Education, ideological battlefield or preparation for life?-OSV News / Charlie Camosy
Jay Boren, director of the St. Benedict Classical Academy since 2015, believes that cultivating wisdom and virtue in the pursuit of truth and conformity to Christ is the ultimate purpose of classical Catholic education. He spoke recently with Charlie Camosy of OSV News about returning to the heart of the education Catholic and whether Catholic education is experiencing a "renaissance" moment following a promising increase in Catholic school enrollment in 2023.
A good number of people have heard a lot more about classical Catholic education in recent years, but they may not know exactly what it means or what it refers to. Let's start there: what is classical Catholic education? It's something much more fundamental than just learning Latin and reading "The Odyssey," right?
- Classical Catholic education is less about learning Latin and reading "The Odyssey" and more about returning to what people in the classical and medieval tradition thought was the true purpose of education, namely, the cultivation of wisdom and virtue, and the conversion of our minds and hearts to what is true, good and beautiful.
As Catholics, we believe that this process of conversion conforms us to Christ and leads us to God. In other words, a classical Catholic education helps us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created: to know, love and serve God.
Classical Catholic education strives to regain a connection to this traditional understanding of what education is. Certainly we think that reading classical texts and learning Latin is important, but only because they connect us to the wisdom of our tradition.
We want our students to know what is true, good and beautiful, but it would be terribly presumptuous to think that it is up to us to decide what counts as "truth." To do that, we have to humbly return to our tradition: to what has stood the test of time and to what the best minds and noblest souls in history have taught and shown us about those things.
This idea of what education is for contrasts with a perspective that sees education primarily as college or career preparation. Certainly we want our students to find meaningful work, earn a living and support their families. But that goal is secondary. If we are producing graduates who get into top colleges and end up making a lot of money in their jobs, but are not virtuous, do not strive for holiness and have no desire to seek truth, we would not consider that a success. This does not sell well to our students. They are called to much more.
They are called to flourish fully, with all the faculties of their minds, hearts and souls freed to know what is true, to love what is beautiful and to do what is good. St. Irenaeus said that the glory of God is man fully alive. We want our students to be fully alive so that they can give glory to God.
Is it too strong to call what is happening lately an explosion of classical Catholic education? It seems that everywhere you look there is a new school being created, a new conference on the subject, professional societies meeting annually, more typical Catholic schools "going classical" and more. Can you give us a brief description of what is happening now?
- I don't know if it's an explosion or not, but it's certainly a renaissance! New schools are being founded every month in every region of the country. I personally talk to eight or ten people a year who are in the process of founding a new school. It is very exciting to hear about new things being founded within the Church and mostly by lay people. The schools came first, but we are also seeing a lot of new initiatives being founded to respond to the needs of those schools. The revival of classical education is also serving as a creative vehicle for connecting faithful Catholics across the country who are involved in the renewal of Catholic education.
These new schools are responding to a very real demand that exists in the Church at this time. There are many parents who fervently desire a rigorous classical education that is formed and grounded in authentic Catholicism. I believe this is definitely a "moment" for the Church and for Catholic education. It is up to us how we deal with that moment.
One of the things that excites me most about this movement is that it forces us to revisit the Catholic school model and reimagine our conception of Catholic education.
Many of these schools were founded by lay people. They are usually run and governed by a lay board of trustees. They are leaving behind a model that relied heavily on religious orders. Figuring out how to manage their schools after the loss of those orders is something that the American Church has failed at. This is very exciting, because instead of managing the decline, we are building something new that is alive and growing. As our chaplain, Father Peter Stamm, points out, "Healthy things grow."
You personally have been doing your part to lead this trend as principal of a new classical Catholic school. Can you say something about what you and your community have created?
- All of this has been a blessing and an incredibly exciting thing to be a part of. Our school is 12 years old, I've been here for 10 years. We've gone from 60 students when I arrived to over 320 this year. A school that started in a shared office space has just moved into a school building of majestic beauty and classic design.
However, as beautiful as the school is, the best thing about this school is the community. We have families who drive an hour each way, passing many schools along the way, to bring their children to our school. To have a school that is mission-aligned across the board is unique and a blessing. We have worked hard to ensure that mission-aligned families who desire this education can access it, regardless of their ability to pay full tuition. We have fought to keep tuition as affordable as possible and also remain adamant about investing in a robust tuition assistance program. We plan to award more than $1,000,000 in tuition assistance next year.
I love everything about this school, but the most important aspect, without a doubt, is the community. I often say that what I love most about this school are my daughters' friends. It has been so uplifting to see how many families want this education for their children and see it as a worthy investment of their time, energy and money.
From your point of view, what can the Church in general do to support this trend in Catholic education? I am thinking in particular of helping to orient and form new teachers and staff when it comes to thinking in a direction they may find unclear or even intimidating.
- Every day new initiatives emerge to face this moment. We are members of the Institute for Liberal Catholic Education. They were really at the forefront of designing programs to support schools that were changing their programming or were being founded. Many Catholic colleges are designing programs to help train students who want to work in these schools.
Tom Carroll has founded the Catholic Talent Project to help recruit and train teachers for these schools. A lot of good things are happening. I believe this trend will only continue and we will need even more initiatives to help address this moment. So many priests have supported our efforts and our local seminary and seminarians have been so supportive, I would love to see more partnerships grow between seminaries and these new schools.
Moreover, from an even broader perspective, I hope that the Church will continue to inspire and encourage young people to study literature, history, philosophy... the liberal arts! And I trust that the effort to master these great disciplines at the highest levels of education will help them discern their personal and professional vocation.
We have hired incredibly talented young teachers who have not studied education explicitly and yet, through close mentoring, professional development and, most importantly, the deep wisdom they have gained through their own studies, have been able to hit the nail on the head as teachers.
This article is a translation of an article first published in OSV News. You can find the original article here.
