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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – There’s a play called ‘Doubt’ – it’s about a priest who is assigned to a parish elementary school. The head nun, who also serves as the school principal, has suspicions about the new priest.
That is not what my commentary is about today.
When ‘Doubt’ was turned into a motion picture, there are marvelous scenes about day-to-day classes in a catholic school in the 1960s. St. Nicholas in the Bronx is a strict environment for young students. Students stand whenever an adult enters the classroom. Nuns deliver a rap on the knuckles for anyone who interrupts their lesson. Students are obviously scared of being sent to the principal’s office. It’s implied that the emphasis is on rote memorization, and the basics of reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic.
And my question is this: Did the students then get a better education than the students of today? Certainly mankind knows more things now than we did six decades ago, so there’s more to teach. But there were also fewer distractions, less social engineering, and higher standards for students to meet. I would have wished the 1960s-style education for my children, if such a choice was available.
And now there is.
Newman Catholic has started the Holy Name School in Wausau. It is a classic school. Students were uniforms and there is an emphasis on discipline and personal responsibility, even for the youngest students. As a Catholic school, faith and scripture are taught. And the goal is for students to be firmly rooted in academic basics. I suspect at more modern schools students don’t have to memorize multiplication tables, or diagram sentences, or recite the Gettysburg Address.
How will students do without technology? Just fine. I’ certain. Being in a school without the distractions of cellphones will immediately improve the learning environment. I think as they get older, the lessons of respect and self control and personal discipline will be a tremendous foundation to build upon.
My suspicion is that children from decades ago got a better education than what we offer today. That’s why I pray for the success of Holy Name School. And I hope that each student finds the lessons they learn there to be one of life’s blessings.
Chris Conley
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