Immersed in Catholic Tradition

BOONTON  Middle-school students at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) School here can get into lively discussions in language-arts class, especially when reading great and timeless literature that stimulates both their hearts and minds. That happened with the novel “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame.

“The discussions give students time to pause, reflect, and share their thoughts. They feed off each other. They look to the text [to help them formulate their insights] about what’s beautiful and true. They also learn to become thoughtful listeners,” said Arlene Zagarino, their language-arts teacher. “All the while, students are gaining an arsenal of truth to use, as they are finding their own voices. They are asking important questions like ‘Who is God?’ “What is man?’ and ‘Who am I?’” she said.

This academic year marks the first time that Zagarino, a teacher for 35 years, and the entire OLMC school, established more than 150 years ago, began to offer a truly classical education to students. This involves instruction and formation that gets them excited about learning more about God and his creation, and about themselves. OLMC teachers are encouraging students to explore their world by immersing them in the best of Catholic intellectual tradition — the finest in literature, art, and music throughout the ages. They invite students to ask questions and draw their own conclusions based on the material, while staying anchored in the faith, said Douglas Minson, OLMC’s headmaster, who noted that the school has become a part of the classical education movement that is growing in the U.S.

In preparation for this academic year, OLMC revamped its curriculum, under the direction of Minson and Father Daniel O’Mullane, pastor of OLMC Parish, who originated the idea of redirecting the school’s focus to offering a truly classical education. This past Sunday afternoon, OLMC explained this new approach during an open house, kicking off the school’s observances of Catholic Schools Week. It featured presentations by administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Students delighted the OLMC community and prospective parents by singing songs and reciting poetry. Also speaking was Father Peter Stravinskas, founder and superior of the Priestly Society of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, a clerical association of faithful, committed to Catholic education, liturgical renewal, and the new evangelization.

“Catholic schools shape the hearts and minds of their students for the future, not only of the Church, but also of civilization. Our work amounts to saving civilization, one infinitely precious soul at a time, doing so with a firm reliance upon God,” said Minson, who emphasized that OLMC requires students in every grade to participate actively in their studies so they become “real learners.” “We prepare them to think and speak well by giving them the best words ever written in human history to inflame their hearts and inspire their minds. By inviting them to ponder these great works, it helps them make sense of the world and provides them with a rich vocabulary to speak for rest of their lives,” he said.

Teachers encourage their students to engage in independent thinking by instructing them first to immerse themselves in the material—whether it be information about an aspect of science or a work of literature, from the Bible to Augustine to Twain. Teachers refrain from presenting students with interpretive material before their own encounter with what they are studying because it often colors their understanding of the text. Instead, the teacher will pose a question or a problem to the students, which drives them to read the text more carefully and arrive at their own conclusions — conclusions that the class will argue about and test against what the text says. Frequently students arrive at insights that the teacher had not considered. Only after the students have already begun to explore the text does the teacher introduce background material and other insights into the discussion — and does so as a part of the conversation, Minson said.

“Students are hungry for learning. They are so curious,” Minson said. “We stimulate that desire to know by starting with a puzzle — something for them to wonder about. They develop a hypothesis, test it, and formulate their own conclusions. Great teaching is not about teachers saying smart things; it’s about creating conditions for students to say smart things,” he said.

An eighth-grader, Julienne Winowski, arrived at OLMC after attending another Catholic school. At the open house, she recited the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“This school is so special. We read a story and look at what it actually means,” Winowski said. “Also our Catholic faith is incorporated into everything that we do. All of our discussions come back to God. It’s really a Catholic school,” she said.

As part of OLMC’s religious instruction, teachers present Scripture and Church teachings by encouraging students to discuss the material, so “they can absorb it into their lives.” The school holds weekly Masses; recitation of daily morning prayers; and prayer before each class, among other religious practices. Teachers also integrate faith in all subjects, such as algebra, where students learn that even math brings them to a deeper understanding of the order of God’s creation, said Minson, former headmaster of a classical preparatory school in Arizona.

During the open house Father Peter Stravinskas, who spoke at all the Morris County parish’s Masses last weekend, emphasized that Catholic schools look at the world “through the eyes of faith according to God’s way of looking at things” and strives to achieve its main goal: to help make every child a saint. A school that offers a classical education urges students to “read the right things” and reflect on them, so they can write and speak coherently, and “evokes in them a sense of enchantment about God’s creation.”

Redirecting OLMC toward a focus on a classical education required “significant expenses,” which included augmenting the curriculum’s materials. Administrators also reconfigured classroom seating to facilitate student discussion. Recently, OLMC’s classical approach to education attracted attention from the Chiaroscuro Foundation, which made a $10,000 donation to the school, Minson said.

“Our students, parents, and teachers are excited about our mission at Our Lady of Mount Carmel: to help shape the way our young people think,” said Father O’Mullane. “Also, each child learns at his or her own natural capacity and, with that, can grow in grace that will help deepen his or her faith.”