A Catholic education is a unique education

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with some parents who were looking at enrolling their children in a Catholic school. They made that decision because of their own experiences of Catholic education, but also because of their participation in a program run by a number of our school boards called “We’ve Been Waiting For You.” 

This program is really just a kit of resources presented to parents by a priest when their child is baptized. It contains information about the local Catholic school, web pages for parents to follow school and board events and, in some board cases, it includes a picture that parents can finish by inserting a photo of their own child and completing the inscription, “A proud graduate in the year 20__”. Some kits have a small handbook of prayers for children and an invitation to come and visit the local school. 

These particular parents came into the system because of this baptism experience and because of their own experience. But the question they asked me was this: “What makes a good Catholic school?” I said there are many factors, and recommended they become familiar with some research on Catholic schools. I reminded one parent of the words of G. K. Chesterton: “Every education teaches a philosophy, if not by dogma, then by suggestion, by implication, by atmosphere. Every part of education has a connection with every other part. If it does not combine to convey some general view of life, it’s not education at all.”