Jesuit High School Ignites Faith, Inspires Students to Pursue Priesthood

Jesuit High School Ignites Faith, Inspires Students to Pursue Priesthood by Jonah McKeown at Catholic News Agency. Talking to the graduates of Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida, who are now pursuing priesthood, a familiar refrain emerges: Most of them didn’t have a strong Catholic faith before entering high school, at least not a faith that they considered their own…But following their high school experience — at a school marked by a culture of peer ministry, readily available Catholic sacraments including daily Mass and frequent confession, inspiring retreats, and mission trip opportunities — several young men in recent years have found that God is calling them to serve him in a way they couldn’t have imagined before: as priests. Read

The Student’s Dilemma by Elizabeth Stice at Front Porch Republic. AI is reshaping the landscape of higher education. AI enthusiasts rave about the possibilities and the positive transformations to come, but realists are already in despair about how little work students are doing. The ease and accessibility of AI tools mean that students are constantly presented with the opportunity to have unearned good grades. The challenge exceeds the marshmallow test, because students may resist the temptation and then receive lower grades than their peers who do use AI. Read

6 Predictions For Education And Workforce In 2025 by Michael B. Horn at Forbes. As the great Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra said, “It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” Nonetheless, tis the season for predictions in the new year. I’ve got a few for 2025 that cross the K–12, higher education, and workforce silos. So, here are six predictions for you. Read

Ohio Lawmakers Green-Light Parents’ Bill of Rights by Emily Hallas at The Washington Examiner. The Ohio state legislature passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which proponents say will expand parents’ voice in the education system. This week, the bill was passed as part of a broader piece of legislation, Ohio House Bill 8, which includes reforms to religious instruction. Republican state Rep. D.J. Swearingen, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, said the legislation “acknowledges the fundamental role that parents play in the lives of their children.” Read

Why Public Schools Struggle to Teach: A Substitute’s Perspective by Connie Marshner at The Daily Signal. For the past three years, I was a substitute teacher in the public schools of Warren County, Virginia. I served both as an aide in classrooms with a regular full-time teacher and as a substitute alone in the classroom. Warren County schools are probably typical of public schools everywhere: Most teachers love the students and are very frustrated that they can’t actually do what they signed up to do—teach. At the same time, many parents don’t understand why their children are not learning. Here are my insights as to why. Read

Fashion Design Program Announced for Fall 2025 by John Paul the Great Catholic University. One of JPCatholic’s biggest announcements this year was the addition of a Fashion Design emphasis within our BFA in Visual Arts, along with a new minor in Costume Design. The Fashion Design emphasis will be available for students entering JPCatholic in Fall 2025, and courses are already being offered for the Costume Design minor. Read

Faithful Catholic Colleges See Enrollment Boom in Face of Nationwide Higher Ed Problems by Claire Bettag at The College Fix. Faithful Catholic colleges continue to thrive while some universities, and higher education in general, face enrollment issues. The Cardinal Newman Society says total enrollment at its recommended colleges has grown by more than 22 percent in the past decade. Read

Throwback Thursday

Speaking the Truths Only the Imagination May Grasp by Stratford Caldecott at Touchstone in September, 1998. John Henry Newman once pointed out that it is very hard for anyone to believe something he cannot first imagine to be true. Today, many people growing up in an industrialized world cut off (physically and intellectually) from the natural environment cannot imagine the milk they drink coming from a cow, let alone how the supernatural claims of Christianity could possibly be true. It seems to bear no relation to the world they inhabit. They have no knowledge of it, nor even any knowledge from which they can draw analogies. Read