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 EDUCATION

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EDUCATION

there arose, by force of circumstances, a distinctly Catholic system of education, including parish schools, academies, colleges, and a certain number of imiversi- ties which had remained under the control of the Church or were fountled anew by the Holy See. It is especially the parochial school that has served in re- cent times as an essential factor in the work of religion. In some countries, e. g. Canada, it has received sup- port from the Government; in others, as in the United States, it is maintained by voluntary contributions. As Catholics have also to pay their share of taxes for the public school system, they are under a double burden; but this very hardship has only ser\'ed to phice in clearer light their practical loyalty to the principles on which Catholic education is based. In fact, the whole parochial school movement during the nineteenth century forms one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of education. It proves on one side that neither loss of the State's co-operation nor lack of material resources can weaken the determina- tion of the Church to carry on her educational work; and on the other side it shows what faith and devotion on the part of parents, clergy, and teachers can accom- plish where the interests of religion are at stake. (See Schools.) Asthisattitudeand this act ion of Catholics place them in a position which is not always rightly understood, it may be useful to present here a state- ment of the principles on which the Church has based her course in the past, and to which she adheres un- swervingly at the present time when the problems of education are the subject of so much discussion and the cause of agitation in various directions. The Catholic position may be outlined as follows: —

1. Intellectual education must not be separated from moral and religious education. To impart knowledge or to develop mental efficiency without building up moral character is not only contrary to psychological law, which requires that ail the faculties should be trained, but is also fatal both to the individ- ual and to society. No amount of intellectual attain- ment or cultiu-e can serve as a substitute for virtue; on the contrary, the more thorough intellectual education becomes, the greater is the need for sound moral training.

2. Religion should be an essential part of education ; it should form not merely an adjvmct to instruction in other subjects, but the centre about which these are grouped and the spirit by which they are permeated. The study of nature without any reference to God, or of himian ideals with no mention of Jesus Christ, or of human legislation without Divine law is at best a one- sided education. The fact that religious truth finds no place in the curriculum Ls, of itself, and apart from any open negation of that truth, sufficient to warp the pupil's mind in such a way and to such an extent that he will feel little concern in his school-days or later for religion in any form ; and this result is the more likely to ensue when the curriculum is made to include every- thing that is worth knowing except the one subject which is of chief importance.

.3. Soimd moral instruction is impossible apart from religious education. The child may be drilled in cer- tain desirable habits, such as neatness, courtesy, and punctuality; he may be imbued with a spirit of hon- our, industry, and truthfulness — and none of this should be neglected; but if these duties towards self and neighbour are sacred, the duty towards God is immeasurably more sacred. When it is faithfully performed, it includes and raises to a higher plane the discharge of every other obligation. 'Training in re- ligion, moreover, furnishes the best motives for con- duct and the noblest ideals for imitation, while it sets before the mind an adequate sanction in the holiness and justice of God. Religious education, it should be noted, is more than instruction in the dogmas of faith or the precepts of the Divine law; it is essentially a practical training in the exercises of religion, such as

prayer, attendance at Divine worship, and reception of the sacraments. By these means conscience is purified, the will to do right is strengthened, and the mind is fortified to resist those temptations which, especially in the period of adolescence, threaten the gravest danger to the moral life.

4. An education which unites the intellectual, moral, and religious elements is the best safeguard for the home, since it places on a secure basis the various rela- tions which the family implies. It also ensures the performance of social duties by inculcating a spirit of self-sacrifice, of obedience to law, and of Christian love for the fellow-man. The most effectual prepara- tion for citizenship is that schooling in virtue which habituates a man to decide, to act, to oppose a move- ment or to fm-ther it, not with a view to personal gain nor simply in deference to public opinion, but in ac- cordance with the standards of right that are fixed by the law of God. The welfare of the State, therefore, demands that the child be trained in the practice of virtue and religion no less than in the pursuit of knowledge.

5. Far from lessening the need of moral and reli- gious training, the advance in educational methods rather emphasizes that need. Many of the so-called improvements in teaching are of passing importance, and some are at variance with the laws of the mind. Upon their relative worth the Chiu'ch does not pro- nounce, nor does she commit herself to any particular method. Provided the es.sentials of Christian educa- tion are secured, the Church welcomes whatever the sciences may contribute toward rendering the work of the school more efficient.

6. Catholic parents are bound in conscience to pro- vide for the education of their children, either at home or in schools of the right sort. As the bodily life of the child must be cared for, so, for still graver reasons, must the mental and moral faculties be developed. Parents, therefore, cannot take an attitude of indiffer- ence toward this essential duty nor transfer it wholly to others. They are responsible for those earliest im- pressions which the child receives passively, before he exercises any conscious selective imitation ; and as the intellectual powers develop, the parents' example is the lesson that sinks most deeply into the child's mind. They are also obliged to mstruct the child, according to his capacity, in the truths of religion and in the practice of religious duties, thus co-operating with the work of the Church and the school. The virtues, especially of obedience, self-control, and purity, can nowhere be inculcated so thoroughly as in the home; and without such moral education by the parents, the task of forming upright men and women and worthy citizens is difficult, if not impossible.

That the need of moral and religious education has impressed the minds of non-Catholics also, is evident from the movement inaugurated in 1903 by the Re- ligious Education Association in the United States, which meets annually antl publishes its proceedings at Chicago. An international inquiry into the problem of moral training was started in London in 1906, and the report has been edited by Professor Sadler under the title, " Moral Instruction and Training in Schools" (London, 1908).

For the respective rights and duties of the Church and the civil authority, see Schools; State.

Generai,: Monroe, Bib!, of Education (New York. 1897); Hall and Mansfield. Bihl. of Education (Boston, 1S93); Cob- BERlEY, SyUabus of Lectures on the Hist, of Ed. (New York, 1902).

Cathouc Wrtters: F^tockl. Ce.^ch. d, Padaffogik (Mainz, 1S76); KmEG.Lrinh ,i p,ni„no(,ik (Faderhom. 1900); Dhane, Chri.-:tian School. - s, / ■ ,, j,] ed. (London. 1881); KuNZ, ed., Bibliofhek- tl. I ' ', / ■■'/nffof7iA'. a series of monographs',

biographical and. ,, .., . 1 iviburg. 1888—); Newman, The Idea of a VnivcrxiLi il..,:ij,iu, 1S73>; Brother Azarias, Essaj/s Educational (Chica»J, 1S'J6); Willmann, Didaktik ah Bu- duno-ilehre, 2d cd. (Bninswicli, 1894); Spalding. Education and the Higher Life (Chicago. 1890); Idem, JV/oin.! and Enda cf Education (Chicago, 1895); Idem, Religion, Agnosticism and