James L. Heft
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796656
- eISBN:
- 9780199919352
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796656.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Catholic high schools in the United States have been undergoing three major changes: the shift to primarily lay leadership and teachers; the transition to a more consumerist and pluralist culture; ...
More
Catholic high schools in the United States have been undergoing three major changes: the shift to primarily lay leadership and teachers; the transition to a more consumerist and pluralist culture; and the increasing diversity of students attending Catholic high schools. This book argues that to navigate these changes successfully, leaders of Catholic education need to inform lay teachers more thoroughly, conduct a more profound social analysis of the culture, and address the real needs of students. After presenting the history of Catholic schools in the United States and describing the major legal decisions that have influenced their evolution, the book describes the distinctive and compelling mission of a Catholic high school. Two chapters are devoted to leadership, and other chapters to teachers, students, alternative models of high schools, financing, and the key role of parents, who today may be described as “post-deferential” to traditional authorities, including bishops and priests.Less
Catholic high schools in the United States have been undergoing three major changes: the shift to primarily lay leadership and teachers; the transition to a more consumerist and pluralist culture; and the increasing diversity of students attending Catholic high schools. This book argues that to navigate these changes successfully, leaders of Catholic education need to inform lay teachers more thoroughly, conduct a more profound social analysis of the culture, and address the real needs of students. After presenting the history of Catholic schools in the United States and describing the major legal decisions that have influenced their evolution, the book describes the distinctive and compelling mission of a Catholic high school. Two chapters are devoted to leadership, and other chapters to teachers, students, alternative models of high schools, financing, and the key role of parents, who today may be described as “post-deferential” to traditional authorities, including bishops and priests.
James L. Heft S.M.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796656
- eISBN:
- 9780199919352
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796656.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses two threats to the survival of Catholic high schools: the charter school movement and the ever-rising cost of going to a Catholic school. It also examines some new models for ...
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This chapter discusses two threats to the survival of Catholic high schools: the charter school movement and the ever-rising cost of going to a Catholic school. It also examines some new models for Catholic education, especially the Cristo Rey model, and new ways to raise money.Less
This chapter discusses two threats to the survival of Catholic high schools: the charter school movement and the ever-rising cost of going to a Catholic school. It also examines some new models for Catholic education, especially the Cristo Rey model, and new ways to raise money.
James L. Heft S.M.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796656
- eISBN:
- 9780199919352
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796656.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter returns first to the question of the shape of the culture of the United States. More specifically, it examines the results of several national studies on adolescents and their religious ...
More
This chapter returns first to the question of the shape of the culture of the United States. More specifically, it examines the results of several national studies on adolescents and their religious beliefs. It also describes how some leaders in the neurosciences think that adolescents are at a special developmental point in their lives—right where religious beliefs can take deeper root. One of the most important conclusions of these studies is that the experiences youth have during their formative years, roughly between the ages of eleven and twenty-one, will have especially profound consequences on the way they think and act for years to come. Certainly, youth will adapt and change over the course of their adult lives, but these adaptations and changes will occur within rather stable parameters influenced by the experiences they had during their teenage and young adult years. Therefore, the years that youth spend in high school can have an important impact on the rest of their lives. In the light of these studies, the chapter concludes with several recommendations for working with adolescents in Catholic high schools.Less
This chapter returns first to the question of the shape of the culture of the United States. More specifically, it examines the results of several national studies on adolescents and their religious beliefs. It also describes how some leaders in the neurosciences think that adolescents are at a special developmental point in their lives—right where religious beliefs can take deeper root. One of the most important conclusions of these studies is that the experiences youth have during their formative years, roughly between the ages of eleven and twenty-one, will have especially profound consequences on the way they think and act for years to come. Certainly, youth will adapt and change over the course of their adult lives, but these adaptations and changes will occur within rather stable parameters influenced by the experiences they had during their teenage and young adult years. Therefore, the years that youth spend in high school can have an important impact on the rest of their lives. In the light of these studies, the chapter concludes with several recommendations for working with adolescents in Catholic high schools.
James L. Heft S.M.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796656
- eISBN:
- 9780199919352
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796656.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter makes the case for the argument that teaching is the most important of all the professions by describing how teachers, and not just administrators, are leaders in a special way. Becoming ...
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This chapter makes the case for the argument that teaching is the most important of all the professions by describing how teachers, and not just administrators, are leaders in a special way. Becoming a good teacher can be learned through developing good pedagogical habits. Teaching in a Catholic high school allows a teacher the privilege of passing on the faith, first by example, and then by word. The best teachers are perpetual students themselves, and are students not only of what they teach, but also the culture. They have developed the habit of study, which at bottom is really a spiritual practice. The chapter concludes with several recommendations to strengthen the teaching profession.Less
This chapter makes the case for the argument that teaching is the most important of all the professions by describing how teachers, and not just administrators, are leaders in a special way. Becoming a good teacher can be learned through developing good pedagogical habits. Teaching in a Catholic high school allows a teacher the privilege of passing on the faith, first by example, and then by word. The best teachers are perpetual students themselves, and are students not only of what they teach, but also the culture. They have developed the habit of study, which at bottom is really a spiritual practice. The chapter concludes with several recommendations to strengthen the teaching profession.
James L. Heft S.M.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796656
- eISBN:
- 9780199919352
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796656.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter highlights five general themes in contemporary US culture that leaders of Catholic high schools need to understand. The first two are clearly historically rooted: the stress on ...
More
This chapter highlights five general themes in contemporary US culture that leaders of Catholic high schools need to understand. The first two are clearly historically rooted: the stress on individual and especially religious freedom, and then, as the different types of religious practices multiplied in the United States, the effort to privatize the expression of religion. The last three are recent cultural developments that are especially influential today. These are the impact of media, the therapeutic shape that religious belief takes in a culture that stresses individual choice in the midst of religious pluralism, and the growing number of people who have been described as the “spiritual but not religious”.Less
This chapter highlights five general themes in contemporary US culture that leaders of Catholic high schools need to understand. The first two are clearly historically rooted: the stress on individual and especially religious freedom, and then, as the different types of religious practices multiplied in the United States, the effort to privatize the expression of religion. The last three are recent cultural developments that are especially influential today. These are the impact of media, the therapeutic shape that religious belief takes in a culture that stresses individual choice in the midst of religious pluralism, and the growing number of people who have been described as the “spiritual but not religious”.
