I cannot describe what Catholic Education means to me currently without recalling what it once meant to me. Catholic Education meant different things to me at different stages of my life. From kindergarten to around grade 5, Catholic Education was just education. I knew public schools existed. I understood that Catholic schools engaged students in the Catholic faith. Like my peers I would pray, listen during religion lessons, and sit cross-legged on the gymnasium floor, cramped together with 500 other students. The masses meant nothing to me. (They really just meant discomfort because my legs would always fall asleep.) I listened to most lessons passively all the time, and religion lessons were no exception. Prayers were only memorized …show more content…
I came to conclusions about my faith and Catholic Education. Catholic Education still does not mean much to me. However, it brings together people who (most of the time) come from a Catholic/Christian backgrounds, and creates a sense of community. For that I appreciate Catholic Education. What I do not find as nice about Catholic schools is that despite being centred around religion, people in Catholic schools can be just as mean-spirited, rude, and uncompassionate as people in public schools, if not worse. I am aware that it is unrealistic to assume that those in Catholic schools are all wonderful people, but I find reality ironic. In my opinion, Catholic Education is like public education, except Catholic students have school masses and are obligated to take religion courses. As I introduced previously, being subject to Catholic Education and those devoutly religious for the better part of 13 years has guided me to my brand of Catholicism so to speak. Catholic Education has inadvertently, or possibly intentionally, started me off on my own spiritual path by showing me what I do not like about Catholicism (eg. the belief that not going to church is bad). Spirituality and personal religious beliefs are lifelong works in progress, and I suppose that without Catholic Education my progress would have started later in my
Since Catholic Faith Based schools are such an important part of the Catholic Church, they will need to be around in the future and that task may be one that is exceptionally difficult to achieve. If we do not continue to offer our Faith based education in schools, how will we be able to continue carrying out our mission? There are many challenges that the Catholic schools face and within each challenging area, there are other numerous obstacles to address. Three of the larger challenges facing American Catholic schools are increasing finances, common feelings toward faith, and changing
I went to Catholic school because my great-grandmother influenced my mother to do so, arguing that the values that I would learn there would not compare to anything else. As a single mother, she took as many advices as possible on how to raise me, especially coming from the most important person for her. However, my mother has never considered herself a devout catholic, or religious person whatsoever, and although she enrolled me in Catholic school she tried to give me as much religious freedom as possible so that I could find my own spirituality when the right time merited it. I was raised with a hybrid of religious and liberal values, and while I consider to have a strong pillar of moral values based on what I learned in Catholic school,
Pope Francis once said, “An education in the fullness of humanity should be the defining feature of Catholic schools.” To me, this sentiment sums up why a Catholic education is so important for many reasons. I have attended many different types of schools: public, private, Catholic and homeschool as a result of my father’s career in the military. However, only my experiences at Catholic schools provide me with a truly well-rounded education because, at Catholic schools, I receive the opportunity to learn about the amazing gift of God’s love every day during school hours. I love studying Scripture and seeing ways in which God is present in our lives. It is such a special experience to be able to do that in a school environment where you can really learn the fundamentals of our faith, as well as experiencing many different aspects of our Catholic faith, from prayer to Mass as a part of
My personal opinion has been formed after quite a bit of thought on this subject. I had attended catholic school for all of my schooling through high school,
I was raised in a divorced family, both of my parents believed in raising my sister and I with a Christian-based background. I was enrolled into a private christian academy as soon as I started kindergarten. With my first impression of the education system I was
For the majority of my childhood, I never questioned the Catholic teachings, practices, or beliefs that I was taught to encompass into my everyday life. Being raised in an extremely catholic family and attending a catholic elementary school led to a very unique form of socialization – the process where an individual develops an identity and culture through interacting and communicating with others (Sandstrom 2014). As a member of my city’s catholic community, there were numerous expectations to maintain, however, as I entered my early teenage years I began to question Catholicism and the teachings that were instilled in these institutions. By questioning the legitimacy of the information that priests, teachers, and my parents were sharing,
Growing up in a Catholic household there were many rules and beliefs I was taught to just accept. As I got older most I truly believed and tried to live my life by. Others I questioned. I started high school at Holy Family school my freshman year as a varsity cheerleader thinking I was “on top of the world.” it was the first time I had finally felt I had some sort of freedom.
The belief that Catholics were not Christians was subtly implied from the start. When my family signed our contract, we had to sign a Statement of Faith. We were supposed to take the Bible as literal and not metaphoric, which is not what Catholics believe. In my Bible classes, I would bring up Catholic views, and I would be told, “Taylor, that’s not relevant.” and “That’s not what we are talking about.” We had a project in my Bible class freshman year, we had to create a sermon to give to our class. I had taken the Catholic stance and not taken the passage literally. My grade of an 85 reflected what had been taught to me the past the three years, that Catholics do not belong there. With comments on my sermon of “You didn’t complete the assignment correctly.” and “This is a Christian project not a Catholic project.” Baffled, I finally brought these instances to my parents’ attention, who helped me find the strength to challenge this belief system by only contributing the Catholic viewpoint. The situation at the school was not improving for me, and I was left feeling more like an outcast than ever
Catholicism has always been an integral part of my life. I can remember from very early on standing in church and being overcome by the slender of the church and also the mass itself. As I grew up my love for Christ only became greater however my perception of God changed greatly. When I was younger I saw God as someone to be feared and obeyed, However as I matured I discovered that God wasn’t someone to be feared, but rather God was someone to love. Through this change in perceptions I began to see God as more of a friend and role model, someone I could talk to whenever I was in trouble, lonely or in some cases just wanted to share life events. Through this class I have grown even closer to God. Seeing the devotion and love Saint Francis and Clare had for God inspired me to once again alter my perception of God. I see God in a new light in that God isn’t asking us to be perfect, but just simply to try our best.
Well first, catholic school has made me grow in my faith. Going to catholic school allows me to learn more about God and my faith, thus my relationship with God has become stronger. When I started going to catholic school I first found religion boring,
Attending Catholic school from elementary to high school helped to shape and mold young D.I.V.A. I was taught how to love and help total strangers, pray for the sick and give unconditionally. I began a relationship with God and as it started to strengthen, then I became afraid and scared not understanding what was happening, I fell from grace. I turned from Christ, stopped praying and believing, soon I ventured down the wrong path.
Growing up Catholic and attending parochial school from kindergarten through my senior year of high school meant that religion was constantly around me. However, in contrast to this academic setting, God was absent from my daily life. Although they sent me to a Catholic school and insisted I attend mass every Sunday, my parents never once mentioned God, prayer, or spirituality within the home. These
Those who choose to continue on with the catholic school attend Bishop Kenny High School. I, however, made the chose to attend a public school for the first time. The change was dramatic, I went from a class of thirty people who I have known majority of my life, to knowing absolutely no one in a school with more than two thousand students. I did not stray far from my faith my freshman year, every Sunday I would attend the morning service and senior youth group at Blessed Trinity’s parish hall. This was an organized group made to give teens more of an understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. As my freshman year in high school continued I found myself going to church less and every so often I would attend the meetings.
Like many Catholics, I was welcomed into the faith shortly after I was born. My mother and father had me baptized at only four months of age. From then on, I was raised in a Catholic household. My faith was prevalent in my school life as well. I attended St. Bernard Catholic School from preschool to eighth grade. There were some parts about being Catholic that I really liked. I enjoyed the church songs we sang at mass and I loved having shorter classes on the days we said the Stations of the Cross. However, I wasn’t fond of being an altar server and I found no joy in having to wake up early on Sundays to go to mass. Though it was a part of my everyday life, Catholicism never really became part of my identity. I never took it upon myself to learn more about the church or strengthen my faith outside of school. I only really participated in Communion and confession and whatnot because it was what I was told and taught to do. Whenever I prayed, I felt more like I was speaking to the ceiling than to God. I hadn’t even considered that I could have my own set of beliefs until high school.
I believe the Catholic religion is an important portion of my upbringing and for my religious experience