My life has been defined by religion. You won’t see very many rosaries, icons or prayer posters hung up in my room, but you could certainly surmise the extent of the influence of my Catholic education by knowing my upbringing. While the first 9 carefree years of my life were mostly marked by generic reflections in religion class and begrudging Sunday morning ventures to Mass, these experiences built the foundation for what was to come. Of course, being nearly five years removed from 8th grade means I have a sparse recollection of the actual instruction material, but the effect of Catholic teaching is real. My 7th grade religion teacher was my confirmation sponsor, a regular correspondent in high school and delivered the benediction at my Eagle Scout ceremony.
My enrollment at a Jesuit high school in North Philadelphia marked a 4-year journey of faith, service and reflection. In a certainly not unique experience, this is where I began to give real thought to belief and life. While religious introspection can be achieved no matter the school you attend, at a Catholic institution, it’s not seen as an extracurricular or a frivolous pursuit. Reflection and growth are an inherent part of the system. It’s why many elite Catholic high schools choose to not rank their students. It’s why the graduation and college enrollment rates consistently top out at 100% for decades on end. It’s why so many of those enrollments are at nationally and internationally-ranked universities.
We continuously hear of the “holistic” college admissions process, where evaluators try to examine the entire person. Students at Catholic schools are primed for these application processes because of this focus on overall growth. Your athleticism or academic prowess never actually takes center stage; in fact, nothing does. What sets you apart from everyone else is the fact that any venture you’re engaged in could be the focal point of your life story. Yet at the end of the day, it’s just a part of who you are: an inherent thing unspoken unless it is called out by others.
Lost in the pursuit of solitary greatness is the value of well-roundedness. This is precisely what I believe is missing in the public and secular private education system. In these competitive environments, where club, team and all manner of leadership positions are precious commodities, students embrace as narrow of an approach as possible, throwing on horse blinders with a single goal in mind. Left in the dust are their relationships, spirituality and personal development.
After the academic excellence, religious instruction and holistic advancement, the most renowned part of Catholic education is its commitment to service. No matter the institution, service hours are a requirement and a focus, not merely a side project for your college application. Growing and learning within this culture of service is the most beneficial environment an impressionable student can learn in. It should be no surprise then that we see the benefits in the example these students set in university and beyond.
Don’t mistake the identifier of “Catholic” for a school to imply any sort of exclusivity, however. Sure, those who are part of a different faith tradition are still mandated to enroll in religious education courses, but their engagement and contributions are equally as important to the overall development of the school. Whenever we see sectarian violence or hear degrading language, we can trace those roots to a culture of exclusion. In being shielded from or intentionally ignoring other faiths, we rapidly lose sight of the real value present in said faiths. Without any prior exposure to cultures other than your own, you’ll be left with no understanding of your peers or colleagues. Extrapolate this to a country of nearly 350 million, and all of a sudden, we’re at odds with nearly everyone, in a dangerous negative feedback loop. Certainly, it is too much to expect any one person to have a total awareness of the multitudes of unique traditions and experiences that are present in the world. However, a Catholic education founded on religious tolerance and cultural exposure outlines a path that we can follow.
While it may be disingenuous to say that Catholic education is absolutely necessary for developing well-rounded scholars, there’s no denying that the current blueprint is very effective. A combination of potent instruction and genuine care builds thinkers, creators and visionaries. The bonds you form, the experiences you go through and the tradition of service that you are enmeshed in are all what make Catholic schools unparalleled in the modern age.