Educators and parents are increasingly dissatisfied with secular standards that neglect to emphasize virtuous development in K-12 academics, but one diocese in Michigan has responded by making the bold decision to implement a classical, liberal arts curriculum for all diocesan schools. And the diocese’s superintendent of Catholic schools, Mark Salisbury, told The Cardinal Newman Society that the program has been widely well-received by teachers and students and is improving education for the entire diocese....
“We are enthusiastic about our early successes,” Salisbury shared. “Teachers are happy with the results as well. We have improved our ability to teach students how to write well, students are learning and memorizing more poetry” and the curriculum’s integration of Latin studies “has helped students with English grammar, vocabulary and critical thinking skills.” A recent satisfaction survey of more than 440 parents for the 2015-16 school year revealed that 76 percent of parents were highly satisfied with the academic programs.
Prior to the classical education shift, the Diocese of Marquette had no set curriculum.
The Marquette diocese also started an annual training conference for Catholic educators last year, and is hosting the 2016 Midwest Conference on Catholic Liberal Arts Education in Escanaba, Mich., this June. The conference gives participants the opportunity to discuss integrating beauty and truth into every subject.continue at Cardinal Newman Society
I think we are getting to the point where everyone gets that this is just a common sense move. On the flip side, why would any Catholic school employ something other than a Classical Catholic curriculum to train students to think?
1 comment:
This is very encouraging. Too bad it's not happening in the Milwaukee Archdiocese. If it's bold changes we want, this is the kind of thing that has to happen. Catholic schools should embrace the Classical curriculum. The reason more dioceses aren't doing this is because most people involved with education subscribe to the Progressive theory of education, which is rooted in Utilitarianism and Pragmatism (you could even add Marxism). They don't teach kids how to think, but rather what to think. It's no wonder homeschooling and independent private schools in the Catholic-Classical tradition are growing, and diocesan schools are shrinking.
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