser than their youth indicates. They give promise that philosophy will not die in our time. ' ANNCR: In just a moment, Dr. Francis P. McQuade, Pro- fessor of Philosophy, Fordham University, will return to summarize today's discussion entitled "Philosophy f o r Everyday Living." The National Council of Catholic Men is pleased to make available printed copies of these discussions and the summary which is to follow. For your f r e e copy, simply drop a letter -or penny post card to the National Council of Catholic Men, Washington 5, D. C., or to your favorite ABC station. Now here is Dr. McQuade. SUMMARY Philosophy begins in wonder. We wonder about man, about f r e e choice, about God. We wonder what death is, what immortality is, what evil is. We wonder what really is the goal of life. All these topics we have touched upon this morning. Perhaps we should have narrowed our interest to one. But the inquiring mind of man doesn't seem to work that way. Like the bee taking nectar from flower a f t e r flower in order to make a nest of honey, so our mind touches upon topic a f t e r topic in order to develop a well- rounded philosophy of life. We will never rest until we have achieved a lasting vision, a complete outlook, a sweep that includes all things in. their proper place. Undoubtedly we will never achieve this perfect vision in this world. But we know it waits f o r us. We have been promised it by God Himself. If philosophy begins in this world, it ends in Heaven. Heaven f o r us will be one long look at the source of everything that ever existed—a long look at God. WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? Address Delivered on April 22, 1951 A Discussion by Sister Mary Ramon, Rev. Donald Campbell, Rev. James Malone and Mr. Ermine Perantoni SR. RAMON: Curriculum has had many definitions. Each defini- tion has been an attempt to clarify, and to state in a comprehensive way, just what curriculum is. You sometimes hear it referred to as the "Three R's," oi better, the "Four R's" . . . but for our times, either is too narrow. Someone has called the curriculum "The whole fabric of education." MR. Sister Ramon, just what do you mean by curricu- PERANTONI: lum? SR. RAMON: In the broad sense of the term, Mr. Perantoni, the curriculum f o r any given child includes all of his experiences in his home, his school, his parish, and his community through which the child learns. It includes his radio and television programs, the mo- tion pictures he sees, the books, magazines, and papers he reads—as well as his boy scout group, his gang. Through these and other influences he is con- stantly learning; and through them his life is being shaped. But the school curriculum needs a more limited definition. Let us say that it embraces all of the guided experiences of the child under the di- rection of the school. MR. Why do you stress the word guided, Sister ? PERANTONI: , SR. RAMON: Because the purpose of the school is to guide each child toward his full development, natural and super- natural. Now, in the broad curriculum I mentioned, some of the experiences may have a demoralizing effect on the child. But the school selects learning experiences for the children. These experiences are written down f o r the teacher's reference and guid- ance but they come to life as the teacher and the children live them. FR. The word experiences is used in so many ways, CAMPBELL: Sister. We may speak of war experiences, humorous 40 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION experiences, good and bad experiences. Do you think some examples of these learning experiences with which we are concerned, would be to the point here? SR. RAMON: Yes, Father. Some of the learning experiences will have to do with the usual subjects taught in school -—religion, music, geography, spelling, and all the others. Some of them will be first-hand experiences, for example, those in science and in a r t . . . even some live problems in arithmetic; others will be vicarious experiences, such as those to be had from books and films. There will be opportunities in all of these areas to develop the child's intellect; to de- velop his character. There will be opportunities f o r him to master skills which he is going to need all his life. For instance, he needs to observe carefully, to speak clearly, to write convincingly, to listen thoughtfully, to read not only f o r pleasure, but crit- ically—in fact, to know what is going on around him and to be an intelligent part of it. FR. MALONE: Aren't many social experiences implied in what you have said, Sister ? The children act much of the time alone but when they work together in committees or in clubs, or take part in assembly programs~or make study tours—when they serve on the safety patrol—when they pray together—they are having valuable experiences, from which they learn how to live and work with others. SR. RAMON: In other words, Father, they learn how to learn from their contemporaries. You see, Mr. Perantoni, the school curriculum includes all of the guided exper- iences of the child under the direction of the school. You mentioned that these experiences are written down.for the use of the teacher—is that something which is done once and for all? In other words, are my children at present following the same curricu- lum I did when I was a child? And would the same curriculum be used by children all over the country? SR. RAMON: How would you answer the f i r s t question, Father Campbell? FR. No, Mr. Perantoni, as f a r as your f i r s t question is CAMPBELL: concerned, the curriculum is not written down once and for all as something to be followed for all time. I would say that the philosophy of our curriculum MR. PERANTONI: WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? 41 never changes. Nevertheless the problems affecting the daily lives of the people change. This forces us to study the curriculum in the light of the changing circumstances—and to revise it according to the problems of the time. It generally takes the written curriculum a long time to catch up with the actual, daily lives of the people. But, an alert teacher brings current applications into the day-by-day living cur- riculum. SR. RAMON: And this day-by-day living differs with the kind of community, Mr. Perantoni. You live in Mt. Rainier —a suburban area. Father Malone here comes from Youngstown, Ohio, an industrial city; Father Camp- bell from Antigonish in Nova Scotia which is pre- dominantly rural. The backgrounds and many of the interests and problems are different for children in each of the three communities. Yes, Sister, I can see that some of the learning ex- periences would have to be different. Of course, the same universal t ru t h s would be taught but they would be approached in a different way and learned through different experiences. SR. RAMON: If the curriculum is a well-designed master plan, it is complete enough and flexible enough to allow the teacher to select and to adapt experiences best suited to the children she teaches. FR. MALONE: Sister, you are interested in this subject as a teach- er of curriculum; but Mr. Perantoni's closest in- ' terest at present has a different center. MR.- That's right. I am the father of two young children. PERANTONI: I know that the curriculum of the school will in- fluence my children, even though I have nothing to do with the curriculum. FR. MALONE:On the contrary, Mr. Perantoni, you parents are closely associated with the school curriculum. Don't you agree, Sister Ramon ? SR. RAMON: Yes I do. Mothers and fa t h e rs are apt to forget that they themselves began the curriculum at home. . . . That they are their children's f i r s t and most import- ant teachers. FR. MALONE:You see, Mr. Perantoni, the curriculum is the plan MR. PERANTONI: 42 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION whereby the sisters in the parish school prepare your children for daily living. The purpose of their plan is to f u r t h e r your aims f o r your children. The sisters help you to complete your plan. Some of the experiences which they provide f o r the boys and girls during the school day are much like the ex- periences you provide for them at hornet MR. I don't get that. PERANTONI: FR. MALONE: Put it this way then. To make your child truthful, you give him many opportunities to tell the t r u t h at home. Sometimes you withold a spanking because your child told the truth. The opportunities f o r tell- ing the truth, the times that the youngster is en- couraged to tell the . truth—these might be called a _ part of your plan for the child. From many exper- iences in which the child tells the t r u t h you expect to produce a t r u t h f u l child. MR. This idea appeals to me, Father Malone. The par- PERANTONI: ents—though they do not write it down—plan a curriculum for their children . . . and do you mean that the Catholic school will continue to train my children.according to my own f l a n s ? FR. MALONE: Exactly, Mr. Perantoni. You parents and the sisters at school work together in your child's education, and the one important reason why you do—is t h i s : you are both agreed on what you want f o r your child. Let me prove it to you. What do you want most f o r your child, Mr. Perantoni ? MR. Well, I certainly want her to have her share of the PERANTONI: better things this world has to offer—but most of all I want heaven. FR. MALONE:Well said, Mr. Perantoni. The curriculum which is a guide for the sisters in your parish school says the same. It, aims at moral arid spiritual perfection in Christ, saintliness. You and the sisters' curricu- lum agree on that all right. What other aims do you and your wife have f o r your children ? MR. We want healthy children. I have to take the older PERANTONI: girl to the dentist even now. I don't mind spending money on that because I want them healthy. Be- sides being healthy we want them happy, comfort- able, secure, successful and—a lot of other things. W H A T IS A CURRICULUM? 43 FR. MALONE•,What about social virtues? I am certain you want your youngsters to be obedient, cooperative, unself- ish. MR. Oh, yes. We want them to be self-disciplined—to use PERANTONI: their creative abilities—to appreciate beautiful things: you know, music and good reading and fine art, too. FR. MALONE:Mr. Perantoni, you have just outlined in a personal and striking way the goals of Christian education. You have described what you hope and pray your child will be. You and your wife worked together to make that plan come true during the pre-school days. When it is time f o r her to go to school you enlist f u r t h e r help. You say in effect "Sister, help us carry out our plans. Help us rear a holy, healthy, happy child." And, Sister Ramon, what would you say ? SR. RAMON: As a teacher, I'd probably say, "I'll help you by pro- viding experiences through which with the aid of God's grace I can guide your child and all the chil- dren in Christian living." MR. This is all very encouraging to us parents. But—I PERANTONI: am beginning to wonder just how you go about drawing up this blue print for the education of chil- dren. How do you go about selecting these courses for our children? Just where do you begin? SR. RAMON: I'll let Father Campbell answer that one. FR. First of all, Mr. Perantoni, since teachers are to CAMPBELL: guide the development of the child in school, they must clearly understand the child's nature. We all know that by nature every child has a body and soul. Moreover by a God-given gift, the child is capable of living a life of saintliness. This is what we call the supernatural life. MR. I- have been taught that in school and I realize it PERANTONI: even more now as my own children are growing up— they do live in the life of grace and have, ever since Baptism. FR. Correct, Mr. Perantoni. Now I am going to ask you CAMPBELL: a question. What good things do you think a parent should provide for his children? MR. Well, it seems to me, Father, that all parents want PERANTONI: to provide good clothes, good nourishing food foi^ 44 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION their children-^and an interesting home which helps make a happy home. Furthermore, we parents strive to give good advice and the proper encouragement when needed—and we t r y to help our children spir- itually by teaching them the meaning and use of prayer. SR. RAMON: And in doing these things, Mr. Perantoni, you are satisfying the physical and spiritual needs of your children—of each child, f o r no one realizes better than parents that each child has his own peculiar needs as well as his own particular abilities. FR- Then the school carries on in recognizing the addi- CAMPBELL: tional needs of the child. When he goes to school his interests broaden. True, he is still an individual. But in school he meets many other individuals. He finds that f o r harmonious and ordered living f o r getting along with other people—his friends and his teach- ers—he must many times sacrifice his own interests to the larger interests of the group. He learns the necessity for rules. FR. MALONE As time goes on the child realizes as a member of his community, of his state, his nation—and even I believe, as a world citizen that laws are made f o r the welfare of all. As he learns to sacrifice self-in- terest in working with others he practices what we call "social virtue" f o r the sake of peace and unity. Elementary schools should help to prepare the child f o r our democratic way of life through experiences in cooperation and in leadership. What you have been talking about, Father, is good Christian social living. In obeying civil laws the child shows his love for his country; in respecting the rights of others he practices the Christian vir- tue of justice. Isn't that right, Sister Ramon? And so important, Father. There are many other ways in which we can apply Christian teaching in the school day. In our concept of curriculum, any blue print or plan which does not provide f o r the su- pernatural development of the child is fragmentary and incomplete. I am beginning to realize more "every day how much emphasis should be placed on the supernatural de- velopment. A child needs that. FR. CAMPBELL: SR. RAMON: MR. PERANTONI: WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? 45 SR. RAM£)N: Father Campbell, you have spoken of the needs of the child as one of the sources of the school curricu- lum. FR. Yes, we have considered the individual needs of the CAMPBELL: child in his home environment; we have said a word about the social needs of the child in his school en- vironment. Should we not complete the picture by showing how we satisfy his supernatural needs ? As Christian educators we look upon the school as one of the agencies of the home and church whose duty is to guide the child in Christ-like living. At Baptism the child receives the g i f t of grace together with the virtues of faith, hope and charity. The need of • the child in this respect is development in virtue. The school situation is replete with opportunities f o r growth in virtue, both on the playground and in the classroom itself. These opportunities should be used to show the child how to apply and practice the vir- tues of justice, charity, temperance, fortitude and the many other g i f t s of grace that God has given him. FR. MALONE: The child receives additional grace from the sacra- ments of Holy Eucharist, Penance, and. Confirma- tion. He begins to attend Mass regularly and he has a fuller participation in the life of the Church. In- deed, the child receives the grace of the sacraments, but there remains the responsibility of the school f o r giving the child a deep appreciation of the truths of our religion. Sister Ramon, what do you say ? SR. RAMON: I am thinking of this, Father Malone, that the child increases in love of God through sacramental grace —yet, it is a well known fact that we love only what we know. This is another reason why religious tru t h s must find a place in the curriculum. As chil- dren grow in the knowledge of God, and learn of the virtues practiced by the saints, even as they observe virtue practiced by their teacher and by their fellow pupils, they develop their ideals and begin to lead a life patterned a f t e r that of the Divine Teacher, Christ. They learn to "do the t r u t h in charity." FR. There can be no question then, Sister, that a truly CAMPBELL: Christian curriculum must provide for the super- natural development of the child. And I think it is 46 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION time we consider certain areas of the curriculum where Christian Living might be applied. SR. RAMON: How about the social studies, F a t h e r ? ' S i n c e you mentioned the matter, a clarification of the meaning of social studies is in order. In the elementary school, we are concerned with all the human relationships in which the child plays a part. The story of the child whose mother asked him what he studied in school might serve as an illustration. The youngster replied that he was learning some history, but that the teacher called it social studies. A f t e r some deep reflection he went so f a r as to say that he was learning geography, but the teacher called this social studies, too. The teach- er knew her terminology. She knew that history and geography are concerned with human relationships. History tells us the story of people; geography, where and how they live; and how they use the re- sources of the earth; civics, how people are gov- erned and how they take their responsibilities as citizens. MR. But shouldn't the young child begin to learn about PERANTONI: human relations in his immediate surroundings ? SR. RAMON: That shows how well you understand children, Mr. Perantoni. They do need to understand f i r s t what is close to them; how people live together in their own community, why their parish church is there, how much farm people and city people depend upon each other. Later on, they learn how people live to- gether in their diocese, their state, their nation, and in other countries. MR. What makes that Christian? Wouldn't these be PERANTONI: taught in every school? FR. It's true that all this can be taught and yet the cur- CAMPBELL: riculum would not be truly Christian. But in Cath- olic Education the social studies must be permeated with certain fundamental ideas such as the dignity of the human person, the Providence of God in the a f f a i r s of men, the supernatural unity of all men, and the sacredness and integrity of the family. . . And, of course, the obligation of all men to share the g i f t s of nature. FR. CAMPBELL: WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? 47 MR. I can see where these are social principles in so f a r PERANTONI: as they are concerned with human relationships, but I'm not too clear on what makes them strictly Chris- tian. FR. MALONE:Well let's take the dignity of man, by way of ex- ample. He has a value over all the other things of this world because God has given him certain gifts such as his mind and will. But his dignity doesn't stop here. The fact that Our Lord redeemed all men on the Cross gives the individual person added dig- nity. Because of the Redemption, man can live the life of grace here on earth and he is capable of en- joying eternal life in heaven with the help of that grace. All these thoughts make up the Christian concept of man and this concept of man has its place in the curriculum. It is the duty of the school to see that opportunities are provided f o r the child to grow in the development of Christian attitudes toward his fellows whether they be his next-door neighbors, the workers he meets, the beggars in the street, or the persons who ride the same bus—regardless of race or of creed. MR. The rebuilding of society, the social teaching of the PERANTONI: Church, strengthening of democracy, can all these be started in the elementary school ? FR. There are certain social and economic evils in the CAMPBELL: world that must be corrected by the application of the Christian virtues of justice and charity, and the child sees them in his everyday living. One social group is pitted against another, prejudice of all sorts surrounds him. The school must help the child to develop Christian attitudes toward these situa- tions that cry for justice and charity. MR. You don't expect the elementary school to do all PERANTONI: this? FR. No, but a beginning must be made in the school. I t CAMPBELL: is true that the school is but one of the agencies for child development. And even though it is only one of them, a start must be made. FR. MALONE:We have implied another source of the curriculum here without bringing it into the open as an essen- tial source. This discussion on giving the child a Christian view of the world of which he is a part 48 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION pre-supposes continuous study by educators of every aspect of life: physical, economic, social, cultural, moral and religious. I t is this knowledge and under- standing in addition to an understanding of the child and how he learns, which helps in the selection of learning experience f o r the curriculum. MR. I see. It is necessary to know the child himself and PERANTONI: his world with all of its problems. But, Sister, are schools actually trying to do all of this? Have the teachers the helps they need to accomplish it? SR. RAMON: Catholic schools are striving to do it, Mr. Perantoni. The teachers have from the encyclical The Christian Education of Youth, that memorable aim of Catholic education given by Pope Pius XI. "To cooperate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect Christian." As to the helps teachers need the Com- mission on American Citizenship which was estab- lished by the Archbishops and Bishops of the Ameri- can Hierarchy in 1938 to build a program of Chris- tian social education has furnished teachers with inspiration, guidance, and with some of the mater- ials they need. FR. MALONE:For instance—the elementary school curriculum called, "Guiding Growth in Christian Social Liv- ing." It is a master plan, a guide, which shows the teacher how "to cooperate with divine grace in form- ing the true and perfect Christian." SR. RAMON: I like the way the late Monsignor George Johnson, the f i r s t director of the Commission, paraphrased that aim f o r our country. He said that [our schools must] "provide those experiences which with the assistance of divine grace, are best calculated to develop in the young the understandings, the atti- tudes, and the habits that are demanded f o r Christ- like living in our American democratic society." MR. Are there any books to be put into the children's PERANTONI: hands which make the application of Christian t r u t h in their daily lives clear to them? SR. RAMON: The Faith and Freedom Readers prepared by the Commission on American Citizenship have been in the schools f o r several years now. In interesting stories of everyday, familiar situations the children WHAT IS A CURRICULUM? 49 see how their religion can be lived. Here, f o r in- stance, is a third grade reader, This Is Our Valley. I t tells the story of people who lived in a rundown community. The children recognize themselves in the story as one of the cooperative citizens or perhaps as one of the selfish ones. As the story unfolds they see that when all the people began to work with their local officials, their parish priest, their scouts and 4H groups they began to build a happy Christian community. FR. MALONE:Mr. Perantoni said he wants his children to appre- c i a t e the beautiful things in life. The Literary Read- ers which complement the Social Readers will help the teacher to fulfill that aim. MR. I'll have to look into all of these materials. Parents PERANTONI: should know them, too. With this constructive pro- gram in the schools we should soon see a big im- provement in society. SR. RAMON: Yes improvement, we hope, but the school itself will not reform society. If we had the best of teachers, and the finest of schools with all the modern facili- ties at hand, along with an excellent curriculum, the school alone could not do all that needs to be done. Adult education and many other institutions must cooperate. Even then the perfect society will not result. Because Adam's sin is still with us, indi- viduals remain f r e e to thwart the grace of God. Nevertheless the obligation remains. We must be- come the instrument of God's grace. We must assist in bringing Christianity into everyday living. SUMMARY SR. RAMON: I am going to call on the other participants to join me in giving the summary. FR. MALONE:The school curriculum which is an important part of the life curriculum of the child provides those learning experiences which show him how to know and love and serve God—and those which help him to understand and to love and to cooperate with his fellowmen. Provision is made also f o r teaching him to appreciate the g i f t s of the earth as a t r u s t to be used gratefully—to be shared now and to be con- 50 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION served for f u t u r e generations. As all of these Christ- like understandings and attitudes and habits be- come an integral part of the child he "advances in wisdom and age and grace before God and men." FR. Because the curriculum exists f o r the child it should CAMPBELL: be planned and interpreted by educators who have f i r s t answered such questions as these: Who is this child? What is his nature? The purpose of his ex- istence? For what must he be prepared? What are his needs and his capacities? How can we best help him to fulfill them? What is our part in helping this child to be physically f i t ? Which school exper- iences will make him a better member of his family —a better citizen? A competent worker? These and f u r t h e r important questions concerning his intellec- tual and his cultural and his religious development are searching and necessary ones f o r educators. MR. The child himself is not too much concerned whose PERANTONI: place it is to teach him this or that. He is eager to learn if he has a purpose in mind. He will give his ears and his eyes—often his complete loyalty—-to the person who wins his attention. This makes it vitally important f o r the home and the Church and the school to keep in close touch. They ought to work with other agencies of education, too. The more meaning our children see in the way adults work to- gether, the better they will cooperate with us. SR. RAMON: In the long run, the curriculum will be as good as the teacher makes it by relating school experiences to everyday living. If she uses the curriculum as a guide rather than as a task master she will accom- plish more—and so will her pupils. If she thinks of in-service training and curriculum study as a chance to "run up and touch f i r s t base again" her fresh viewpoint and her sense of direction will make the curriculum f o r her pupils something that is alive. THE MAKING OF A TEACHER Address Delivered on April 29, 1951 A Discussion by Sister Mary Nona, O.P., Sister Mary Joan, O.P., William McNamara and Mary Ellen Burkhard Today we shall hear the f i f t h discussion of the series, "The Christian in Action—in Education," sponsored jointly by the De- partment of Education, National Catholic Welfare Conference, and the Commission on American Citizenship of the Catholic University of America. We have dealt with the curriculum, the principles of ed- ucation, and the place of religion in the school. The subject of dis- cussion this morning is "The Making of a Teacher." The participants today are all concerned in one way or other with this timely subject. The moderator, Sister Mary Nona, O.P., a staff member of the Commission on American Citizenship, is Presi- dent of a teachers' college, Edgewood College of the Sacred Heart in Madison, Wisconsin. Sister Mary Joan, registrar at this college, is curriculum consultant of the Commission on American Citizenship. Miss Mary Ellen Burkhard, of Monroe, Wisconsin, is a junior at Edgewood, looking forward to becoming a teacher in our public schools. Mr. William McNamara, Madison attorney and father of a growing family, is concerned with the preparation of teachers f o r his children. Sister Mary Nona will act as Moderator. SR. NONA: Among our beloved American traditions, place is always given to the little red schoolhouse—some- times furnished with a hickory stick, and always with a stove and woodbox to be filled. But the teacher in this traditional picture has never been clearly seen as a single type and that is as it should be. Our teachers, by their own personalities, have upheld a profession little publicized and often un- rewarded. They have included many a Mr. Chips . and Anne Sullivan, many a Mother Seton and Dr. Pace. Each one of us recalls a teacher who has in- fluenced our lives. If all of these were brought to- gether, we would find no single type; no one recipe for the making of a teacher. Yet there must be some ingredients that should go into the making of all teachers.—Mr. McNamara, in your opinion what should these be? MR. Are you sure, Sister, that I am the one to start McNAMARA: this off? You know, I'm not aii educator. 52 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION SR. NONA: But you are a parent of—how many? MR. McN AMARA: SR. NONA: MR. McN AMARA: SR. NONA: MR. McN AMARA: Three boys, Sister—and real ones! One in the eighth grade, one in the fourth grade, and one in kindergarten. Then as a parent you give each of these boys to his teacher as your deputy—a kind of "Vice President in Charge of Education." So, from the viewpoint of a parent, what do you expect to go into the making of that teacher? Tell me first, Sister—do you mean a religious teacher, or a teacher in our public schools? I mean any teacher, religious or lay, in public, private, or parochial schools. My first reaction is that I'd like to see the teacher of my children be a third parent to them; that's because I sometimes feel I am not doing a very good job in my role. I'm human enough to want someone" else to help. But getting back to the answer to your question, I believe that a teacher should have two types of training. The first, I would say is practi- cal; the second is a little difficult to label but I would say it covers "intangible" factors. SR. NONA: Intangible factors aren't easy to begin with. Suppose we stay with the tangible. MR. All right, I mean learning how to teach her subject; McNAMARA: knowing it herself and knowing how to teach it— mathematics, f o r example. SR. NONA: Why do you say mathematics ? What do you think a teacher needs in that field ? MR. Well, on the basis of problems I've seen in my McNAMARA: boy's book—the one in the eighth grade—I some- times think the teacher ought to have the equivalent of a senior in engineering at the university! But seriously, I'd leave it up to the professionals to tell what the teacher needs. SR. NONA: Whom do you mean by professionals ? The colleges ? MR. Yes, and superintendents of schools, the State Board McNAMARA: of Education—and the Diocesan Director of Schools. I'm willing to leave it to them to say whether a THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 53 teacher should have a two year course or a one year course in the methods of teaching. Whether she should have two years of college training or three years, it doesn't— SR. NONA: Two or three years, Mr. McNamara! That won't do at all. MR. I t won't? Well, what is the minimum standard f o r McNAMARA: preparing a teacher? SR. NONA: Will you answer that, Sister Joan? Requirements are Sister's forte. SR. J O A N : Yes—the minimum is no longer a two or three year course, as you put it. The normal school is giving way to the full four-year college, offering a Bachelor's degree. MR. Do you mean f o r teachers in the elementary McNAMARA: school? SR. J O A N : Yes, I do. MR. McNAMARA: SR. JOAN: MR. McNAMARA: SR. JOAN: MR. McNAMARA: SR. J O A N : SR. NONA: Is that four years of methods of teaching ? Oh, no. It's a four-year college program of general education, including special preparation f o r teach- ers during their junior and senior years. What do. you mean by general education ? That's a debated question. I think most people would agree with the authors of the Harvard report that general education includes "the truths which none can be f r e e to ignore." You mean, like the truths of philosophy? Yes, and those of the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences. And the science of theology; all the fields of human knowledge, provided you remember the why of them more than how much of this or that. MR. McNAMARA: What do you mean, the why? 54 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION SR. NONA: SR. JOAN: SR. NONA: SR. JOAN: MR. McNAMARA: SR. JOAN: MR. McNAMARA: SR. JOAN: MISS BURKHARD: MR. McNAMARA: MISS BURKHARD: SR. NONA: MISS BURKHARD : We mean that every subject, and all the truths that it embraces can be given ultimate meaning f o r our lives in terms of our relationships—to God. F i r s t of all— And to our fellow men. And nature; and our relations with ourselves. You see, a general education, from our point of view, not only draws upon all the fields of know- ledge and relates them to one another, but ties them up with Man's basic relationships, f o r the sake of wisdom—putting all things in order. Isn't that the same type of program offered by a Catholic liberal arts college? Yes it is. But the girl who wants to be a teacher in the elementary school majors in the field of educa- tion rather than history or biology. What if this girl has a special liking f o r history, or languages? Well, she can take a second major*in history, or two minors in any of the fields of concentration. Miss Burkhard, do you have a second major? No, I have two minors, history and English, and of course I'm majoring in elementary education. I t occurs to me, Miss Burkhard, that you should have something to say about the making of a teacher. Aren't you planning on that career? Yes, that's my objective. And I happen to know that this young lady came to the college with some very definite ideas about her objectives. Do you remember, some time ago, giving me a kind of four-point program that you had set up f o r yourself ? Yes, I remember. I said first of all that I had come to college for my own self-development. Then, to learn all I could about children. The third goal I mentioned was learning how to teach them; the technical knowledge, I suppose you'd say. THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 55 SR. NONA: Yes, but don't forget the fourth one- MR. McNAMARA: MISS BURKHARD: MISS You mean my dual objective, Sister?—I said I BURKHARD: thought my education should prepare me to be a good mother as well as a good teacher. MR. That's certainly a fine objective, Miss Burkhard. McNAMARA: But the first goal you gave me was self-development. Frankly, I question it. Wouldn't knowledge of the child come first? MISS No, I don't think so. I think self-development is BURKHARD: not only the right of a teacher, but also her duty. If I'm to be a model for thirty or forty human souls (not a pattern to be copied, of course) I want to set up certain ideals which a child will unconscious- ly reach for. And to do that I have to be a whole person. I want to have whatever is humanly possi- ble to offer a child. What direction do you think this self-development should take? As I see it, first I want to develop myself spiritually. I want to make my religion a part of my life, not just a Sunday gesture. I should be so grounded in my religion that instead of merely telling the chil- dren the difference between right and wrong, they would see me living it. For example, aren't teachers supposed to be available in their classrooms for a while a f t e r school ? SR. JOAN: Yes. They should be there to help pupils with their problems, or meet with parents. SR. NONA: Or just straighten up and prepare for the next day's work. MISS Then, how could a teacher help her pupils to become BURKHARD: honest and responsible, if she skipped out every afternoon as soon as the bell rang? SR. NONA: I don't know. That is a very practical example. MISS My religion should also make God very real to me, BURKHARD: so that I can make Him real to the children. I want to become so absorbed in the idea of God's Suprem- acy that I can bring it out on a nature hike, or a lesson on jet planes, or a discussion of atomic power. I'd like to set every child thinking about the fact 56 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MR. McN AMARA: MISS BURKHARD : MR. McNAMARA : MISS BURKHARD : that man's inventions can be tremendous, but no man has made a blade of grass. I'll go along with that. Most children can stand a lot of direction spiritually. And then what? I hope to become acquainted with many subjects, from philosophy to music appreciation . . . I don't expect to become a master in these fields, but I do expect to get a whole picture. And this ought to help me in guiding-children. I don't like to be cynical, but what about guiding Johnny Jones, who's interested in nothing but airplanes ? How can you give him the whole picture you talk about? I suppose I could explain to Johnny that a person can't be interested in one thing only; everything goes together in this world. I could explain how arithmetic is important to pilots. I could help him follow the flight of a transatlantic plane in geo- graphy. I might even get him interested enough to do the impossible—that is, write a letter; a letter to a pilot, maybe. I suppose it would not be possible to introduce Johnny to such literature as Saint Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars? Probably not, but even if I can't make Johnny like Saint Exupery, I should know and love good litera- ture myself. Maybe I can't bring Browning and Shakespeare directly into my classroom, but in- directly my children should be benefiting all the time from my own cultural background. SR. JOAN: What do you mean by your cultural background ? MISS That's not easy to answer. I suppose—I mean BURKHARD: becoming more aware of beauty-—not only in litera- ture, and in music and art, but in everything around me. I'm sure that most children would never know how beautifully intricate a snowflake is, if teachers —or someone—didn't point it out to them. SR. JOAN: I'm sure that is true. SR. NONA: MISS BURKHARD: MISS Besides, as a teacher I hope to be able to discover BURKHARD: a child's talents and help him to do something about THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 57 them. If little Sally shows new life every time I mention a music period, I want to be alert enough to tell this to her parents—suggest music lessons, perhaps. MR. That's good, and I'm glad to meet a young woman McNAMARA: who has such goals in mind. I was thinking as you spoke that you could help my wife and me with our boys. But just how are you going about this business of self-development? MISS That's what I'm going to college for. And I hope BURKHARD: that mom and dad can see some results of their in- vestment! Seriously, though, the courses and all other things we do at college go into this self- development. MR. Do you mean extra-curricular activities, like that McNAMARA: Spring Formal you were talking about yesterday? MISS Yes; you call them "extra-curricular," but they are BURKHARD: part of college life, aren't they Sister? SR. NONA: Yes. We believe that everything planned by the college to f u r t h e r its objectives has its place in the curriculum. Not only the courses, important as these are, but all the activities too: the basketball game, the student assembly, even the class picnic! I don't mean that these have the same weight as the Latin class or Sociology, but they complement the course work in strengthening those basic relation- ships we spoke of earlier and we think the whole curriculum, not just the courses, should be built upon those relationships. MR. McNAMARA: SR. NONA: How can you do t h a t ? Take, f o r example, our relationship to God. The theology course provides the foundation for this relationship. But think-of all the campus activities that go into the strengthening of it. Daily Mass should be a part of our curriculum, the heart of it, f o r that matter. All the religious activities are important in the student's relationship to God, and so they are a part of the curriculum; 58 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MR. I see how these help to make religion a vital part of McNAMARA: our lives, but what about all the emphasis on human relations that we hear of today ? SR. NONA: I don't think we hear enough about them; or at least we aren't doing enough about them. Again, the curriculum must provide more than the social science courses to develop social responsibility; such as—which ones, Miss Burkhard ? MISS Conducting a meeting of the student association. BURKHARD: There's plenty of leadership needed there, and patience too! And just getting along with people in your residence halls is important. SR. NONA: Yes. All these are the proving grounds f o r the principles that are learned in the social science classes—like respect for the individual, and . . . MISS . . . not forgetting the dignity of the worker when BURKHARD: you're assigned t6 do the dishes by the clean-up committee! SR. NONA: That's right; you can't forget these social principles very easily if you're living them. And if the student doesn't live them, how can she hope some day to teach her pupils to live and work with others ? MR. I'm sure, Sister Nona, I don't know. Now do I have McNAMARA: this straight? You'd say that the curriculum of the college includes - not only the courses, like religion and political science, but all the activities that refer to these two relationships; to God and to our neighbor? SR. NONA: Yes, that's partly right, but it isn't complete. The fact that we have a floor to stand on, and a micro- phone to speak through, reminds us of another relationship that looms up in the curriculum; that to nature and the material world. Obviously, the science courses take care of this in large part, but not altogether. There is also a whole range of campus activities that deal with the use of material things; appreciating beauty in nature, and even conservation on a small scale—like turn- ing off the lights. What's that slogan about lights, Miss Burkhard? MISS My dad always says, "Use all you need, but need all BURKHARD: you use!" THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 59 MR. McNAMARA : MISS BURKHARD : MR. McN AM ARA: MISS BURKHARD : SR. NONA: MR. McNAMARA : SR. NONA: SR. J O A N : SR. NONA: I'd like to meet your dad or have him come and meet my boys. But getting back to this idea that the campus activities are a part of the curriculum, what are some of them that have to do with nature—ras you put it? Oh, things like our weiner roasts and tobagganing and ice skating, and watching spring come to the campus-— I see, I see. I know people who get A's in biology or chemistry and never look twice at a beautiful sunset. That's what I meant by our need f o r self-development. That brings me to the fourth relationship on which we build the curriculum, Mr. MeNamara: the one that we all have to ourselves. This is involved in the other three relationships, and calls for particu- lar attention to the, individual student in courses and activities. You mean such courses as art and music, that develop special talents? Yes, if you remember that these are not only f o r people with special talents. Then there is learning a foreign language; learning to type or to sew— Don't forget the activities again: singing in the Glee Club and editing the yearbook, f o r instance— You can see, Mr. MeNamara, that this personal development has to be achieved through a complete college curriculum; one that recognizes all her basic relationships and provides for them, not only in courses but in life activities. MR. Miss Burkhard, I can see how your personal growth McNAMARA: would be taken care of by such a college curriculum —but you said you wanted to learn about children, and how to teach them. I haven't heard one word yet about how you're going to accomplish it. It's all very well to know about Cicero for your cultural background—but when do you learn to teach my boy fourth grade arithmetic? 60 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MISS BURKHARD : MR. McN AMARA: SR. JOAN: MR. McNAMARA : MISS BURKHARD : MR. McNAMARA: MISS BURKHARD: SR. JOAN: MISS BURKHARD : SR. NONA: MR. McNAMARA: MISS BURKHARD: Well, first I have to learn about your boy. Although I don't know him yet, I've got a good s t a r t on the subject from child psychology, and of course, general psychology. Now we're getting somewhere; is this a part of that general education, Sister Joan? Yes, it is, but it's the specialization—or if you wish, the professional part of it. Good! Now tell me what you've learned about my boy in these courses. I might get a few pointers myself! Oh, we learn why he acts like he does. You know, poor eyesight often makes the child irritable, tired and uninterested. The teacher has to be a psycholo- gist. Many of her behavior problems can be under- stood if she knows when the child has reached the gang age or the cowboy age. Did they teach you about the radio age? Yes, and the TV age too! Don't forget educational psychology, where you learned about the principles and laws of learning, the differences among children, and how to measure their abilities. That's right. And these courses are based on a Christian philosophy which sees the.child as he really is, whole and complete. The young teacher won't go into the classroom thinking only of the child's physical growth and not his spiritual development; or for- getting the supernatural in him. Of course she can't forget Original Sin,—especially when she sees it in evidence on a rainy day, or a Friday afternoon! All right, that's fine. Now to get back to the arithmetic. Miss Burkhard, when do you learn to teach fractions? I've been working on that all year. Mr. McNamara. F i r s t I saw the place of arithmetic in the whole THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 61 MR. McN AMARA: MISS BURKHARD : MR. McN AMARA: MISS BURKHARD : SR. JOAN MR. McN AMARA: SR. J O A N : MISS BURKHARD : SR. NONA: MR. McNAMARA : program through a course in the Curriculum. But along with it I had a course in the methods of teaching arithmetic. And incidentally, you might like to know the meaning of fractions is introduced in the kindergarten. Half an apple, f o r example. You can't start any earlier than t h a t ! Is $11 this working f r o m a book, or have you tried it on any- body yet? No, I haven't tried it yet, because I don't start student teaching until I'm a senior. But I've seen it in action because the instructor in Arithmetic Methods would bring us straight from our class to the elementary classroom and teach the lesson f o r us. That's good. What do you mean by student teach- ing? I think Sister Joan had better answer that. Yes, I'll be glad to. Every teachers' college has a long period of student teaching, on at least f o u r different grade levels. The student works under the direction of a competent classroom teacher as well as her supervisor, and takes full responsibility for the class. It's really an apprenticeship then. Yes. Then she works with groups of children, helps with murals, leads discussions,—does everything a teacher would do. Oh yes, I've seen many of my friends struggling along making out lesson plans. They even work out whole units—like a unit on the Eskimo or the Indian. And we do a good deal of observation even before our practice teaching; it means a lot to see an expert teacher and her children living and working together in a democratic way! And that means a Christian way, of course, carry- ing out those principles again. I see—then observation and practice teaching are the chief part of the students' professional educa- tion— 62 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION SR. JOAN: Oh no, they are only the final part of it—rounding out courses in philosophy and history of education, and some in the content and methods of the common school branches. MR. It all sounds like a pretty big order—and I cer- McNAMARA: tainly see that four years must be the minimum, as you put it. MISS Mr. McNamara, may I ask you a question? At the BURKHARD: very beginning of this discussion, you hinted at some "intangible factors" among your requirements f o r a teacher. Could you tell us what you mean? MR. It's a little difficult to explain but to me these McNAMARA: intangibles are very important. First of all, I think a teacher should inspire her pupils. I don't know whether there are any courses offered in inspiration, but a teacher that doesn't inspire her pupils, it seems to me, is not doing her job. I want her to be able to develop certain virtues, or qualities, in the children. SR. JOAN: What are these virtues? MR. Well, I'm not sure that I can explain them, but I McNAMARA: mean charitableness, and honesty, and fine moral qualities. Those are items that a boy doesn't get in a textbook. You won't find them listed for / sale in a mail-order catalog. MISS I think that brings out what I said before about BURKHARD: self-improvement; you can't teach these virtues, but if you live them they ought to "take," almost contagiously. MR. I'm willing to concede they ought to originate in the McNAMARA: home, long before the child starts to school. Frankly, I'm not so certain that we parents do such a bang- up job . . . MISS BURKHARD: But the parents have a head start on the teacher . . . MR. Yes, and we parents, a f t e r all, are inspired by a McNAMARA: natural love for our children. This brings me to the most important factor of all, and I would like to find it in every teacher. That factor is her love of children. THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 63 SR. NONA: MR. McNAMARA : I'd go a little f u r t h e r , Mr. McNamara. Not only would we like to find it in every teacher, but I don't see how one could be a teacher at all without this love. If she loves the children, that will compensate f o r a great many deficiencies she might have in train- ing. SR. JOAN : Are you thinking of one of your own teachers ? MR. Well, the one I think of first wasn't my teacher, but McNAMARA: the first-grade teacher of my two boys—Sister Florentius. She had a tremendous love for the children, and they responded with complete obed- ience and absolute loyalty as well as a strong affec- tion. Her word was law because of the love the children returned to her. If she had said candy was to be eaten only with the left hand—that was it ! None of her children would have touched it with the right ! SR. NONA: I think we all agree, Mr. McNamara, that without this love for children all the best ingredients f o r the making of a teacher would not hold together. And that isn't just good pedagogy. It is Christianity. SUMMARY We have gathered here today to discuss the making of a teacher. Not to concoct a formula, because this would not be possible, but to learn some of the ingredients that seem important to us in this fear- ful and wonderful task. Mr. McNamara has spoken f o r parents who seek help from teachers and who ask that they inspire and love children and give them the opportunity to grow in virtue. Miss Burkhard has told us some of her goals, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual that she has in mind while preparing to teach in our public schools. Sister Joan and I have tried to show that such goals can be achieved through an education that is complete because it is Christian; that it rests solidly upon the truths and the activities oriented to those inevitable and unbreakable ties that are possessed by both teachers and children; their relationships to God, to their fellowmen, to nature, and to themselves. We have tried to show that even the so- called extra-curricular activities should not be allowed to be aimless or extra but drawn into the orbit of the curriculum, so that the 64 THE CHRISTIAN I N ACTION I N EDUCATION personal development of this f u t u r e teacher will go on at all times. Someone has said, "What we love to recall about the men and women who taught us is not what they told us, but what they were; there was in them a conviction about human life, human knowledge and how it should be used, which both in word and action they desired to express . . . without this we should not remember them as formative forces in our lives." Today all of us who took part in this discussion pray that God will bless every teacher of our nation and of the whole world, who faces a gigantic task. By her sincere effort for good she ought to earn the reward promised by the Scriptures f o r those who instruct others unto justice. WHO TEACHES THE TEACHER? Address Delivered on May 6, 1951 A Discussion by Dr. Francis M. Crowley, Miss Kathryn I. Scanlon and Rev. John S. Dwyer, S.J. DR. In considering the question of who teaches the CROWLEY: teacher, we hope to throw some light on the prob- lems facing institutions charged with the respon- sibility of supplying properly trained teachers f o r the' great network of schools covering America. Such questions naturally occur to you a s : "Are there uni- form standards of training for public and Catholic schools?" "How long does it take to train a teach- e r ? " "Do personality traits determine teaching suc- cess?" "What do we mean by the term, 'religious formation of the t e a c h e r ? ' " "Why should students enter the teaching field?" "Is there a shortage of teachers?" "Naturally, we cannot but give rather sketchy treatment to the high lights, yet it seems to us that the role of the teacher is of such vital impor- tance in the whole scheme of training f o r effective service of God and country that you can supply f o r some of our short-comings from your own good will and experience. Miss Scanlon, you have had some experience in directing the training of teachers. Please let us hear something about teaching as a profession. MISS Almost every man and woman today can tell of SCANLON: some teacher who helped him to form ideals and make life richer. Facts like these make us see the importance of teaching, f o r a good teacher can add much to the mental, social, and emotional life of children. No one should teach children who fails to see the importance of teaching as a life-long pro- fession. Teaching is a profession and its candidates should receive the best possible training. I t chal- lenges the best of the present generation. Teaching as a stepping stone to something else no longer exists. The period of preparation is long and the skills are too diverse f o r one to plan to teach while getting ready f o r some other occupation. 66 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION The minds and hearts of our children are very precious, and so the parents and Society demand a teacher who is well prepared to guide their children mentally and spiritually. This modern teacher be- comes friend, counselor, and guide to children, mainly because she recognizes that her function is to build character and citizenship rather than merely teaching subject matter. DR. Do you think, Father Dwyer, that you could fully CROWLEY: endorse Miss Scanlon's comments on teaching as a profession? Is it possible that religious teachers have a different approach ? FR. DWYER: Catholic religious teachers regard teaching funda- mentally as a life-long charity, as a needed service , rendered directly to parents and children and then to the State and Society, out of love of God and man. That outlook inspired Catholic religious teachers before anyone ever thought of teaching as a pro- fession. But the two points of view can fit to- gether. "Charity" refers to a motive; "Profes- sional" to a standard of achievement; and the Church in the United States has united them. When teaching began to be a profession, the Council of Baltimore in effect added the professional standard to the service of love, and directed Catholic schools to keep pace with advances in pedagogy in general American education. DR. When you speak of the council of Baltimore, it CROWLEY: moves me immediately to think in terms of a phil- osophy of Education. The philosophy or so called "why" of education is a very serious consideration. Education must have a sense- of direction. The teacher must know why she teaches. What do you think, Miss Scanlon? MISS I would consider that the f i r s t aspect of our teacher SCANLON: training program i s ' t h e importance of a definite Philosophy of Education. In our teacher training program we must provide this opportunity to de- velop such a philosophy in keeping with the nature and destiny of man, the principles of American Democracy. The Catholic Philosophy of Education particularly is in keeping with the American con- cept of man in a democracy—in that it stresses God's creation of man, his fundamental spiritual na- WHO TEACHES THE TEACHER? 67 ture, as the subject of God-given rights (namely, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness). In the Cath- olic school, this philosophy represents the sole Phil- osophy of Education; while in the public school it is important because it represents the Philosophy of Education of a very large segment of American life. DR. It is good to hear you emphasize the need f o r an CROWLEY: ethical approach, Miss Scanlon, since it is so neces- sary today to recognize moral values in education. Father Dwyer probably has something to say on that point. A f t e r all, you know his hobby is relig- ious education. Would you like to discuss this point further, Father? FR. DWYER: Yes, Dr. Crowley, Miss Scanlon's last point was well taken. Educational dictators are currently trying to force through the acceptance of secularism as the sole Philosophy of American Education. Yet, the parents of most public school pupils ate religious minded believers. The children of most Jewish and Protestant parents attend public schools. Despite our own large and well-filled, even overcrowded, schools half the children of Catholic parents attend public schools. A Philosophy of Education that re- jects God and His Law, the spiritual elements in the child's nature and his immortality, that limits man's life to material existence here on earth cannot sat- isfy these parents. They have a right to have their views and their philosophy of life represented pro- portionally in the administration and teaching staffs of the schools to which they commit their children, and to see to it that that Philosophy is retained, (represented) and respected there. During the past few years we have heard a great deal about the place of general education in a satis- factory college program. When we speak of gen- eral education we think in terms of breadth, depth, and perspective. Philosophy, surely, belongs in a general education program. Are there other sub- jects which should receive consideration under the head of general education, Miss Scanlon? Since teaching is an important and difficult profes- sion, I believe that we must also be concerned with DR. CROWLEY: MISS SCANLON: 68 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION the best possible formation of the teacher herself, f o r she needs, in particular, a strong academic training. Our program must be a well balanced Liberal Arts academic offering. For example, the Liberal Arts field would include a study of Man and his destiny, and the basic knowledge of reality such as Science, Philosophy and Religion give; the History of Man and the institutions of Society (History and Social Studies); and the contribu- tions made to our civilization and culture through Art and Literature. Our state certification- re- quirements have, recognized this by raising the aca- demic standards and consequently the dignity of the profession. FR. DWYER: From another point of view, too, Miss Scanlon. I think that substantial Liberal Arts training is essential f o r a good teacher. Today no subject is taught alone, but in correlation with every other subject. An excellent example of what I mean you will find in the program of elementary studies drawn up by the Committee on American Citizen- ship of the Catholic University. For instance, even the teacher of Religion teaches some parts of his subject best when he knows science; he cannot teach the Catholic moral of the Papal Encyclical well and completely apart from some knowledge of Economics and Sociology; History too, is an impor- tant mental backdrop for the Religion teacher, and so is Philosophy; Language and Literature are both laid under contribution . . . It's the same f o r every subject. Gone is the day of subject isolation- ism; all are taught in correlation today, as they always were when they were taught well. DR. So f a r in our discussion we have dealt with mastery CROWLEY: of materials of teaching which may be considered as the "what" of education. We have also referred to Philosophy as the "why" of education. I t seems to me that it is time now to consider the profes- sional phases which may be well labeled the "how" of education. Here we are dealing with methods or techniques. Miss Scanlon, you are in a position to help us here. MISS Our teacher training should be concerned with the SCANLON: practical aspects of teaching and should provide an WHO TEACHES THE TEACHER? 69 opportunity for the candidate to view teaching sit- uations early enough to develop interest in and strengthen her choice of this noble vocation. We should acquaint our prospective teachers theoreti- cally with the methods, problems, and techniques of teaching. We should then re-enforce this experi- ence in a practical way through our student teach- ing or practice teaching course. This phase of our teacher training program will f u r t h e r assist the candidate in being certain that she will make a con- tribution to teaching and that she has chosen her profession wisely. She will also be in a better posi- tion to choose the profession because it is a com- munity service to young people: and because she will make a contribution to the preservation of high moral ideals in a democratic society. OR. I t is my belief, Miss Scanlon, that personal qualities CROWLEY: condition success in teaching much more than any of us are willing to admit. There is an old German proverb about the good teacher which runs some- thing like t h i s : "He strikes his students so that he makes them ring." Frequently, we see how an eloquent speaker moves a great audience; Churchill in England's crisis or MacArthur in his address to Congress are f a i r examples. So it is with the good teacher: points are driven home like strokes on an anvil, and you can hear the students ring. They love justice, respect sincerity and worship idealism. They look f o r these qualities and many more in their teachers, such as a sense of humor, vitality and enthusiasm. The teacher's stock in trade should include a sense of order, devotion to duty, and a deep and abiding understanding. Such qualities may be developed and strengthened in a well-planned training program. In teaching the teacher, they must never be f a r f r o m our thoughts. My experience leads me to believe that the in- stitutions responsible f o r training religious teach- ers enjoy special advantages with regard to the de- velopment of personality traits due to the fact that such development has a distinctive religious foun- dation. You have had considerable experience in this field, Father Dwyer. FR. DWYER: The religious teacher devotes the early part of her 70 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION career to character and personality development. Postulant Jane Smith or novice Sister Mary Stanis- laus studies herself in the light of St. Thomas' scheme of the human and Christian virtues and then in contrast to the perfect personalities of Jesus and Mary. She meditates on these, examines her conscience, and makes resolutions. She morti- fies herself by not doing some things she finds are human weaknesses; but much more important, she goes ahead and does many other things that are human accomplishments. She keeps this up inten- sively f o r one and a half, perhaps two and a half years, until she has caught the knack and until at least the beginnings of Christ have been formed in her. The language may sound religious; religion may supply motivation, help, setting, but any psy- chologist will recognize the work as character and personality development. MISS But besides this, what kind of education do Sisters SCANLON: receive? FR. DWYER: Catholic teaching Sisters (and the same is true f o r the increasing number of brother teachers) receive their training : l g w | 1. In Catholic Universities, where the sisters attend classes with the sisters of many other communities, with brothers, and with lay students who are training for both the public and Catholic schools. 2. In Diocesan Teachers' Colleges, where the student body is entirely religious, but drawn from many different communities. 3. In Community Colleges, where the students are all from the same community. You were asking yesterday which I think is best, Dr. Crowley. In human systems it is hard to speak of an absolute "best." All three offer advan- tages with drawbacks. Catholic Universities and Diocesan Colleges offer a broader educational experience; but they are geared at present to part-time training of teachers in service, and they are often f a r away from the Motherhouse where young religious live during their years of formation. WHO TEACHES THE TEACHER? 71 DR. But it seems to me, Father Dwyer, that this matter CROWLEY: of "religious formation" is extremely important, so there might be special advantages enjoyed by the Community College. FR. DWYER: The community college offers three advantages that are very precious in the calculations of religious superiors: 1. It allows some more time in which to turn chatterbox Mary Lou into Sister Mary of Holy Silence, wean her from television, parties and glamour, and make her more solidly religious in affection and will as well . as in external habit. 2. At the same time she can avoid idleness by carrying forward her college studies to the bachelor's degree.^ 3. When she finally enters upon her lifework in the classroom she can concentrate on being a religious and a teacher. How does that compare with the general field of teacher training, Miss Scanlon? MISS Not too many years ago, Mary Smith could become SCANLON: a "qualified teacher" upon completion of two years of college training. Today—we have extended her period of preparation. As an elementary teacher, she is required to have completed her bachelor's degree or its equivalent which requires the full four year teacher training program and to stress methods of teaching and caring for children. As a secondary school teacher she stresses her academic subject matter plus her educational or professional training. Because this secondary school teacher has a great body of subject matter to master, her period of preparation is extended and we think in terms of a five year program instead of four years. DR. Is it possible, Miss Scanlon, that a f i f t h year would CROWLEY: enable a student to carry on graduate work leading to a degree? MISS To develop the prospective teacher to her fullest we SCANLON: must f u r t h e r her training toward graduate work— either, A.) f o r graduate work in an academic field, B) a full professional education field, or C.) a com- bination of the two. All of this additional training is pointed toward her professional advancement, 72 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION her self-improvement, and continued in-service training. Since various state departments of edu- cation are now emphasizing the need f o r a 5th year program it is important t h a t the undergraduate program be planned carefully toward improving the products who will be our teachers. (The teacher must continue to grow and develop professionally and academically within her chosen profession.,) Therefore, in order to meet the high standards set and standards acceptable to American education our course of study must be extended and we must be conscious of the time required for such a pro- gram. Miss Scanlon, it must be-admitted that the drive f o r higher standards was brought about in part by the surplus of teachers some years ago. The situation has changed radically, however, since the close of World War II, so that now the shortage of teachers presents a growing challenge. There has been a spectacular increase in the birth rate since 1940, so that at present more children are enrolled in ele- mentary schools than ever before in history. One hundred thousand new teachers will be needed each year during the next ten years. Teacher training institutions are now only able to satisfy approxi- mately forty per cent of the demand. Short term training programs are being used to prepare high school teachers f o r service in the elementary schools. Catholic and public schools are both in the same pre- dicament. There are simply not enough teachers to go around. The solution is more vocations f o r the teaching profession. The opportunities are rich in promise, leading ultimately to appointments as su- pervisors, principals and superintendents. We need thousands of recruits for a challenging service. The profession presents great possibilities f o r in- tellectual service to the Church. My comments have been more or less general in character. Perhaps you could be more specific, Father Dwyer. That is, at least as f a r as Catholic schools are concerned. FR. DWYER: There is a shortage of vocations. But I have noticed that communities with complete pre-service train- ing programs do not seem to complain of it. I think DR. CROWLEY: WHO TEACHES THE TEACHER? 73 there is a reason . . . Take the case of Sister Stu- diosa Perpetua. For the last seven or eight years since her profession, she has spent her Saturdays and her summer days in city subways and class- rooms ; all her holidays, lots of her sleeping time, and even some of her meditation hours have gone into term papers and study; she has had no extra time f o r her charges, no picnics with them, no chats person to person. She has scraped together enough points f o r a bachelor's degree, and with five days a week in the classroom, it was eight years of heroic work. But now, and during all those years—tired, short-tempered, nerve-weary, she is,—and has been,—no very attractive advertisement to her charges f o r the "hundredfold in this life, and life everlasting" that Christ has promised to his brides. There perhaps, a reason f o r the shortage of voca- tions. MISS It seems to me, Father Dwyer, that there is also a SCANLON: sense of dedication found among the best teachers. The teacher must be a person of high moral ideals; one who will continue to accept the full responsi- bility of teaching and her chosen profession: and who will continue to improve her self-ideal and t h a t of her students; and finally, one who will accept the full challenge of the loyalty to a common cause— namely, the improvement of the welfare of our f u t u r e generation. The teacher must continue to grow in-service and our teaching institutions must be conscious of developing a program that will sus- tain her interests in the profession and assist her in her professional advancement. All of this train- ing is important because teaching is a life-long vo- cation and the Catholic ideal f o r the religious—that of consecration to a life-long work in education—is what we would like to achieve for all teachers. DR. CROWLEY: Thank you Father Dwyer and Miss Scanlon. The late William Lyon Phelps of Yale Univer- sity put it so well when he said he would rather earn his living by teaching than in any other way. For him, teaching was not merely a life work, a profes- sion, an occupation, a struggle; it was a passion». He loved to teach. But Professor Phelps would have been the first to admit that mere love of teaching 74 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION is not sufficient. The teacher must be trained so as to enable her to pass on to others a full appreciation of the significance of the age in which we are living, a deep and abiding love of America, and a fearless f a i t h in Providence. She must do so with a full awareness of how dependent she is on the heritage that lies behind her. She must know what to teach in addition to knowing how to teach, and she must have a good general education. The abilities, likes and dislikes of students must be known to her. She must have a mastery of many subjects and a knowl- edge of the most effective way in which to lead stu- dents to realize that certain educational attain- ments are necessary for successful living. She must be something of a Philosopher, a Scholar, a Diplomat, an Efficiency Engineer. Above all, she must have the patience of a Saint. The period of training has been lengthened in recent years and there is every prospect that standards are to be even higher. The critical shortage of teachers at cer- tain levels of instruction may slow down the trend •towards higher standards to some extent. All good citizens should help educators in their efforts to direct more candidates into the profession. We need more lay teachers who possess a sense of dedi- cation, who believe that there is a mission to be accomplished in shaping the thoughts and actions of young Americans in the proper fashion. We need more vocations for the teaching Sisterhoods and Brotherhoods, more of those great souls who are willing to leave f a t h e r and mother, brother and sis- ter, to ride the outposts of eternity, so as to bring the little ones to Him to people the corridors of heaven. A great deal is expected of institutions respon- sible for teaching the teacher. I t is a high duty which must be discharged as a sacred trust. God and Country must be served in full measure. Over two hundred colleges and universities are serving the Church in this capacity. A Catholic Philosophy of Education gives us a positive guarantee t h a t we are moving in the right direction. May God grant that our efforts be f r u i t f u l . PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE Address Delivered on May 13, 1951 A Discussion by Dr. John P. Treacy, Sister Mary Charitas, Very Rev. Msgr. Edmund J. Goebel, Ph.D., Miss Judith Schwabe and Mrs. Frank R. Traznik MRS. As a point of departure f o r this discussion, " P T A : TRAZNIK: Help or Hindrance," I would like to quote the late Rt. Rev. Msgr. George Johnson, past director, De- partment of Education, N.C.W.C. In the last para- graph of the "Foreword" to our PTA Manual of the N.C.C.W. the Monsignor stated: ". . . The Parent- Teacher movement is a development that is f u n - damentally sound and has marvelous potentialities for Catholic Action. Those who are working so zealously f o r its spread and for the improvement of its programs are rendering a real service to God and to Country. They are being of real service to the cause of Catholic education; but, above all, they are making the best possible contribution to the National Defense, because they are lending aid and strength to the Christian Home." Important also to this discussion, I believe, is a resolution adopted by the twenty-fifth National Convention of the N.C.C.W. in Cleveland, Ohio, October, 1950. The resolution reads: "Because of the widespread interest in fundamental political and educational questions concerning parental rights in education, Catholic parents should be in the forefront of the Parent-Teacher Association movement and of other activities which bring par- ents into close contact with school officials and teachers. "Therefore, we recommend that every Catholic school have an organization, preferably called a Home and School Association, which will coordin- ate the educative activities of parents and school teachers. It is f u r t h e r recommended that the pro- gram of these organizations be concerned primarily with the essential features of the home and school relationship rather than with fund-raising and social activities." 76 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION With these statements in mind, Sister Mary Charitas, will you please give the teacher's views on the value of the Home and School Association ? SR. MARY Using the caption of my column in the local Home CHARITAS: and School Bulletin, Mrs. Traznik, "Sister Says" that the Home and School Association justifies the existence of the religious teacher. According to the Encyclical on the Christian Education of Youth by Pius XI, "In order to obtain perfect education, it is of the utmost importance to see that all those conditions which surround the child during the period of his formation, in other words, that the combination of circumstances which we call en- vironment, correspond exactly to the end proposed. The f i r s t natural and necessary element in this environment, as regards education, is the family, and this precisely because so ordained by the Crea- tor Himself. Since, however, the younger genera- tion must be trained in the arts and sciences for the advantage and prosperity of civil society, and since the family of itself is unequal to this task, it was necessary to create that social institution, the school . . . the school is by its very nature an insti- tution subsidiary and complementary to the family and the Church." I should like to interject here the need for both teachers and parents to recognize this fact, namely that the home is the f i r s t and necessary element in the education of the child. We are likely to forget that. The Holy Father is em- phatic about it. "The Church," he says, "is so jealous of the family's inviolable natural right to educate the children, that she never consents, save under peculiar circumstances and with special cau- tions, to baptize the children of infidels or provide for their education against the will of their par- ents." MSGR. How would you say, Sister, that the Church provides GOEBEL: for these subsidiary means ? SR. MARY Monsignor Goebel, I would say she does this by CHARITAS: means of parochial schools, manned by religious teachers, priests, brothers and sisters. But I would also say that while the Church provides the re- ligious teachers, they are engaged by the parents to achieve "the proper and immediate end of Christian education, which is to cooperate with Divine grace PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE 77 in forming the true and perfect Christian; that is, to form Christ in those regenerated by Baptism." In their capacity of servants to parents in this most important function, teachers put themselves under very serious obligation, f o r "perfect schools are the result, not so much of good methods as of good teachers; teachers who are thoroughly ground- ed and well prepared in the matter they have to teach; who possess the intellectual and moral qual- ifications required by their important office, who cherish a pure and holy love for the youths confided to them because they love Jesus Christ and His Church of which these are the children of predilec- tion ; and who have, therefore, sincerely at heart the true good of family and country." DR. JOHN You do not mean, Sister, that methods are not im- TREACY: portant? SR. MARY By no means, Dr. Treacy. Every educator knows CHARITAS: that methods are important. The Holy Father does, too; he merely sets up in the scale of values a hierarchy in which he places goodness of the teach- er above goodness of the method. MRS. Sister Charitas, what seems to you, as a teacher, TRAZNIK: should be the end result we may hope for through the effective workings of a good Home and School Association ? SR. MARY Well, Mrs. Traznik, basing my answer and my think- CHARITAS: ing on the Encyclical once again, Christ is to be formed in the soul of each baptized child. That is the natural right and the high privilege of parents. In their effort, they may engage the services of teachers. Certainly, both of them must work to . gether. The Home and School Association offers the opportunity not only f o r such mutual help, but also it provides for an exchange of ideas and mutual inspiration. They need that for there will come a day when both parent and teacher will be summoned before God at which time they must be able to say "Of those whom Thou gavest me, I have not lost one," at least not through my own fault. MSGR. Don't you think, Sister, that good parents doing GOEBEL: their part and good teachers doing their part might achieve this end without this Home and School Association ? 78 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION SR. MARY CHARITAS : MRS. TRAZNIK: DR. TREACY: MSGR. GOEBEL: DR. TREACY: MRS. TRAZNIK: DR. TREACY: SR. MARY CHARITAS : DR. TREACY: In an ideal situation . . . and it would need to be ideal . . that could of course be done Monsignor, but "a brother helped by a brother is a strong de- fense," and "where two or three are gathered to- gether in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." If two good forces mesh their efforts, es- pecially if it means that immediately the two forces are going to be augmented . . . and how tremen- dously augmented! . . . by the help of God Himself, where shall we set limits to what may be accom- plished ? That certainly gives us the teacher's viewpoint, Sister Charitas—the other side of the desk so to speak. Dr. Treacy, as a father of four children and an active member of a Home and School group f o r twelve years, what is your impression of Home and School Associations? To begin with, Mrs. Traznik, I assume that Home and School programs are designed primarily to help children; they are not primarily for f athers or mothers or teachers, or pastors, or any other adults. Are we agreed on this ? That is right; unless a Home and School activity ultimately helps pupils, directly or indirectly, this activity should be questioned. As a f a t h e r then I want to assure you that I believe that the Home and School program can and does help in the education of children. In what way, Dr. Treacy? Of course, I have my own ideas, Mrs. Traznik, as has every other father. But I also have some opin- ions, which I gathered as a sort of hobby, by ask- ing a number of fathers this question. "How has the Home and School program in your parish been helpful to you?" What answers did you get to that question ? To begin with, Sister Charitas, some of the answers indicated wrong ideas of what the Home and School program is for. For example, one f a t h e r answered: PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE 79 MRS. TRAZNIK DR. TREACY: MRS. TRAZNIK DR. TREACY: J U D I T H : DR. TREACY: MSGR. GOEBEL: DR. TREACY: "I enjoy hearing a good speech." Another said, "I like to meet other people." One even mentioned the wonderful coffee and doughnuts which the ladies served! Of course, these outcomes are all right; but they miss the main purpose of the Home and School program, namely, bettering the education of chil- dren. Did you get any answer from fathers which re- flected a really sound concept of Home and School programs, Doctor? Yes, I did, Mrs. Traznik. In fact, I was proud of most answers fathers gave me because they indi- cated a real grasp of why the Home and School Association is important. For example? Well, I found that many fathers believe that these programs help them really to know their own chil- dren. What? You don't mean to say fathers don't know their own children! You fa t h e rs should stay home more than you do. Judith, it is one thing to recognize our own children. It is quite another thing to know the nature of child development; to know your own children's real weaknesses and real strengths; and to know how to guide our children tactfully when they have prob- lems. Few parents—I regret to say—ever had while in school, the psychological training they really need f o r rearing red-blooded boys and girls. I gather from your remarks that fathers believe that Home and School programs can help them to know and to guide their children wisely. How is this accomplished? In a number of ways, Monsignor. For example, by talking to teachers, parents see in their children strengths and weaknesses they never before ob- served ; by chatting with other fathers and mothers, parents find that their own children are not the only ones who spill milk, or fight, or refuse to eat cereal, or stay out late, or ask f o r the family car too often. This.often is consoling to parents and 80 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION MRS. TRAZNIK: DR. TREACY: MRS. TRAZNIK: J U D I T H : often leads to common solutions to common prob- lems. By participating in discussions on child de- velopment, parents learn about basic needs and drives of their children. They learn what problems to expect at different ages, and how to meet those problems. Most important of all, they become con- vinced that parents and teachers should f i r s t "learn" Johnny, and then guide him accordingly. Through discussions on the community influences on educa- tion—the radio, television, movies, and the like— parents see education in a larger perspective; and they see where parental guidance is needed if the community influence is to be an asset rather than a liability f o r their children. Through various experiences in the Home and School Association, the parents come to realize the school is only one educational agency; that the home has many advantages over the school, partic- ularly in forming character and personality; and that it is the duty of the home to give certain types of guidance, rather than to throw the responsibility on the school. Did you not find that the Home and School Asso- ciation helps fa t h e rs to understand the school better, Doctor? Yes, Mrs. Traznik, many father s mentioned this. A f t e r all, the school of today is not necessarily the school of yesterday. Today we hear about things as readiness for learning, personality, integration, concommitant learning, adjusting to individual dif- ferences, and many other matters that are quite foreign to some parents. A better understanding of the school helps us fathers to understand what the school is trying to do and to cooperate with the teachers in doing their part in the building of our children. Fine, Dr. Treacy. That gives us the viewpoint of many fathers. Now, what is the thinking of a stu- dent on this problem, Judith? In the light of the reading I have been doing in college, particularly the encyclicals of our Holy Father and the statements of the Bishops of the PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE 81 United States, I have become more fully aware and have more deeply appreciated the wonderful parents I have, the opportunities they have afforded me in their choice of schools and the cooperation that has always existed between my home and my school. I have often been urged to thank God in the words of Mary in her beautiful Magnificat. From my pre-school days right through college our home has been a school. My parents have always recognized and exercised their primary right and duty to educate to the fullest extent and have appreciated and understood to what end they must prepare their children. Every aspect of our family home indicates that my parents have been preparing us to become "citizens of two worlds" to quote the statement made by the Bishops last November. The name of God was one of the first words I learned to utter. Very early family prayer, prayer before and a f t e r meals, and morning and night prayers became a daily practice. There was no con- tradiction between home and school when later at school we learned that we should pray not only individually but as a family unit. Being encouraged at home to complete my tasks, however small, and even to do more, the responsibility of doing home- work and participating in school activities was just an enlargement of my home activities. Mother and dad never questioned why I must do homework, but facilitated in its being completed with the question, how can we help? Evenings were often scenes of spelling bees, history quizzes or story-telling hours. Music, too, was part of our daily life. I began formal lessons in the second grade. Practicing my violin was always encouraged with mom and dad always willing to help and always pleased when I accom- plished some small feat. They didn't stop with "impregnating the at- mosphere of our home with genuine Christian liv- ing," to quote from the 1948 statement of the Bish- ops of the United States, "The Christian in Action," but sent me to an elementary school, high school and college, whose objectives coincided with their own. Since then, my home and the schools I attend- ed had the same aims, the very essence of coopera- 82 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION tion, there could be no conflict between home and school. My parents and my teachers worked to- gether to achieve their common aims. Religion was the core not only of our school, but also of our home. Whenever we learned prin- ciples such as honesty and justice at school, there was no need to look to stories for examples. Our home-life was a concrete exemplification of these virtues. It was convincing evidence that Christian living isn't something in the mind of the idealist, but very real. Home and school cooperation has left its deep impression on me. I t has prepared me, I am certain, "to face the full Christian vision," as the Bishops so beautifully said, "and with no thought of com- promise, to seek vigorously to live it." In view of these facts, I think that our parents and teachers definitely need the continued work of the Home and School Association. MRS. Very good, Judith. You certainly are "that end re- TRAZNIK: suit" that Sister defined a few moments ago; that- well-adjusted, healthy personality resulting from constant direction of home and school cooperation. Monsignor Goebel, I remember a statement that you made at a Home and School meeting, and we were all rather thrilled with your admission. You said that you wouldn't want to be Superintend- ent of Schools if you did not have the cooperation of the Home and School Association's. You also said on another occasion that every Catholic school is a good school, but a Catholic school is a better school, if it has a Home and School Association. Yes, I recall making those statements, Mrs. Traznik. To me the Home and School Association is as essen- tial to parents and teachers as a-ir and nutrition are to human existence. The impact of modern life has had a disastrous effect on the relationship between the modern type home and the school. I t has created a huge gap between the home and school. Unless constructive efforts are made to bridge this chasm, untold evil will follow. The Home and School Asso- ciation can do more t o adjust these conditions than any other organization. MSGR. GOEBEL: PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE 85 DR. TREACY: MSGR. GOEBEL: SR. MARY CHARITAS: MSGR. GOEBEL: DR. TREACY: Do you mean, Monsignor Goebel, that the Home and School Association is the only organization that can handle this problem? No, I do not, Dr. Treacy. But the Home and School Association is better equipped to effect these changes than any other organization. The member- ship is composed of parents and other people inter- ested in the school, the welfare of society, and the good of the Church. Their sympathies go with the child; their thoughts are centered on his school life. 4 man's life is where his heart is. Of course, there are some who object to the Home and School Association on the basis of in- terference. They maintain that the organization could become a medium for meddling with the ad- ministration of the school. That may be true at times, but it is not the rule. It is more true of par- ents in the Home and School Association than it is of parents of other organized groups. I t is just an- other mole hill made into a mountain. What then, Monsignor, would you say is the out- standing effect of the Home and School Association on parents ? It gives the parents a new slant on school coopera- tion. In the past, parent-participation was confined almost exclusively to money-raising matters, social functions, and promotional projects. There was little or no provision f o r pupil problems. The pic- ture has changed. Parents have come to realize that education is a partnership enterprise between the school and the home. If that partnership is built on understanding and cooperation, the child will benefit. If this foundation is not laid, the best kind of education will be defective. During these im- portant years of the child's life, home and school partnership must be more than a connection by telephone or note from the teacher. It must be a mutual study of the child and joint participation of both the parents and the school in a constructive educational program. Monsignor, have you noticed any difference in the attitude of teachers in schools where Home and School Associations exist? 84 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MSGR. Yes, I have, Dr. Treacy. I believe that the average GOEBEL: teacher in such schools has a greater parent-con- sciousness in dealing with her pupils. She sees the parents, not only as people, but as f athers and mothers whose thoughts and emotions, struggles and satisfactions are centered on their child. She sees the child as part of the flesh and blood of the parents and not as abstract f u r n i t u r e in the class- room. By her very attitude she becomes the unify- ing factor between home and school, between parent and teacher. She is the centripetal force in the en- tire program. As she-goes, so goes the school. Of course, there are the "mill-stones" in parent-teacher relations. They are the weak links in home and school cooperation and as long as there is one teach- er or one parent who refuses to work with the school or with the home, little can be done to pro- mote successful relations between the home and school. As long as there is one individual who does not believe in parent participation in school life, it will be impossible to effect adequate harmony be- tween parents and teachers. Monsignor Goebel, do you think that the pupil gen- erally benefits from a Home and School Associa- tion? I certainly do, Judith. You implied that in your own remarks. Pupils quickly realize whether or not their parents and teachers can work together. They are alert to the sense of harmony that exists. Under- standing and friendliness are indispensable if the good will of the child is to be maintained. Where this exists, there is a feeling of security and ease in the child, and a reciprocal feeling of sequrity and ease in the home. MRS. A picture of this can be gleaned from the letters I TRAZNIK: have received from mothers expressing their appre- ciation f o r the Home and School Association and what it has done for their children in home, school and community life. I am sorry we do not have time to read some of these, letters. In the few remaining minutes, and keeping in mind the experiences and observations voiced by our panel members, I would like Monsignor Goebel, our Superintendent of Cath- olic Schools, to summarize today's discussion f o r us. Monsignor. J U D I T H : MSGR. GOEBEL: PTA: HELP OR HINDRANCE 85 MSGR. GOEBEL: Thank you, Mrs. Traznik. SUMMARY I think it is clearly evident from our discussion that the Home and School Association is an import- ant agent in the development of mutual understand- ing between the parents and the teachers. Since the school is an extension of the home, it is imperative that the parents and the teachers mutually "co- operate with Divine grace in forming the t r u e and perfect Christian." As pointed out, we need good teachers, i.e., men and women of God if we are to achieve the high pur- poses of Catholic education. By this we do not mean to exclude the value of good methods. Rather, we wish to emphasize the more significant value of moral goodness. Because the child is the focal point of this discussion, parents must be given an opportunity to participate in the educational pattern. To ignore fathers and mothers is to estrange them. They have information and experiences of great worth f o r the teachers of the children. Their interest and their willingness to help goes f a r beyond fund-raising and social activities. We are agreed, too, that oppor- tunities must be provided to interpret the school to the parents. This cannot be done satisfactorily by letter or folder or announcements from the pulpit. Constructive efforts must be made to acquaint the parents with the school program, to foster their interests in the work of the school, to make them aware of the great possibilities of guidance in the home as well as in the school. Parents must be ac- quainted with current practices in school and every e f f o r t should be made to bring them up-to-date on the objectives of Catholic education. A great deal can be done to achieve these goals through well- planned Home and School programs. But f o r real value these programs should be planned in coopera- tion with the teachers. At no time should the Home and School Association try to divorce the teacher -from her program-planning, and, likewise at no 86 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION time should the teacher divorce the parents from her planning. We believe t h a t much more will be achieved if the parent is given an opportunity to see the school in action. We believe, too, that parents should be given an opportunity not only to listen, but also to be heard. Only when we have weighed their suggestions, considered their criticisms, and evaluated their remarks can we hope adequately to meet the needs of education today. We all recognize the benefits of cooperative understanding. We recognize, too, that the Home and School Association is better able to achieve this goal than any other organization. The very make- up of its membership is sympathetic with every- thing that constitutes the child's total school life. Hence, its planning, its programming, its considera- tion are focused on the parents and teachers of the home and the school that these high aims can be accomplished. We believe that it is our mission to make Catholic education better understood, that it is our mission to make the Catholic parent better informed, and we f u r t h e r believe that the most apt agent f o r achieving these goals is the Home and School Association. THE FUNCTION OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD Address Delivered on May 20, 1951 A Discussion by Sister Mary Rosa and Dr. and Mrs. John Leonard DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: Now, Sister, since we have given you all the infor- mation necessary f o r registering Bobby and Alice we'd like to ask a few questions about the school. Surely, Dr. Leonard, I'll be glad to give you any in- formation I can. Mrs. Leonard and I are intensely interested in the progress our children are making in school. We've heard that you have a different system of giving report cards here. Would you tell us something about it? Why, yes, certainly. For the past several years we have been using the Parent-Teacher Conference. Are you familiar with that procedure? No, we're not, Sister. Well, briefly, in schools where the Parent-Teacher Conference is employed report cards, of more or less the traditional type, are used but instead of handing them out to each child the parents are in- vited to come to school on a specific day, receive the report card, and then have a brief talk with the teacher. The heart of the system is the method of dispensing the cards—its special merit is the means by which they are dispensed. The card is given to the parent rather than to the pupil and it forms the basis f o r a strictly confidential and professional conference between parent and teacher. How often are these conferences held, Sister? Three times a year usually—in early November, the latter part of January and in early April. The final card in June is given to the child. The year is over then and not much would be accomplished by a con- ference. 88 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA; Do I understand, Sister, that both parents are pres- ent for these conferences? That would be ideal, Dr. Leonard, and is preferred but often that isn't possible. We must of necessity hold these conferences a f t e r school hours and f r e - quently the father is working so the mother must come alone. Often, though, parents take turns and if the mother comes for the f i r s t conference the f a t h e r will come f o r the next and so on. I can see all kinds of difficulties, Sister, in the practical working out of such a system. Most .schools have large classes. How do you arrange these con- ferences so that the parents don't have a long time to wait and teachers aren't too heavily taxed a f t e r the school day? Well, actually, Mrs. Leonard, neither of those ob- jections can be met entirely—but, in the over-all picture, so much good can be accomplished by the parents and teacher meeting f o r such a purpose that we must expect to pay some price. There's not much that can be done for the teacher except to give her a 15 or 20 minute break between dismissal and the beginning of the conferences. Rarely do the teach- ers take it, though, since there is always someone waiting even before dismissal; however, they are f r e e to do so. To help the parents, all are asked to limit the conference to 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes a problem which cannot be solved in this time pre- sents itself. In that case a later appointment may be made and the discussion continued then. Suppose a parent has several children in school and there are several rooms to be visited—what then? We put a slip of paper on the door which the par- ents may sign and thus insure their turn. How many days do you give to these conferences ? Since our classes are large we devote three after- noons each time the report cards are given and the parents are invited to come on one specific day. In that way less is left to chance and we can control the number that come on a particular day. I do not know of any way in which the problem of waiting can be entirely eliminated. Again, when we consider the THE FUNCTION.. OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 89 DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: DR. LEONARD : SR. ROSA: DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: good accomplished I believe that the hardships in- volved assume smaller proportions. Yes, that's very true. J u s t what specific values would you assign to the Parent-Teacher Conference, Sister? You see, this idea is new to us. We are ac- customed to. the situation in which the pastor or principal handed a card to the child which he took home, had signed and returned to the teacher. On rare occasions we have visited the school our chil- dren attended but we have certainly never gone several times a year for a formal conference. That's a big field you are opening up, Dr. Leonard, when you ask what specific values can be assigned to the Parent-Teacher Conference. Suppose that, f i r s t of all, we examine some of the deficiencies of the method you have just mentioned. When you have looked at your children's reports have you ever wondered about a certain grade recorded there and questioned the child concerned but have gotten no satisfactory explanation ? Why, yes, Sister, that has often happened. Didn't the thought come to your mind—"I wish I could ask Sister about t h a t ? " Yes, that's true. Well, there we have one of the ways in which the old method failed. You have no real way of know- ing just why that arbitrary grade was placed on the card unless you talk with your child's teacher and know just what went toward making the end pro- duct you see on that small piece of cardboard. In any case those grades indicate only one phase of your child's growth—they are a more or less ques- tionable record of his mastery of facts in certain areas and reflect nothing of his spiritual growth or character development. No report form can in- dicate the growth of the whole child whereas a 5 or 10 minute personal contact between parents and teacher can do wonders toward helping each one see the child through the other's eyes and thus un- derstanding him better and becoming better able to guide him more surely. The most important people 90 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: in the child's world, you know, are his parents and his teachers and anything which promotes unity of thought and action between home and school is of tremendous importance. I've seen a type of report card where the teacher writes a sort of informal letter to the parents and there is a space where the parents may write their reply. Wouldn't about the same result be obtained by using such a form? No, I believe not. Some teachers have used this method with satisfactory results but most find it > difficult to use and of no real value. Relatively few parents use the space provided them. I have ex- amined a number of such reports and feel that in most cases they are rather stereotyped and give few if any facts not already known. The space provided is small and even if it were much larger no-satis- factory character analysis can be given in a few lines. I see your point, Sister. The whole child cannot be disposed of in such a summary and brief fashion. Just what would you say are some of the functions of an adequate reporting system between home and school? Educators agree on the need of a good working re- lationship between parents and school personnel but most are not satisfied that they have found the best means of accomplishing this. There are several gen- erally accepted principles, however, that apply to re- ports. All phases of growth should be considered— schools can no longer be concerned only with the so- called three R's while neglecting other and even more important phases of the child's life. There is an interdependence of growth which must be re- cognized and nowhere is it of more importance than during the early school years. Again a report should show the child's growth in terms of his capacities and abilities. Children learn in different ways and at different rates and it is important that parents and teachers recognize this. The child who tries his hardest but grasps facts more slowly should not be allowed to feel inferior to the brighter child who knows much more but does not have to work so hard. THE FUNCTION.. OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 91 A final principle which, I believe, is of the utmost importance is that a report should contribute to an understanding between home and school. The type of card with the informal letter from the teacher comes nearer, I believe, to accomplishing the above ends than does the method in which the child is handed a card with a list of ABC's or numeral grades, but it is still very inadequate. DR. LEONARD: What type of card is used here in the Archdiocese? SR. ROSA: Here are the two cards used. One, as you see, is f o r grades 4 to 8 inclusive and has space f o r recording grades in religion, reading, English, mathematics, spelling, geography, science, penmanship, history and civics, health education, days absent, times late and, most important of all, deportment and effort. I'm glad to hear you say that last—"most important of all, deportment and e f f o r t . " We've always told the children that we could excuse almost any grades in reading, arithmetic, etc. but that we expected only the best marks in conduct and effort. Not all children are endowed by God with the same ability but all can certainly use the intelligence that God gave them and conduct themselves as ladies and gentlemen. Of course, we don't expect perfection but we do expect that our children give evidence of their home training and show themselves courteous and considerate of others at all times. SR. ROSA: In that we agree perfectly, Dr. Leonard. When a child wishes to t r a n s f e r to our school the f i r s t thing I look at on his report card is those marks which indicate character training—and then I look at re- ligion, spelling and the rest. If he has mediocre grades in these latter but high ratings in evalua- tions denoting spiritual growth I have no hesita- tion in accepting him. Here is the card used in grades 1 to 3 inclusive. It has spaces f o r marking religion, oral reading and reading f o r comprehension, language, spelling, arithmetic, writing, social studies, art, music, days absent, times late, e f f o r t and conduct. For both cards we use the A to D grades with plus signs when desired. DR. LEONARD: 92 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION DR. That reminds me of a good story I heard, Sister, LEONARD: and it will illustrate your point that grades need to be orally evaluated in terms of the individual child. This is an experience a friend of ours had a few years ago when her young son began f i r s t grade. Johnny was quite a trial at home and his mother feared the worst when September came and he be- gan f i r s t grade; however, all apparently went well. A f t e r some weeks the f i r s t report card arrived with a list of D's and E's and F's. Johnny's mother looked at it with much misgiving until Johnny ex- plained that D meant Dandy, E—Excellent and F— Fine. I t just didn't seem to ring true but his fond mother clung to the thought that Johnny really was growing up and becoming a little man. All went well for a few hours until she told her next door neigh- bor the good news and said that she was sure that her little girl who was in Johnny's class had gotten a similar card. Well, she hadn't—she had all A's and B's. Johnny's mother didn't say much but when she returned home and again questioned Johnny he said that A meant Awful and B—Bad. His puzzled mother decided that maybe a talk with Sister was in order. Needless to say, she returned home a wiser woman and convinced that A didn't mean Awful or B—Bad or D—Dandy. SR. ROSA: That's really good, Dr. Leonard, I must remember that story. Not many young hopefuls would be so quick-witted but nevertheless these marks can't give a true picture of a child's capacities and achievements unless they are interpreted orally by the teacher. Not all children have the same abilities. For instance, a grade of C + in arithmetic for one child could indicate extreme e f f o r t on his part while the same grade for another child could indicate mediocrity and failure in using his capabilities. MRS. Yes, that situation exists right now in our own LEONARD: home. SR. ROSA: Of course, this difference is clarified in part by the grade assigned for E f f o r t , but that can't tell the whole story. As suggested a moment ago the e f f o r t put forth by the individual child is very important and is a good indication of whether he will succeed or fail in later life. In the ordinary class most teach- THE FUNCTION.. OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 93 ers, if not all, prefer the child of average, or even lower than average intelligence who really develops his potentialities, to the child of superior intelli- gence who has become careless and does not use to the full his native ^ability. Now to go back to the system of grading used in the Archdiocese—It is from A to D, as I said, and plus signs are used when desired. I understand, however, from Monsignor Spence, our Director of Education, that a committee is studying the ad- visability of revising the system of marking on the primary report cards f o r grades 1 to 3. This re- vision would consist in using an S or U, meaning Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, instead of the A to D grades. I t seems to me that that would be a wise move but it would, I believe, at the same time, make it more imperative that parent and teacher meet in order that parent and child may know just what lies behind that S or U recorded on the card by the teacher. It might be interesting to note, Sister, that the trend toward simplification of ratings is evident even in the Federal Government. Formerly its efficiency rating system has had the five gradings of Excellent, Very Good, Good, F a i r and Poor with a very complicated process for arriving at those rat- ings—now a quite simplified system similar to the Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory type you mentioned has been adopted. MRS. I have seen that method of marking report cards LEONARD: and believe it especially good f o r younger children. It has always seemed to me that the adjustment they must make during their f i r s t year in school is great and it must be extremely difficult f o r the teacher to determine how to evaluate their achieve- ment. The f i r s t report card f o r any new class must demand a great deal of consideration. Yes, it does and, despite much care, I'm sure mis- takes are often made. I've known many cases where teachers have been helped tremendously in their understanding of a child by the f i r s t Parent-Teacher Conference—cases where certain aspects of charac- ter not before suspected were clearly seen. This works both ways—parents, too, are often astonished DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: 94 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION DR. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: to hear of their child's reaction to certain school situations. A f t e r all, most of a child's twenty-four hours are spent at home and in school and proper adult guidance in those two places will certainly determine, in a large measure, the pattern of his life. This thought strikes me, too. We have heard so much these past few decades about totalitarianism in all its aspects. Basically, it does not recognize the individuality of every person and that everyone has his own God-given capabilities, differences and needs. It makes mankind only tools—instruments and servants of the state—rather than vice-versa— the state existing to serve man and to enable all to live together in peace and harmony. I t seems to me that the system we are discussing very definitely recognizes even the smallest child as a distinct per- sonality and an individual with inalienable rights given him by his Creator. If he grows up in an at- mosphere in which the adults that mean the most in his world are working together toward molding his life on Christian principles—where he sees each listening to the other, consulting and evaluating— he, in his turn, is certainly going to be more ready to work with his own associates in later life. He will listen to them, respect their opinions and rights, but, at the same time, will sacrifice none of his own freedom and dignity as a child of the same Father. Very well put, Dr. Leonard. I wonder if it would interest you to know where we got the idea of the Parent-Teacher Conference. I t certainly would, Sister. I'm beginning to wonder why every educator doesn't see its value and every school use it. Very many do, I believe, and the number is con- stantly increasing. Last year the National Educa- tion Association at their convention went on record favoring this type of report. They made a statement to the effect that the group recognized and accepted the Parent-Teacher Conference as the type of re- porting to parents that is most rapidly and satis- factorily developing. It was the consensus of those present that such personal contacts with parents not only are the best means of interpreting children's THE FUNCTION.. OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 95 progress but that they also are most effective in acquainting parents with the school program in gen- eral and result in better support of educational pro- cedures and schools. In making use of the Parent-Teacher Conference we are actually putting into practice something which our late Holy Father, Pius XI, asked us to do. Back in 1938 in an Apostolic Letter to the American Hierarchy Pope Pius XI instructed the bishops of the United States to draw up a constructive social program of education based on Christian principles. This program was intended to clarify and re-em- phasize the teachings of Christ and show us how to f i t them into contemporary American living. That was a big order but it was complied with immed- iately. The task was turned over to the Catholic University of America. The authorities there ap- pointed f o r this purpose the Commission of Ameri- can Citizenship. This Commission has done and is still doing a magnificent .work. I t doesn't f i t our purpose here to elaborate on what they have done except to say that they developed a broad plan of education which included among a number of other things a curriculum f o r elementary schools. This curriculum has been published in three volumes en- titled Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living and is a treasure house of information and inspi- ration f o r the Catholic educator as well as f o r pas- tors, parents, recreational directors or anyone who shares the responsibility for the guidance of chil- dren. In each volume there is a section on the Par- ent-Teacher Conference and practical suggestions given f o r its establishment in a school. T h e n t h e p arent-Teacher Conference is compara- LEONARD: tively new, isn't it? SR. ROSA: Yes, I suppose it is. The Parent-Teacher Confer- ence has been in use in various parts of the country in parochial schools for a number of years. I have been associated with it here in the Archdiocese for about five years but I believe it has been used by some schools here even longer and is gradually be- ing adopted by others. That is very interesting, Sister. I have been wonder- ing just what preparation the teacher must make DR. LEONARD: 96 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION • before these conference days. Certainly in our pres- ent large classes it must be a real task to be ready to discuss intelligently and purposefully each child that makes up the average class. SR. ROSA: Yes, it requires much thought and study—and, shall I add; prayer—when preparing for these con- ferences if any real good is to be accomplished. Again there is help to be found in the book Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living. A report, form that has been used successfully f o r some years as a guide sheet in a New York school is given there in detail and furnishes an excellent check sheet to determine just what phases of character develop- ment should be watched and guided. Undoubtedly, in particular cases, a teacher will want to add other factors peculiar to the environment in which her class is living or to the child under consideration. There is a space provided f o r checking the evalua- tion given f o r each conference period so that there is no vain searching of the memory to determine just what was said last time. That would help. The report form groups most of the aspects of character development and training under four main headings; namely, Growth in Applying Religion to Daily Living, Growth in Social Habits, Growth in Work Habits, and Growth in Health Habits. Under the first—Growth in Applying Religion to Daily Living—are listed reverence in church and at prayers, attendance at Sunday Mass and reception of the Sacraments. A child who is fulfilling his duty in these three ways is living his religion in a prac- tical sense and, as he grows physically, will, just as surely, grow spiritually in the realization that God is his Creator and Father and sustains him in all his ways. . * Then under Growth in Social Habits are listed self- control and courtesy; obedience and respect f o r au- thority; respect f o r persons, ideas and property; acceptance of and use of criticism; sportsmanship; ability to lead. Isn't that a comprehensive check list f o r social habits ? Indeed it is and every one is most important. When we analyze those six factors we have really done MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: THE FUNCTION.. OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 97 some probing into character. Hmm—m—m, let's see —self control and courtesy—obedience and respect f o r authority—respect f o r persons, ideas and prop- erty DR. LEONARD : SR. ROSA: MRS. LEONARD: SR. ROSA: Now, there's something we really need in the world today. Many people and nations do not have respect f o r persons, ideas and property and that is why we have so much unhappiness and chaos around us. If we could inculcate in our children a real respect f o r others, for their opinions and ideas and for their property we could change the world in which we live in a short while. All of those aspects con- sidered under Social Habits are excellent. What is checked under Work Habits? Ability to concentrate; ability to work independent- ly; initiative; accuracy; orderliness, promptness; care of books and materials ; ability to use effective- ly maps, charts, table of contents, dictionary, graphs ; and finally, ability to follow directions. All excellent habits and skills to develop in a growing child—and with both parents and teachers periodi- cally checking on their growth it stands to reason that some progress will be made even in the most difficult cases. Under Growth in Health Habits we find interest in health instruction; cooperation in safety mea- sures ; pride in personal appearance and correct pos- ture—again a comprehensive listing, covering a wide range of needed heâlth attitudes. I suppose the areas of learning covered by text books are considered in somewhat the same fashion, aren't they? Yes, they are. Most are broken down under three headings—knowledge of the subject matter; par- ticipation in class discussion ; and independent work on problems. So you see preparing f o r these confer- ences would necessarily require much time and thought with the result that the teacher will have something really constructive to offer when talking with the parents. All in all, I believe our answer to proper parent-teacher and home-school relation- ships is to be found in some application of the Par- ent-Teacher Conference. 98 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION Sister, I believe you're right. I know that I'm speak- LEONARD: ing for my wife as well as f o r myself when I say that I am very glad we had this talk. It certainly has been informative and has served to strengthen our own convictions. SUMMARY SR. ROSA: As I see it, the function of a school report card is to establish a basis of understanding between par- ent and teacher so that each may guide the child intelligently and constructively. Unless this under- standing exists they may be working at cross pur- poses and each may in reality be harming the good effected by the other. Since one of the chief and most comprehensive points of contact between them is the so-called report card it would seem that the most effective form would be the reciprocal report in which both play an equally important part. In the old method the teacher made known her evaluations but the parents were seldom heard from and there was little if any interchanging of ideas or mutual help. When it did occur it was usually of a negative nature and to correct some character defect and al- most never positive and to strengthen some virtue. Mrs. Leonard, you are a parent—do you agree with me that the chief reason f o r a report card is to form a bond of mutual understanding and cooperation be- tween parent and teacher ? MRS. Yes, Sister, I do. Frankly, I have never felt com- LEONARD: pletely satisfied a f t e r merely looking at one of the children's report cards. On several occasions during the past years I have made it a point to visit their teachers and satisfy myself that all was as I would have it. My husband and I have often discussed the fact that as parents we are our children's natural teachers and that the full responsibility of their growth physically, spiritually, and mentally rests, f i r s t of all, on us. In our rather complex society of today, parents aren't equipped to discharge all of these duties fully and must be helped by church and school but still the obligation to see that it is well done remains with us. Actually the authority exer- cised by the school has been handed down to it f r o m THE FUNCTION.. OF A SCHOOL REPORT CARD 99 God through us parents and we are answerable to Him for the use made of it. DR. Yes, and it is precisely for this reason that we have LEONARD: built up and maintain our parochial school system in which the whole child is educated. That brings up another point that could be developed more fully if we had time. Sometimes, because we are carrying this burden of double taxation, we parents sit smugly back and think our duty fulfilled. Here's the school that we're supporting, we're sending our children there—our job is done. Actually it isn't. We must cooperate every step of the way in our God-given vocations. SR. ROSA: You're very right, Dr. Leonard. We must never for- get that the fundamental reason f o r our vocations— yours and mine—is the rearing of children in the love and service of God that they may accomplish the ends f o r which they were created; namely, to know, love, and serve God in this world that they may be with Him f o r all eternity. Certainly, any- thing which fosters mutual understanding and co- operation between the two most dominant forces that accomplish this in a child's life should be of paramount importance to the ones concerned. THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS Address Delivered on May 27, 1951 A Discussion by Brother Dominic Luke, F.S.C., Brother F. Luke and Brother Gerald, F.S.C. BR. D. LUKE: Recently, our Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, gave to teachers throughout all the world, a saintly Patron —his name? John Baptist de La Salle. From many quarters since have come these questions: Who is St. John Baptist de La Salle? What did he do to merit such an honor? Is he a Living Force in our time? In one sentence: Saint, Scholar, Boy Expert, Champion of the Poor, Father of Modern Pedagogy, 17th Century Educational Genius—that's St. John Baptist de La Salle. Born in the city of Rheims, France, in 1651, he had wealth, position, intellectual prestige. All of these he was to sacrifice gladly f o r the honor and glory of God f o r he was called to be an educator, not of his fellow patricians nor of their pampered, over-privileged sons, but of the poor and the destitute. From the age of 30 until his dying hour at the age of 68, he was to sacrifice his bril- liant career as a priest that he might spend himself in the betterment of the children of the poor. In a glittering age of class distinctions and lush exis- tence for the privileged few, God raised him up as champion and defense of the children of the poor who were universally left to wander about the streets drinking in the evils that were all--around them. In the time of de La Salle, as indeed in our own day, the t r u t h was self-evident that the f u t u r e of a torn, confused world depends upon t h e apostolic life and the example of the Christian as a Christian, standing in the market-place, and by his daily habit of life in mind, will, and character, seeking within his own limits and opportunities to complete Christ's own work. But, this type of living, Active Chris- tianity, is the product only of minds informed of the t ru t h s of Faith, hearts warmed by the love of God, and wills strengthened and directed by grace. Such THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 101 Christians are the end products only of careful training and nurturing from childhood. Appalled by the gross neglect of the children of the poor not only in his native city of Rheims, but throughout France, John Baptist de La Salle opened schools f o r them, carefully adapting management and curriculum to their riTany needs. In his plan, the Christian school was not merely what today we would call a secular school with religion periods, religions teachers, and pious practices added. Fun- damentally, it was an environment in which the presence of Christ became a major influence, not merely by recalling this presence at periodic inter- vals but by the continual operation of His presence through instruction in which the basic elements were the maxims and the life of Christ; through teachers whose lives were the reincarnation of Christ; through prayer which is a personal contact •yvith God. What St. La Salle envisioned is f a r more complex and intense than a mere collection of ob- jects, persons, and practices; it is in reality an at- mosphere the very life of which is the Spirit of Faith. Consequently, he could find a place for every child because it was more important that the child be brought into this environment than it was to seg- regate him because of his intellectual deficiencies, and he could make a place f o r teaching stocking-» making because even stockings can be made in the presence of God! But Great Works are seldom accomplished with- out Great Sufferings. Not the least of the Teacher- Saint's trials was the natural repugnance which one of his gentle breeding felt at associating with the type of rustic schoolmaster he was forced to re- cruit in the beginning to help him establish his schools. "Those whom I was obliged at f i r s t to em- ploy as teachers," he said, "I ranked below my own valet. Hence, the very thought of having to live with them was unbearable." Nonetheless, his intense zeal for God's glory and f o r the salvation of His little ones, plus his personal genius, combined to form the Living Monument of his greatness, namely, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He still lives in this 20th century, the Fa- ther and inspiration of the largest religious order 102 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION of men dedicated exclusively to the education of boys, Patron Saint of all Teachers. To his spiritual sons, Pope Leo X I I I addressed this charge: "I charge you—Brothers of the Christian Schools—to increase your numbers in order to resist the efforts of atheists and materialists who are endeavoring to destroy Christian Education, which alone can re- generate society. . . " Today, three hundred years a f t e r the birth of St. John Baptist de La Salle, the Institute he found- ed is flourishing in 64 countries of the world. Ap- proximately 20,000 members of this teaching order are influencing for good some 500,000 boys of every nationality. In each of the 64 countries in the five parts of the world, the work of the Brothers is aimed at the teaching of the poor and the needs of popular edu- cation, f o r it was the primary purpose of St. La Salle that "the poor have the gospel preached to them." But in each locality the spirit of the Saint is adapted to the call of the Church and her children in all the fields of education. In many countries such as England, Belgium, and Italy, the Brothers are charged with national normal schools, with special courses at diocesan seminaries, or with the direction of the educational associations and the professional activities of the groups of Catholic teachers. Every language also serves as a vehicle f o r educational reviews and texts which are the work of the Brothers themselves. Industrial schools, agricultural schools and schools of a r t and c r a f t are also prominent in the work of the Brothers of most countries. Notable among them are flourishing technical schools in sev- eral parts of France and Spain. The St. Luke schools of art—numbering twelve—established in the larger cities of Belgium, have become justly famous f o r the work of their graduates in archi- tecture, painting and sculpture. Orphanages and schools of correction form a work that is prized in every province of the Insti- tute. In this respect one of the most characteristic of their works on the. f a r side of the Alps is the House f o r the children of prisoners at Pompeii. It is noteworthy to mention the coincidence of this THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 103 point in our treatment with a recent news release. I t concerns the work of the Christian Brothers f o r handicapped children now being publicized at the London Exhibition commemorating the three hund- redth anniversary of the birth of St. John Baptist de La Salle. It might justly be called the world's most exclusive school. Every pupil, elected by the Bishops must fulfill one rigid social condition— either his mother or father, or both, must be serv- ing a penal sentence of at least 15 years. Photos show little ones of four or five years of age entering the school and straight, fine young men leaving it at the age of 18. Between the two lies a battle against heredity, environment and the aftermath of vice. Characteristic, too, are the numerous alumni and extracurricular activities which promote Cath- olic Action and preserve the Christian Spirit which has been fostered in the classroom. The Association of St. Benedict Joseph Labre is one of these. Found- ed in 1861, it specializes in the spiritual formation of its members and has given many valuable workers to the cause of Catholic Action in France. The Brothers of South America have also made con- siderable progress in the organization of their alumni association which has plans f o r international affiliation. BR. F. LUKE : The Institute of the Brothers has spread to every country in Europe since the days of its humble be- ginnings in the city of Rheims, France, Today, there are approximately 8,000 Brothers in the 29 Euro- pean provinces where 830 schools are maintained f o r nearly 200,000 pupils. Despite the ravages of the recent war and the economic difficulties which still prevail, particularly in France, Italy and Central Europe, the work of the Brothers in these nations renews itself with all the more f a i t h and zeal as the needs of the people are more numerous and urgent. There are 3,124 young men in the training houses of these provinces. In the countries behind the "Iron Curtain" where religious liberties and freedom of education are greatly curtailed, the Christian Brothers con- tinue to exercise the work of the Teaching Aposto- late—not in their familar garb of the black robe and white linen collar—but in the secular dress of 104 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION IN EDUCATION these countries in order better to keep their iden- tity unknown. Similar conditions exist in Mexico today. These statistics are all the more indicative of the inherent vitality of the Institute when studied against the background of compulsory military training, in lands other than our own, dislocation of family life and general chaos of these European countries following in the wake of two World Wars. I t may come as a surprise to many that the Christian Brothers engage extensively in the apos- tolic work of the Missions. Although the Brothers are known throughout the United States as educa- tors of merit, their work as missionaries is largely unknown. Yet, the Brothers conduct schools f o r youths of 59 different nations, many of them non- christian nations. Pope Pius X in a now famous statement said that the work of the Brother in his classroom is a perpetual missionary effort. The same Pontiff be- stowed on" the Christian Brother the noble title of "Apostle of the Catechism." But through the years, the expansive power of the Divine Word has ex- tended these classrooms to every corner of the globe: China, Japan, Egypt, Arabia, India, the Holy Land, the Phillipine Islands, Nicaragua, and other distant lands. Before the ravages of the Second World War swept the world, there were 1,300 Brothers teaching 48,000 students of various races and creeds in missionary countries. Following the mind of the Church, the ultimate objective of the missionaries is to have themselves replaced by personnel of the country. This has been achieved very well in Indo-China, for example, where five-sixths of the Brothers are native to that land. In the Belgian Congo, the negroes have been admitted f o r some time past to the Brothers' No- vitiate. Today, seventeen native Brothers are doing a heroic job in the classroom for their fellow coun- trymen. The Brothers' schools in North America are divided into ten provinces, including two for Mex- ico and the West Indies. There are three provinces in Canada, centered in Montreal, Quebec and Toron- to. In all these districts of North America more than THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 105 3,849 Brothers conduct 193 schools with an approx- imate enrollment of 100,000 pupils. In addition, a total of 1,400 young men are in preparation f o r the Brothers' Apostolate. In South America the Brothers opened theii f i r s t school in Ecuador in 1863. Since then they have established nine provinces through South and Central America. Today, 1,600 Brothers are educat- ing 49,300 pupils in 129 schools. The response of the Catholic people of South America has been a special blessing to the Society. Since the middle of the nineteenth century the vast continent of Africa has been the field of mis- sionary labor for Brothers of many nationalities, •particularly those of Irish, English, French, Bel- gian and Italian extraction. Altogether there are 428 Christian Brothers in Africa, conducting 48 schools f o r 24,000 pupils. The provinces of the Near East claim some 120 Brothers who conduct 14 schools for 8,000 boys. In the greater area of the F a r East the Institute has undergone phenomenal growth. i Typical of the experiences which the Brothers in these lands frequently encounter is the story of a school at Watalla, Ceylon, which was bought by the Brothers five years ago because it claimed a ghost and was not wanted. So f r a i l is the building of thatched-roofed rooms, that when it rains the head- master goes into the chapel to pray that it won't fall down. I t did—once! This school has 960 boys. An- other 1,000 have had to be turned away, and will continue to be until the Brothers have a f i r s t class building. They have one at Hong Kong now, which rose from equally humble beginnings. Throughout this immense territory are numbered some 580 Brothers, 63 schools and 34,000 souls. Truly the sun never sets on the work of the Christian Brothers! On April 7, 1719, the mortal remains of St. John Baptist de La Salle were lowered in the grave. All that was mortal of the man had perished—but not his work! Pledged by vow to the Christian education of the people, de La Salle and his sons have served, and continue to serve, that true democracy which 106 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION strengthens the bonds of brotherhood among all classes of men and enables the poorer members to obtain the great blessing of education. In his formal approval of the Institute, Pope Benedict XIII deplored "the scandals which come from ignor- ance, source of all evils, particularly among those who, either because they are crushed by a great misery and want, or because of their life's bread they have to work at manual trades, are denied all possibility of education." The completion of the third century of the birth of St. John Baptist da La Salle finds the world in the throes of a titanic struggle with the forces of evil, such as has rarely, if ever, been wit- nessed in the course of history. It is plainer than ever before that the outcome will be decided in the classrooms rather than in the devastating clash of arms! And no where does the impact of this struggle take on a deeper significance than here in our own beloved land. The forces of evil have been actively at work these past one hundred years and in the thick of this struggle the Christian Brothers have-been meeting this challenge in the classroom! One hundred years ago, our nation had launched into one of the greatest creative and formative eras of its entire history. The 1840's and 1850's were years of adolescent confusion, of dramatic changes, of material progress. Political and social policies that would eventually bring on the Civil War were in the process of being fashioned. National boun- daries were extended as our 'mighty nation totaled 31 states. Our population took on an alarming in- crease chiefly through the influx of Irish and Ger- man refugees. During this period, too, the Catholic Church in America, numbering about two million souls, began an astonishing growth despite local and temporary opposition in some Eastern cities. All of these political, social, and religious trends were contributaries to the main channels of Ameri- can life. But, concurrently, smaller streams of in- fluence were also contributing in a lesser measure. And one of these, destined in God's own way to play a grand role in Catholic education throughout the United States, was the coming of a new religious THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 107 order—the Brothers of the Christian Schools— known more popularly as the Christian Brothers. Certainly, these f i r s t Brothers, even in their most optimistic moments, never dreamed that one century later. Pope Pius XII would write to their successors: "One of the most consoling memories that I have brought back from the United States is that of the splendid work that the Christian Broth- ers are performing in the field of Catholic Educa-1 tion." Nor did they dream that the President of the United States, one hundred years later, would send a personal message to the Brothers stating: "May I, as an anniversary message, express the hope t h a t all the fine things accomplished during the past ten decades may be but the prelude to nobler achieve- ments in the years that lie ahead." BR. GERALD: In 1842, Archbishop Eccleston of Baltimore wrote to the superior of the Brothers in Canada, where the Brothers had been laboring since 1837, requesting a few men to take over his newly organized Cathed- ral school. The Superior replied that it would be impossible to do this but if the Archbishop would send some young prospects to the Canadian Noviti- ate, they would be trained f o r the American schools. Five young men volunteered and left f o r Canada. However, the rigors of the climate, the strange cus- toms, the severity of the life, and homesickness worked havoc and on August 6,1842, the day f o r the reception of the habit, only one young man was still around. He was John McMullin and he re- ceived the name of Brother Francis. Three years later, this young Brother and a young Irish-Canadian named Brother Edward re- ceived the blessing of Archbishop Eccleston, brought their 100 pupils to the cathedral f o r the Mass of the Holy Ghost, then filed them back to the classrooms to begin their f i r s t day of school at Calvert Hall College—the f i r s t establishment of the Brothers in the United States. In the 100 years since that time, the expansion of the order throughout the country has been phen- omenal. Whereas then there was but one school, now there are 103—an average of one new establishment f o r each year of labor. 108 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION So numerous were the vocations and the re- quests from all sections f o r the opening of new schools, that it became necessary to divide the United States into five Districts f o r proper admin- istration. Today, the Baltimore, New York, New Orleans, St. Louis, and California Districts total over 1,800 Brothers. And each September as the youth of the entire nation wend their way back to school, some 45,000 boys are placed under the guid- ance of the disciples of St. John Baptist de La Salle. In their spread throughout the nation, the Christian Brothers are especially indebted to the citizens of two countries, France and Ireland. In 1848, f o u r Brothers arrived in New York from France and started St. Vincent's School. New Yorkers even then were accustomed to unusual sights but, according to one chronicler, the Broad- way crowds and soldiers recently returned from the Mexican War stopped to gape at the original spec- tacle of three Christian Brothers in long black robes and loose-sleeved mantles proceeding placidly to- ward Canal Street with a fourth Brother, guarding all their luggage in a cart, following in close pur- suit. In 1849, three other Frenchmen arrived in St. Louis by way of Canada a f t e r a tedious journey by rail, stagecoach, canal, and river. Ten years later, 1859, four others joined a caravan of 80 men and 20 covered wagons in a trip southward rendered ex- tremely perilous by the Comanche Indians still on the warpath. These Brothers settled in Santa Fe. When the Brothers arrived in California in 1869, the Archbishop joyfully announced from the pulpit: "I made a journey of 20,000 miles to get the Broth- ers. I have at last succeeded. Let us give thanks to God." In the Eastern provinces, a steady influx of strong Irish lads f r o m the middle of the 19th cen- tury down through the early years of the 20th was responsible in large measure f o r the continued suc- cess and development of the Brothers' schools. Today the Brothers are engaged in f o u r gen- eral levels of the Christian Apostolate: college, high school, grammar school, and the specialized field THE TEACHING BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 109 concerned with the care of the orphan and the wayward boy. Most outstanding among the colleges are Man- hattan College, New York; La Salle College, Phila- delphia; St. Mary's College, California; St. Mary's College of Winona, Minn.; and St. Michael's Col- lege, Santa Fe. It is on the secondary level of education, how- ever, that most of the Brothers' zeal and energy are now expanded. And sixty-two high schools of all sizes and with a variety of objectives are now con- ducted by the sons of St. La Salle. Four of the outstanding Catholic military schools of the nation a r e : La Salle Military Academy, Long Island, which had 70 per cent of her graduates as commissioned officers in the last w a r ; Christian Brothers Aca- demy, Albany; St. John's College, Washington; and Christian Brothers College, St. Louis. Both of the latter are celebrating their 100 anniversary this year. In many cases, the Brothers' high schools are located in the larger cities such as New York, Phila- delphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Francisco. Whatever success the Brothers have attained in their institutions of higher learning has never overshadowed their abiding interest in maintaining f r e e parochial schools since it was f o r this specific purpose that St. John Baptist de La Salle originally founded his institute. Faithfully adhering to this tradition, the Brothers have devoted themselves to every type of boy regardless of his station in life or capacity f o r learning. The Brothers have always worked with the motto: "Be a friend to every boy." A survey of the past century reveals that at various times the Brothers have taught in 182 ele- mentary schools in the United States. Because of educational trends, because of the necessity of meeting current needs best, and at the advice of the hierarchy who preferred the Brothers to assume large schools on the secondary level, only 31 ele- mentary schools are now conducted by the Brothers. An example of this is in Philadelphia where twelve parochial schools were turned over to the Sisters in 1926 in order that the Brothers might conduct West Philadelphia Catholic High School—now one of the 110 THE CHRISTIAN .IN ACTION I N EDUCATION largest and most renowned Catholic high schools in the country. One of the greatest glories of the Brothers in this country has been their incessant work in boy welfare institutions—a work that incorporates the complete ideal of S t John Baptist de La Salle in his founding of schools f o r the poor and under- privileged. Here in the East, the Brothers maintain three of the outstanding institutions : St. Francis Vocational School, an orphanage in Eddington, Pa. ; the Philadelphia Catholic Protectory, a modern and progressive home f o r wayward boys and Lincondale in New York—a pioneer in the cottage system f o r juvenile rehabilitation. And so, the work inaugurated some 270 years ago by de La Salle continues with ever-widening scope. Every day, in imitation of a man whom we rightly acclaim as "Everybody's Friend" the Chris- tian Brothers devote their hours, their talents, their energies to instructing boys, forming their charac- ters, supervising their recreational interests, and counselling them in the way of good. With pagan influences universally at work, and anti-religious ideologies spreading like a cancer over the globe, the labor of the Christian teacher has assumed thé character of a vital force essential to the preserva- tion of our civilization. May our saintly patron, John Baptist de La Salle, direct the labor of all Christian Teachers— to the end that God may be glorified and the youth of all nations may be inspired to know and love Him. 103 STATIONS CARRYINC THE HOUR OF FAITH In 36 States, the District *f Columbia, Canada, and Hawaii A l a b a m a - .Anniston. ...WHMA Gadsen WGNH Mobile WMOB Montgomery | WAPX Arkansas— C a l l f o m l ' » - Colorado- —Fort Smith.. —Eureka H H Los Angeles.. Sacramento San Diego San Francisco- Stockton Vlsalia —Denver Pueblo. ._ Connecticut- „ N e w Haven.. -KFSA ..KHUM ....KECA ...KFBK . . . K F M B KGO KWG KTRC —KVOD KGHF WEL! District of Columbia-Washington • l o r l d a Pensacola - r « o r g i a Augusta Savannah W M A L WBSR "»inols.. . Chicago.. Peoria- Rock Islond.. Springfield. Indiana A n d e r s o n . Idaho.. Evansville Fort Wayne __ Terre Haute.. _Boise.. towa.. Kansas .. Idaho Falls- Pocatello _ B u r l i n ^ t o n _ . " D a v e n p o r t Dubuque Sioux City -Coffeyville.... W i c h i t a — • a n t u c k y - W i c h i t a Fails- -Lexington Louisville Louisiana New Orleans WDSU* Main« — B a n g o r ! WGUY Lewistown W L A M M a r y l a n d Hogerstown ...WARK Massachusetts Boston WCOP Hyormis WOCB Worchester WORC Pittsfield | WBEC Michigan Detroit W X Y Z * J a c k s o n — j . W I B M Minnesota _ . _ M i n n e o p o l i s - S t . Paul WTCN Rochester. KLER . G u l f p o r t : WGCM Mississippi- Missouri Vicksburg WIBC Nebraska- . Kansas G t y . . St. Louis Springfield-— - O m a h a Nevada Las Vegas Reno New Mexico Albuquerque... Gallup Santa Fe Las Vegas—— - - K C M O KXOK KWTO KOH. KENO K W R N KOAT ..KTRC ..KFUN 250 kc 250 ke 1230 ke l i 0 0 ke 950 ke WGAC WDAR» ~1-WLS WIRL WHBF WCBX W H B U ...>... WJ PS WOWO W T H I KGEM KIFI KEIO KBUR .WOC WKBB KSCJ KGAF Ü .KFBI KFDX . . „ .WLAP W I N N 1240 kc 790 kc 1530 kc 530 kc «10 ke 1230 kc 9 4 0 kc 630 kc ¿ 1 3 5 0 kc | 9 6 0 ke _ _ _ 630 ke 1450 kc 580 kc 1400 kc 890 ke 1290 kc 1270 kc 1450 kc 1240 kc 1330 kc 1190 kc 1480 kc 1340 ke 1400 kc 1440 ke 1490 kc 1420 kc 1490 kc 1360 ke 1490 ke 1070 ke 9 6 0 ke 1450 ke 1240 ke 1280 k c 1470 ke 1470 kc - 1 4 9 0 kc 1150 kc 1240 kc 1310 kc 1490 k e 1270 kc 1450 ke 1280 kc 9 7 0 kc 1240 k e 1390 kc 1480 ke 630 k c 560 kc 1290 ke 1400 ke 1490 ke 1450 la - 1 4 0 0 t u - 1 2 3 0 V i Naw York- R os well - A l b a n y : Endicott Glen Folls_ Jamestown.. Massena_ . KS WS /VX K W * WENE . WGLN - W J T N - W N 5 A New York WJZ Rochester.. Troy (5th Sunday o n l y ) _ Utica North Carolina _ Raleigh N o r t h Dakota Fargo Ohio_ Oklahoma.. Oregon- Pennsylvania- Tennessee Texas Vermont Washington- Wisconsin Canada.. Hawaii— -..WARC WTRY . . WRUN ....WNAO —KFGO —WHBC . . W J W . C a n t o n —. 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