A lost education

All of this comes at a high price in cash and personal cost as “free secondary education” and “seamless education” from pre-school to tertiary level exert pressure on all the stakeholders involved, generating anxiety, competitiveness and varieties of corruption and extortion judged necessary to secure the high stakes involved. Scarce commodity, highly desired and vital to progress that justifies any means used to procure it.

Since 1836 Catholic education has sought to make a contribution towards this activity at all levels, expending heroic efforts to provide the young people of the nation with the skills necessary to assume their place in the society from a perspective enlightened by the values and example of Jesus Christ.

Working often for no remuneration and in situations hostile to their values and beliefs, men and women sacrificed themselves for the education of the young and contributed towards the creation of a society that struggled to espouse the values of service, care and respect for persons.

We began to believe that we were living in a “nation under God”. But a clear-eyed consideration of education today would yield the very uncomfortable assessment that the counter-values of acquisitiveness, one-upmanship and selfishness are the guiding principles of this activity.

Before we rush to defend our schools from this damning assessment, we should soberly face the fact that God and the Will of God are not the defining focus of education - very little in contemporary society supports such a perspective and heroism is not in vogue - we prefer to ‘fit in’.

Our preferential options is not for the poor, as broadly as we must define them, so we find ourselves out of step with the clear directives of the preaching and practice of Jesus, so eloquently restated by Pope Francis.

Education is too expensive and demanding so service and servant-hood are left aside in favour of assertiveness and acquisitiveness, we applaud the winners, and there are only a few of those in the race.

How can we recover the unique and irreplaceable voice that is the special contribution of Catholicism to the shaping of society? First, we need to decide whether or not we are Catholic with the constant conversion that choice will require. We need to own the view of humankind and of nature that being creatures of God imposes on us - respect and reverence, compassion and service - we are all members of a common family responsible for our common home. And since we will be a minority in a secular and indifferent, it not hostile environment, we need to recognise the call to sacrifice as part of our daily practice. After all, the Crucified and Risen Christ is the leader we have chosen to follow.