Skolans roll i barnens uppfostran

 Jag såg gårdagens Kvällsöppet på TV 4:s hemsida där konfessionella friskolor debatterades. Det var så pinsamt dåligt att jag sörjer för detta lands okunskap. Motståndet mot konfessionella friskolor bottnar i två saker: a) Religion har en inneboende skadlig verkan, b) Staten kan garantera barnens bästa bättre än deras egna föräldrar. Den första punkten kan jag förstå även om fast jag självklart inte håller med. Men den andra visar hur mycket vi har levt under ett socialdemokratiskt styre där staten har blivit en garant för vårt välbefinnande och därmed gjort oss beroende av den. Hur sjukt är det inte att statliga skolors existensberättigande består i grundinställningen att barnen ska skyddas från sina föräldrar. Vem vet vad som är bäst för barnen och mest mån om att de får det? De som fött upp och älskat dem eller en ansiktslös byråkratisk myndighet? Borde inte svaret vara självklart?Som sagt, jag sörjer för vårt lands tillstånd och får mig att undra om jag verkligen borde gifta mig och bilda familj i ett land där min uppfostran anses vara skadlig? Blotta tanken gör mig ursinnig. I vilket fall, jag vill bidra med en presentation jag förberedde till ett seminarium om katekes och handlar familjens, skolans, och församlingens roll i katekesundervisning, men tar även just upp barnens uppfostran och skolans roll i den. Hoppas det är OK att den är på engelska.

 

Introduction

 

My presentation will deal with the family, the school and the parish, their role in handing on the faith and how these interact with eachother.

I would like to briefly speak about some difficulties in catechetical teaching that has arisen out of our present society.  These were pointed out by then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he gave a talk at a catechetical conference at Our Lady's cathedral in Paris back in 1981,

I believe his concerns are still valid. Now, he began by speaking about how science has been narrowed down to the empirical and is focused mainly on the technological aspect, the "know-how". The loss of traditional metaphysics that is able to bring together all things in life to unity under the aspect of being has led our knowledge to become fragmentary and confined within the limits of the empirical world.

As a result, also theology became something to be determined by utility, and so contextual theology was born. But it didn't stop there, this new outlook affected also catechetics, and as an example the cardinal mentioned the infamous  Dutch Catechism. This was comissioned by the Bishops conference in the Netherlands in the late 1960's, and was controversial because it contained some doctrinal  errors, about contraception among other things. Anyway, according to cardinal Ratzinger, this catechism had the principle that "supply is determined by demand".

 

Thus also catechesis became fragmentary, and a tool for human ambition. The articles of faith, that used to manifest its unity, began to desintegrate and seemed to be incoherent with one another. Another factor in undermining the dogmas of faith is the historical-critical method. The method in itself is fine, but with the mentality that the empirical sciences has the highest authority of certitude we now have a split between Biblical exegesis and Dogmatic Theology. This split also had its influence on catechesis, which now on account of its new fragmentary approach tried to teach straight from the Bible. The dogmas of the Church were avoided because they were not capable to address the challenges posed to the teachings of the Church by the historical-critical method.

The Biblical point of departure therefore did not manage to go beyond the subjective realm of personal experience, and thus became introvert and self-affirming. But, almost 30 years later, efforts have been made to overcome this narrow approach to catechesis,  the most known example being the new catechism issued by pope John Paul II. Catechesis must present the faith as a whole, not only in a systematic formal instruction,  but as a way of life that encompasses all the aspects of reality. This presentation will take a look at how we should catechise our children, keeping this in mind.

 

The family

 

I have heard many times that the family is the most fundamental unit in our human society, but I could never quite understand why until I read what the English author G.K. Chesterton had to say about the subject, he argues that the family is the whole realm of human existence in miniature form:

 

It is wholesome precisely because it contains so many

divergencies and varieties.  It is, as the sentimentalists say,

like a little kingdom, and, like most other little kingdoms,

is generally in a state of something resembling anarchy.

It is exactly because our brother George is not interested in our

religious difficulties, but is interested in the Trocadero Restaurant,

that the family has some of the bracing qualities of the commonwealth.

It is precisely because our uncle Henry does not approve of the theatrical

ambitions of our sister Sarah that the family is like humanity.

The men and women who, for good reasons and bad, revolt against the family,

are, for good reasons and bad, simply revolting against mankind.

Aunt Elizabeth is unreasonable, like mankind.  Papa is excitable,

like mankind.  Our youngest brother is mischievous, like mankind.

Grandpapa is stupid, like the world; he is old, like the world.

 

So, it is because the family has this quality of being a microcosmos that the family prepares the child to cope with the world. A child that has learned to function well in a family will function well in society. It is the parents who have this task of introducing their children to the world, and for that reason they are the primary educators of their children.

It is a fundamental right reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council in the document Gravissimum Educationis and as such declared by the UN on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We have, so far, not yet touched upon the family's role in catechesis, but what I have mentioned so far has everything to do with it. Why? Because the family's role in handing  on the faith to the children will be realized according to its nature. Although faith is a theological virtue brought to us by grace, we have from scholasticism a well known axiom that grace does not destroy nature but perfects it, therefore the way we receive the faith and pass it on will take place within our human structures and faculties. It is therefore suitable, as the Catechetical conference on the pedagogy of God asserted, that the parents have the main task in catechising their children, if parents introduce their children to the world they will also introduce them to the new world that the life of faith in a certain sense is.

How should this come about? Could the parents instruct their children themselves?

Yes, why not? It follows logically, if parents as primary educators have a right to homeschool their children, they can also as responsible for their children's upbringing in the faith homecatechise them. But of course many parents do not choose this alternative for various reasons, and their role at any rate is much broader than that of formal instruction. From what I can gather from Peter Kahn's very insightful and at the same time practical booklet Passing on faith to your children, the best way the parents can teach their children about the faith  is by that of example. It is not enough to merely go to Mass on Sunday's or even to have prayer at meal, but that the parents

also in the many occasions of everyday life join them with small acts of faith(i.e. an inner act of faith believing towards God). This means making sacrifices, to prioritize the children over the professional career, even if this means that the sacrifices will also be financial(of course, here prudential judgement is needed about how big those kinds of sacrifices can be). Parents could also, where possible, structure their work  around their children, e.g. work part-time, accept less popular tasks at work if that would make the parent more available at the house etc. Kahn gives several ideas of how to provide for the family even with a modest income. All of this is a witness of self-denying love, which the children can see concretely in everyday life. Kahn begins at a very human level, which is important, because dysfunctional families don't make good Christian families. So this very basic concentration on the relationship within the family lays the ground for a communial athmosphere where the faith can be lived and passed on.

 

Then of course a family always need to pray together, making sure there are regular religious celebrations at home, the home after all is the domestic Church. But parents should also take the opportunity to share the faith with their children in small ways, even just in casual conversation. In this way the faith permeates all the aspects of life.

When it comes to formal instruction, although the parents might not do the teaching themselves they should take an active part in their children's catechetical instruction, and they should make it clear to them that catechesis is an ongoing, life-long process that does not end with confirmation. The parents should therefore always strive learn more about the faith.

 

The school

 

Now, if the parents are the primary educators of their children, the school is meant to support the parents in doing this. It may sound obvious, but it is a truth that has been diminished in today's society and that less people have become aware of. GE says that "a true education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as an adult, he will share". An education therefore, is not merely a thing of acquiring knowledge or aspiring for a career, but is meant to help a person achieve the purpose of his human existence by developing all of his capacities, and to help him function in the world when he's an adult. A Catholic school, however has a dimension that for this topic is decisive, it is illuminated by faith and thus sees the ultimate end of man that we can only know by way of revelation. All knowledge then, is directed towards man's eternal salvation, and thus it becomes clear what the role of the school in catechesis is in regard to the various topics that are being taught(although there's a difference between religious instruction and catechesis). But it's not only that, since faith is something you receive and pass on in a community, and the school is a help for the parents to educate their children, it should be seen as an extension of the home with the same happy and pleasant athmosphere one should find there. The document The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, says in fact that the school can do a lot to provide such an athmosphere for children who don't have it in their own homes. One should bear in mind though, as GE pointed out, that the role of the family is so important that its lack can be supplied for only with difficulty. In other words, there is no substitute for the family. Nevertheless the community aspect of the school is of vital importance, because the school does not only deal with teaching but various of other activities take place within it. This community at school should therefore also be characterised by our Christian faith. The RDEC mentions the importance of having crucifixes in the classrooms in order to remind the students, but also the teachers, of Christ who is the one teacher. Also drawing attention to the presence of Our Lady could contribute to make the school environment feel more like home. A Catholic school should also participate in the Church's liturgy, and thus it is natural that the school should also has a chapel. As a Catholic institution it is under the jurisdiction of the ordinary of the diocese, and tied to the parish of that particular area.

 

The parish

 

The parish is responsible for the catechetical instruction of its members. The parish priest is the representative of the bishop whose task is to oversee this mission which is so closely tied to the Church's mission to evangelise. Pope Benedict XVI, in an interview he gave while still a cardinal, said that the present situation today where in most homes the faith isn't being lived out, the parish now an even greater responsibility to offer opportunities for sharing the faith. Which means not only formal instruction, but also other activities within the parish. One typical example would be a youth group, but something I think is even more important is involvement in the liturgy, which is not only to be an altar server, one could also sing in the choir, or be an usher. Participation in the different apostolates of the parish could also be a way of experiencing the faith as a living reality. But the liturgy I believe is crucial for all catechesis, it is here it all comes together, everything we learn in catechesis is summarised in the Church's liturgy, in fact one could for instance give a catechetical talk  with the help of the structure and content of the Mass. Living with the liturgical calendar is an effective way to remember and celebrate the mysteries of faith we learn through catechetical instruction. Of course the most important moment in the liturgy is the celebration Eucharistic sacrifice where we perceive our final end as Christian and thus the purpose of all catechesis.

Since it is the the parish that provide the catechists, I will here mention a few things about what should characterise a catechist. The most important thing is that someone who teaches the faith also lives the faith, and thus has developed what is theologically known as sensus fidei, an instinct for the faith. It is of course not necessary that the catechist is a theologian, but he/she should make sure that what is taught is theologically sound and in accordance with the Church's teachings. The parish priest must make sure that the catechist is someone who lives up to these criterias, and not being so eager to accept anyone who is willing to volunteer, because he has the highest responsibility for the catechetical instruction in the parish, he must therefore actively take part in this activity and teach himself, not merely delegate it to someone else.

 

Final remarks

 

My hope is that I've managed to show the distinctive roles of the family, the school and the parish and how they depend on eachother. These institutions are indispensable for the formation of the Christian community.

However, the special importance that the family has in passing on the faith to the children must be underlined, if the faith is not being taught and lived there, the chances that the children who goes to catechetical instruction will keep practicing their faith will decrease dramatically. So if there's something else the parish and the school can do to make catechesis more efficient it would be to promote and strengthen the family.