Jan 12, 2023
The Evidence Shows that Anti-Human Beliefs are Destroying Lives by James Kalb at Catholic World Report. [O]ne recent survey indicates that 42 percent of young people aged 18 to 24 have a diagnosed mental health condition, usually anxiety or depression. Thirty-one percent rate their overall mental health as bad, and 18 percent are in therapy. As a recent article in The Washington Post noted, “The CDC found 45 percent of high school students were so persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 they were unable to engage in regular activities. Almost 1 in 5 seriously considered suicide and 9 percent surveyed tried to take their lives during previous 12 months.” Read
‘Jesus Is With Us’: The Blessed Sacrament Dwells in New Jersey Grade School by Alyssa Murphy at National Catholic Register. A Eucharistic revival is taking place inside this small pre-K-8 Catholic school a stone’s throw from Staten Island in the small harbor town of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Led by a faithful and passionate principal, Anacelis Diaz, Perth Amboy Catholic School (PACS) is now the only one in the Diocese of Metuchen to have its own chapel and tabernacle. And Principal Diaz is devoted to keeping the light burning. The school’s faith-filled atmosphere has impressed Bishop James Checchio, who leads the Diocese of Metuchen. “The competent, faith-filled principal, teachers and staff are clearly committed to providing an excellent Catholic education for all students in a challenging situation in the city of Perth Amboy,” the bishop told the Register. “They are a blessing to the young students entrusted to their care.” Read
This is Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for the Month of January by Francesca Pollio Fenton at Catholic News Agency. Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January is for educators. “Educators are witnesses who not only impart their mental knowledge but also their convictions, their commitment to life,” the Holy Father said in a video appeal released by the Vatican on Jan. 10. “I would like to propose that educators add new content to their teaching: fraternity,” the Holy Father said. “Education is an act of love that illuminates the path for us to recover a sense of fraternity, so we will not ignore those who are most vulnerable.” Read
After Michigan Supreme Court Redefines ‘Sex,’ Catholic School Lawsuit Warns of Broad Impact by Kevin J. Jones at National Catholic Register. The Michigan Supreme Court’s new interpretation of anti-discrimination law requires schools to impose strict policies and practices enforcing non-Catholic views of sexual orientation and gender identity and would ban catechesis about marriage and the sexes, a Catholic school’s legal challenge claims…. “No government official has the right to force a Catholic institution like Sacred Heart to affirm positions contrary to the Church’s teachings on marriage and sexuality,” Kate Anderson, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, said Dec. 22. Read
The Pandemic Taught Some Schools That Their Literacy Programs Weren't Good Enough by Zachary Faria at Washington Examiner. The pandemic was a disaster for children, with state and local governments setting their education back permanently with unscientific lockdowns. But there is one silver lining: Schools have begun fixing their literacy programs, and they are starting to see results. The New York Times details how high schools in Memphis, Tennessee, have re-embraced phonics in an effort to improve their literacy curriculum. Tennessee is among the states that have made a renewed push to center literacy on phonics, mandating the training for elementary school teachers with optional training for teachers in higher grade levels. Read
Year in Review: The Four Biggest Education Controversies of 2022 by Jeremiah Poff at Washington Examiner. An eventful 2021 saw education issues thrust into the national spotlight in a way previously unseen, but 2022 provided brand new fodder as education policies generated some of the biggest political controversies of the year. From federal policymaking from the Biden administration that could have forced the closure of hundreds of charter schools, a Title IX regulation that critics say will gut due process rights, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's public battle with Disney over a parental rights law, and the never-ending saga of Virginia's Loudoun County Public Schools, 2022 reinforced the notion that the classroom has become one of the main battlefields of the culture war. Read
CDC Urges Teachers, Administrators, School Nurses to Adopt LGBT Curriculum, Endorse Transgender Identity by Tyler O’Neil at The Daily Wire. Just days after Christmas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention republished a “self-assessment tool” urging teachers, administrators, school health staff, and others to become an “awesome ally” by advocating for LGBT causes in school. The document cites multiple LGBT activist groups, including a division of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Read
DeSantis Tackles Divisive ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ Programs on College Campuses by Lindsey Burke at The Daily Signal. In order to provide taxpayers and parents with transparency around what tax dollars are funding within the halls of state colleges and universities in Florida, the governor’s office sent a letter to the state Department of Education this week requesting that the agency, along with public universities, provide information on initiatives and expenditures associated with DEI programs and critical race theory. Each institution must provide by this Friday, Jan. 13, a brief description of the program or activity, the number of full and full-time-equivalent employees involved, the total funding to support the initiative, and the amount of state funding spent. Read
Return to the Classics by Jeremy Tate at First Things. An astonishing thing is happening at traditional, faith-based colleges. While national college enrollment has decreased by 13 percent over the last decade, these institutions have demonstrated that it is possible to emerge from COVID, economic recession, and a smaller national pool of applicants with record-breaking enrollment. Read
Kentucky Loses Distinction for Education Freedom After Flawed Court Decision by Jason Bedrick at The Daily Signal. [I]n 2021… in the wake of school shutdowns over COVID-19, Kentucky joined a wave of states expanding education opportunities by enacting the Education Opportunity Account program. Unfortunately, Kentucky children who stood to benefit from access to a greater number of education options no longer will get that chance. Last month, the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down the EOA program for violating a provision of the state Constitution….. In striking down the program, the Kentucky Supreme Court adopted a line of reasoning that is out of step with the U.S. Supreme Court and nearly every other state supreme court that has addressed a similar question. Read
School Choice Surge: 2023 Poised for Parental Rights Outbreak in Republican States by Jeremiah Poff at Washington Examiner. After a banner year in 2022 that saw Arizona become the first state to enact a universal school choice program supporters praised as the "gold standard" of school choice, other state legislatures are poised to enact similar programs in the coming months…. "All eyes will be on states with GOP trifectas in 2023, including Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Arizona was able to go all-in with one-seat GOP majorities in each chamber. If Arizona could do it with the slimmest of GOP majorities, all other red states should be able to empower families with universal school choice, too," [said Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the pro-school choice organization the American Federation for Children]. Read
Youngkin Administration Pushes School Choice Through Education Savings Accounts by Anna Bryson at Richmond Times-Dispatch. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration is continuing its effort to expand school choice in Virginia by pushing legislation that would allocate a portion of per-pupil state funding to a savings account for parents to spend on private school tuition or other approved education expenses.The government-authorized accounts, known as education savings accounts, would be available to parents of any Virginia child enrolled in a public school for at least one semester. Families would be able to spend the funds on tuition, fees and required textbooks at private K-12 schools in Virginia or on homeschool expenses. Read
Throwback Thursday
The Purpose of Catholic Education and the Role of the State by Christiaan Alting Von Geusau and Philip Booth at Catholic Education Resource Center in 2013. [W]hile the Church institutionally must have the right to establish schools, the freedom to educate children ultimately belongs to parents: "Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools" (GE, no. 6). This freedom belongs to parents because of our God-given nature and the gift of free will that is given to us: “Government, in consequence, must acknowledge the right of parents to make a genuinely free choice of schools and of other means of education, and the use of this freedom of choice is not to be made a reason for imposing unjust burdens on parents, whether directly or indirectly. Besides, the right of parents are violated, if their children are forced to attend lessons or instructions which are not in agreement with their religious beliefs, or if a single system of education, from which all religious formation is excluded, is imposed upon all (Dignitatis humanae, no. 5).” Read