About The Importance Of A Catholic Education

While I understand the impulse to assume that a Catholic Education is not worth the expensive price tag, my own view is that a Catholic Education is priceless. Students cannot only grow in their faith but also receive a quality education that is valuable as an adult. They will have caring faculty that wants to see the student succeed in life and will push them to grow not only spiritually but also cognitively and emotionally. They will learn valuable life lessons that last a lifetime and will gain traits that are priceless in the real work. While, public schools can provide a great well-rounded education a certain aspect is missing from the picture and that aspect is Religion.

A Catholic Education not only provides a quality education but also provides life skills and positive role models for students. Growing up in a Catholic school, students have a gianormous support system around them in and out of school. Teachers, Administration, Clergy and fellow students all are there for the well-being of the students and help the student achieve success. Young children need someone to look up to that aren’t their parents and teachers are one of the most important people in a young child’s life. It is important that teachers and school workers all set a good example for students and push them to succeed in all they do.

When I examine certain aspects of my personality, I can almost directly attribute them to a specific teacher that I had in my fourteen years in Catholic School. Catholic Schools on the trend tend to be smaller and therefore, teachers really get to know their students and vice versa. They know their strengths, can tell when they are upset and know how they prefer to learn. I remember on my first day of First Grade being so nervous to start school because everyone said it would be much harder than kindergarten was. I walked in and sat next to my friend, wondering if my teacher would be as nice as my kindergarten teacher Ms. Zuar was. As my teacher walked into the room I began to get even more nervous, yet as the day went on, I wasn’t so scared anymore. The day went great, and I couldn’t wait to go back the next day.

My teacher, Sister Antionette was one of the best teachers I ever had and not only taught me the subjects in school but life lessons that I still hold true today. Lessons such as holding true to your commitments and that if you say you are going to do something you do it unless it is hurting yourself or someone else. I hold this lesson true to myself and think about that often when I don’t want to do something, but now that I should. This is just one of the thousands of life lessons that I have learned from my years in Catholic Schools. One of the most important lessons that I learned in Catholic School was how to pray and what role God played in each of our lives. From the time I was in preschool I was taught religion, and I strongly believe that because of this, I continue to have a strong faith in God.

As the years went on, Religion was always a part of school and each year I could further my understanding of the Catholic Faith. I believe that learning Religion in school helps to show what an important role religion is in life. Through learning religion, I was not only taught about the teaching of the church and Jesus but also learned what it meant to be a Catholic in the modern world and how to balance Jesus in each stage of our life. I believe that because I had such a strong foundation of Religion in my past, I can maintain my strong relationship with God in college. I know that if I went to a college other than Marywood where religion was not such a staple of the school, I would be less likely to have such a strong faith.

Although Catholic Schools often have the reputation of being too strict or for having too many rules, they can maintain order and provide an overall safer and happier environment for students and teachers alike. As a person who has gone to Catholic School for fourteen years I can safely say that because of strict dress codes and fair rules, there was less violence and bullying. When there is a uniform, people have little room to customize which gives bullies less ammo to make fun of people. Stricter rules and dress codes may have looked like a burden at the time, but now I see them as a blessing and truly believe that because of this there was less violence and bullying when compared to a public school counterpart.

It may seem that there is no way to definitely say that a Catholic Education is better than its public school counterpart, due to a calamity of factors, in my opinion, a Catholic education is well worth the sometimes hefty price tag. Through numerous life lessons, positive role models, and invaluable life skills, I can be such an independent faith rooted young adult. I can attribute all of my success in this life so far to growing up in a Catholic School. As I continue my Catholic Education, I look forward to learning more life lessons and meeting more positive role models that can help shape my life for the better.