Another Catholic Parish Classical School

Posted on March 17, 2011 by theCatholicEducator

St. Margaret’s School in Riverton, WY (which happens to be near, and pre-dates, Wyoming Catholic College) is another classical school governed within the parish/diocesan structure.  It’s too bad there are so few of these schools.  And of those that do exist, most do not, unfortunately, have much of a web presence.  Maybe they need to fly under the radar.

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4 Books Every Catholic Educator Should Read

Posted on March 7, 2011 by theCatholicEducator

In previous posts I have claimed that a renewal of Catholic schools fundamentally requires a recovery and renewal of an authentic Catholic educational philosophy. I’ve come to this conclusion after twelve years of working as a teacher and administrator in Catholic schools.  Experiences, discussions, and books I’ve read all, of course, play a role in shaping my view of the situation in which Catholic education finds itself.  So in order to both give the reader some background into what has shaped my views and to provide the reader with the ideas which I believe are necessary for the recovery and renewal of a Catholic philosophy of education, I offer the following books as suggested reading. Continue reading →

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4 Classical Parochial Schools

Posted on March 4, 2011 by theCatholicEducator

Okay, I’ve just learned to not ever say in a blog what my next post will be; here I am changing the topic – but only for a quick note.  I know of only four Catholic classical schools in the country that are parish (or diocesan) schools.   Here they are: Continue reading →

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Toward an Authentically Catholic Educational Philosophy

Posted on March 2, 2011 by theCatholicEducator

As mentioned in my initial blog, the point of The Catholic Educator is to consider what is necessary for a renewal of our Catholic schools in the United States.  It is my contention that central to this renewal is the need for an authentically Catholic philosophy of education.  At the peak of Catholic school enrollment in the United States one could find several, if not many, books on just this topic: Catholic educational philosophy.  I have four or five of these tomes from the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s on my bookshelves.  Since that time, virtually nothing has been written on educational philosophy from a Catholic perspective.  Continue reading →

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Welcome!

Posted on February 18, 2011 by theCatholicEducator

Catholic schools in the United States are in dire straits.  Catholic schools continue to close or consolidate.  I’ve observed several of these consolidations and each time the schools have lost students.  It also seems that more Catholic parents home school and that each year there are more independent private Catholic schools.  Many schools are holding on for dear life and I’m afraid that economic and political realities in the the United States will contribute to the closure of many more in the next few years.  The National Catholic Education Association reports the following statistics: Continue reading →

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