Non-Catholic teachers at Catholic schools?

[HomeschoolDad]

What are we to make of Catholic schools that have a majority of non-Catholic teachers?

At the Catholic school my son attended before we began homeschooling, it wasn’t until 5th grade that he had a Catholic homeroom teacher. They were, for the most part, excellent teachers, and they “went through the motions” of basic Catholicism (prayers, school Mass attendance, and so on). I would add that, at this particular school, it is never, ever spoken of whether someone is Catholic or not, whether teacher or student (there are a handful of exceptions). One gets the impression that it is a taboo subject, “the elephant in the parlor” for those who would actually think about something like this. The majority of the teachers are not Catholic, and a sizable minority of students (about 30 percent) are not Catholic either. The catechetics were standard diocesan issue (Sadlier, if I recall correctly) but I did find that when we began homeschooling, my son had huge gaps in his religious knowledge, gaps that we are filling in with the Baltimore Catechism.

I realize that in a vastly majority non-Catholic region, such as where we live, it is going to be very difficult to hire only Catholic teachers across the board. In the higher grades, I have no serious objections to having non-Catholics teaching subjects where there is little or no faith content (math, physical sciences, music, physical education — Knute Rockne started out as a Lutheran — and so on). But where subjects have some Catholic dimension to them, it seems to me that only a Catholic teacher, who actually believes in what he or she is teaching, can impart that Catholic dimension.

When I was in Catholic school, the non-Catholic teachers (a small minority) and non-Catholic students (ditto) might as well have had a sign hung around their necks saying “I’m not Catholic”. They didn’t, of course, and no one felt badly towards them, but it was just common knowledge and was seen as the exception. A non-Catholic would definitely not have been tasked with teaching religion.

Thoughts from the forum?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Some schools that call themselves “Catholic Schools” are actually functioning more as academic “college prep” schools than places to impart the Catholic faith. Some of them are content with simply imparting some kind of universal “ethics”.

Definitely look at the atmosphere of the “Catholic” school before you plunk down money to send your kid there, and see if it’s going to be worth the cost for you. If what you’re looking for is a place with all Catholic teachers and heavy emphasis on religion, it might not be a good bargain. Someone else might just want their kid out of the horrible public school and in an environment conducive to better learning and discipline, and for them it might be fine.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Some schools that call themselves “Catholic Schools” are actually functioning more as academic “college prep” schools than places to impart the Catholic faith. Some of them are content with simply imparting some kind of universal “ethics”.

As happens so often, there was nothing taught that was positively contrary to the Catholic faith, and it was a little more specific than just “universal ethics”. I will say, though, that the school catered to the wealthy and well-placed in our community (doctors, attorneys, etc.), neither of which we were. Many of these folks are not Catholic.