Education
Culture Wars in the Classroom
By Christopher Hinton

Hardcopy Issue Date: January, 2007
Online Publication Date: Jan 27, 2007, 22:44

            The front lines of today’s culture wars run right through our classrooms. It is there that traditional Catholic teaching is comprehended, analyzed, and challenged by today’s youth. Therefore, it is imperative that the religion teacher in the classroom not only knows Catholic doctrine but be able to teach it and defend it in a way that inspires his or her students. No small feat.

            The religion teachers in a Catholic secondary school must realize that the faith they teach is not of their own making, but something that is handed on to them by the Church. The elementary or secondary classrooms are not appropriate places for the exposition of one’s own private theories and beliefs. Still less are they a place for speculative theology that might be debated among professional theologians.

            Today’s students need a solid grounding in the basics of the faith. Many of them come from families where the faith is not lived in any practical sense. Most of the students do not attend Sunday Mass. The Catholic teacher will be their main source of knowledge. Therefore the teacher has a tremendous responsibility to teach the truth with love.

            But, like the prophet Jeremiah, the teacher’s words will not always be welcome. The teacher must be prepared to handle criticism and even persecution. Let there be no doubt about it, the liberating message of the gospel will be disturbing to many people. Even though the message is ultimately liberating, for many the truth hurts.

            If one is to teach gospel values, one has to be prepared to be counter-cultural. The call of Jesus is radically different from the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. People will not rank a good religion teacher at the top of the popularity chart. The teacher must learn to deal with rejection and disappointment in today’s hostile social climate. He will have to wait until the next life before enjoying the fruits of his labour.

            To be a religion teacher today, one must be close to the Lord. It is only through his inspiration, strength, and protection that one can survive and flourish in the classroom. The teacher must receive the Sacraments, regularly read Holy Scripture, and pray constantly to fulfill his high calling to teach the faith in all its splendour.

            The temptation to compromise and not tell the truth will come at the religion teacher from all sides. This becomes especially troublesome when one’s income is directly tied to the teaching of unpopular and inconvenient truths.