Welcome to Discourses on Catholic Education. I am glad that you found this because that likely means that you think that Catholic education is something that is so important that it is worth your time to read more about it. I hope that there are ideas shared here that inspire you and/or challenge you but, most importantly, motivate you to think.
I chose to move into the realm of the blog after reading a book recently that asked the reader to put their job in perspective. To quickly summarize, there was a section that challenged the reader to think 'Who are you?' as opposed to 'What do you do?' and consider if those things line up. In the United States, one of the first questions we ask about someone is 'What do you do?' but that is not quite the same as 'Tell me about yourself.' When I read that, I realized that I could answer the first question with, "I am the Principal of a Catholic school." But that didn't really satisfy me. Not that my job does not provide me with both a sense of satisfaction when something substantive is accomplished and provide me with challenges on a daily basis. It certainly does. But that does not fully speak to who I am. I consider myself an academic. An intellectual, if I dare use the term. That is not a grandiose way of saying that I am the smartest person in the room. Rather, it just means that I like to think. No matter what the job is; Principal, Teacher, Writer, Researcher; whatever I have done as a professional, I like to think. No matter what jobs I will have in the future, and even when I retire, God willing, I will still like to think. And to think about big ideas. To me, that is just fun and wholly worthwhile.
This blog is an outlet for that and a way of, hopefully, starting a dialogue through social media and other outlets by offering up opinions and thoughts that can be shared and then discussed and debated. I know that I don't have all of the answers. But, as an academic, I enjoy discussing the big ideas and trying to come to a better understanding of those things that are true and that are good.
So, if you have an interest in Catholic education and you enjoy thinking about big ideas, I hope that this blog provides something positive for you.
May God bless us and grant us peace.
I chose to move into the realm of the blog after reading a book recently that asked the reader to put their job in perspective. To quickly summarize, there was a section that challenged the reader to think 'Who are you?' as opposed to 'What do you do?' and consider if those things line up. In the United States, one of the first questions we ask about someone is 'What do you do?' but that is not quite the same as 'Tell me about yourself.' When I read that, I realized that I could answer the first question with, "I am the Principal of a Catholic school." But that didn't really satisfy me. Not that my job does not provide me with both a sense of satisfaction when something substantive is accomplished and provide me with challenges on a daily basis. It certainly does. But that does not fully speak to who I am. I consider myself an academic. An intellectual, if I dare use the term. That is not a grandiose way of saying that I am the smartest person in the room. Rather, it just means that I like to think. No matter what the job is; Principal, Teacher, Writer, Researcher; whatever I have done as a professional, I like to think. No matter what jobs I will have in the future, and even when I retire, God willing, I will still like to think. And to think about big ideas. To me, that is just fun and wholly worthwhile.
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| Raphael's School of Athens |
This blog is an outlet for that and a way of, hopefully, starting a dialogue through social media and other outlets by offering up opinions and thoughts that can be shared and then discussed and debated. I know that I don't have all of the answers. But, as an academic, I enjoy discussing the big ideas and trying to come to a better understanding of those things that are true and that are good.
So, if you have an interest in Catholic education and you enjoy thinking about big ideas, I hope that this blog provides something positive for you.
May God bless us and grant us peace.