What is the world like today for a Catholic lay person who wants to work in the field of education? How many schools of higher learning are Catholic in name only? I didn’t know the answers to these questions as I decided to make a mid-career change. Because I felt well-formed by faith, family, and friends, I made that choice with confidence in 2005.
The world watched Pope John Paul II face the last part of his life with courage in the spring of that year. On the day of his passing I went to church in the late afternoon. It was during Mass that day that I made a final decision that would change my life.
Like many Catholics, I had been reflecting on the accomplishments of our Pope. Originally I had believed that he should retire and live out his days in peace. But as I watched him show witness to the suffering Christ, I realized I had been wrong. He showed the world not only how to live, but also how to die. A quiet retirement would have never allowed that part of his faith to have been revealed.
On April 2, 2005 I decided that I was going to become an elementary school teacher. This decision was based on fifteen years of experience that ranged from a public relations position for a professional baseball team to being an investigator for a private detective agency. Much of my career had been interesting and even rewarding, but had any of my experiences allowed me to use my abilities in the best possible way?
I had slowly realized over the years that secularism had seeped into my mentality without me even fully realizing it. As with any gradual change, it must have been a day-by-day process that may have begun during my time in college. That ideological emergence must certainly be shared by many young college students as lax thought, presented as modern enlightenment, is often tapped as a renewable resource by those in academia.
I had a desire to do more with my life, but what would that be? Extensive research caused me to consider education as a potentially stabilizing pursuit. However, the thought of returning to school in my late thirties was not something I was initially overjoyed with. Also, the five figure cost to build on my bachelor’s degree and become certified was an investment that I had to carefully consider.
I was initially struck by something unusual as I began to explore the details of actually becoming an educator. I would need the state’s approval to do so. I understood that if I wanted to work for a government school, obtaining a government license seemed very reasonable. But, it has become accepted practice for most religious school teachers to obtain a state license. Possibly this can be seen as giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
I began to explore local college and university options to obtain the necessary credentials. I decided upon a local Catholic college because I thought it would match my own goals on many levels. What I found during the next two years was a cultural eye opener. Overall, the professors, staff, and students at this institution were decent people who seemed to have willingly immersed themselves in very traditional academic thoughts. This viewpoint, always presented and defended as progressive and open-minded, is basically secular ideology dressed in the latest clothes.
Many of the courses I needed to take were of the expected standard fare. Math, reading, science, student teaching, and the like. There also was a class in diversity. This class was taught by a person who advised us that she was a former nun. It appeared to me that her approach was well received by her colleagues and by her students. She is someone who made sure that I was inducted into an honors fraternity. This retired Catholic and public school teacher then later accepted a position as the head of the Education department at the college.
That diversity class explored a wide variety of topics, some of which are clearly in opposition to Catholic beliefs. On a number of occasions it seemed to offer a gateway to discussion of all religions being equal. There was the naming of a local priest whose sermons were not seen to be “with-it”, and the mentioning of a nun who supposedly made racist remarks. But with a category as broad as “diversity” any line of thought could be offered as a reasonable remark under the curriculum’s umbrella.
Due to diversity being an academic buzzword, it is not surprising that the college had a course covering it at that time. It was later dropped, as the topic was incorporated into all subject areas. This particular content area obviously serves a purpose and opens questions whose intent can at least be questioned for usefulness. I am not sure how it meets the criteria for a Catholic formation though.
During my two years on that campus I noticed many of the outward markings of Catholicism. There were crucifixes on the walls, posters relating to certain upcoming religious discussions, and a chapel. I also noticed the inner markings secularism had made. There were only a few people I knew of who worked as local Catholic school teachers, and only one student who planned to student teach at a Catholic school. It is common and reasonable for those student teachers to have liability insurance before they are allowed to represent their college and work in a school. The risk is simply too large. As such, student teachers were understandably required to obtain coverage at a very nominal cost. But, there was an interesting catch.
Student teachers were required to obtain their liability insurance through the Pennsylvania State Education Association. In doing so, a student was required to join that union. Again, this was not a suggestion, or a choice of insurance options. People had to join the state teachers union at this Catholic college, or they were not eligible to student teach. From all possible insurance providers, why was this particular provider being utilized? The answer of course involved the professional backgrounds of those making decisions at this school. I considered whether this particular state teachers union had solicited the college, or vice versa. I also wondered how many other colleges and universities had the same system in place across the state and the country.
At that time I was working in my second year as a teacher at a Catholic elementary school and was simultaneously completing my certification requirements. I had liability insurance though our lay teachers association. When I informed the college’s administrative office workers of that information I received a reply that many do when confronting bureaucracy. Regardless of my coverage, I needed to join the Pennsylvania State Educators Association (the public school teachers union) and obtain liability insurance through them.
I advised my Principal of this request. She then put me in touch with the person who heads our Diocese. That lady prepared a letter that was provided to the college. Both of those females are nuns who represent the Catholic answer to all who believe women have no real power in our church, or in our world.
Often secularists don’t seek to know anything about these witnesses to our faith, or choose to confirm their experience. They knowingly choose to not seek truth. That approach has been passed onto to current generations.
Upon receipt of that letter, the bureaucracy adjusted itself. The administration advised that the liability insurance requirement was new and that I was the first person to question it. That answer most likely showed that the college was staffed by those with a professional public school background. It seemed to reveal familiarity with a known liability provider, rather than intent to indoctrinate. It also showed an interesting connection that a powerful non-religious group had at this religious college.
With that experience in mind, is it surprising that school choice matters are continually squashed? If even those who are involved in Catholic colleges and universities are allowing a public school teacher’s union to gather information on its students, by allowing them to be the insurer of choice, would they then be open-minded about shifting funds away from public schools through school choice? That answer is probably tied into the current salaries, or pensions, those types of people are all receiving from those same public schools. It is the world they know.
Secularism had cut deep into that part of the Catholic world. In a real sense, it seemed as though I was actually attending a public school teacher factory. Current and former public school teachers were, in effect, mass producing the next generations of themselves.
My student teaching advisor is a Catholic who used to head the Education department at that college. When he was in charge, many students were student teaching in local Catholic schools. Under his mentoring I received support, advice, and encouragement. I was truly humbled when he nominated me for the outstanding student teacher award in the Spring of 2007.
A few weeks after that nomination a number of family members and I attended an Honors Convocation. While there, we all wondered why the new college President chose to weave his belief in gay rights into his overall speech about academics. I never asked him, but I am guessing academic freedom might have been the answer to that question.
I was called to the stage to receive my award along with five others. I stood with yesterday’s educators behind me in their doctoral robes, today’s potential colleagues with me, and tomorrow’s future educators in front of me. How and where would I swim in this sea that I had freely chosen to jump into?
It is easy to write about how everyone and everything else should be. I also know that Jesus told His apostles that many in the world would always be of it. But on the day of that convocation I knew that, with my faith, family, and friends, somehow, I would swim.
Any worthwhile study of Catholic history reveals the ebb and flow of our collective story. The question is not survival, but sustainability that can lead to renewed growth on many fronts for ourselves and for everyone. Each of us needs to try to objectively analyze our actions so that we can determine what we must do for the overall good. For me, sharing this story is one of the ways to do that.
At this time my own free choice of the will has led me to a career in education that no former public school teacher ever suggested. Perhaps that is because the people who taught me from kindergarten through graduation did not recognize a future bureaucrat in me. Or perhaps, it is because I am different now from how I was back then.
I have come to my fortieth year of life and my fourth year in education; I know that I will always need to learn so that I can continue to teach. Working with the students and parents that I have has opened a whole new part of life for me. My goal is to work as an elementary teacher until the remainder of my hair is gray.
I was inspired to refocus my own efforts by the complete life that Pope John Paul the Great had led. He said that we should not be afraid. I considered what he had accomplished, the faith we shared, and that the choice I was considering was simple in comparison to those he had made. Changes in the currents of our lives can actually be embraced when we realize that any tide will never truly pull us under.
