Dear Friends,
I would like to pose what is perhaps a strange question – strange on account of its being largely taken for granted and yet, at the same time, somewhat difficult to answer.
What is education for? Why do you send your children to school? Why do we have them learn the things they learn? To what end? Is it simply to get a job? While that is certainly part of the picture I don’t think that is the ultimate reason. If somehow you knew for a certainty that your child would never have to work for a living, I still think you would have your child in school. Why?
The answer is that we believe there exists a certain body of knowledge and information that 1) is either just good to know for its own sake or 2) forms the mind so that we may use it properly, much as we train our bodies for sports.
Put another way, a good education humanizes people: it enables a person to become the best version of himself or herself. A good education is what allows us to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. This is all to say, as the Greeks said thousands of years ago, a good education is necessary in order to live the good life – in order to be happy. And, of course, we all want to be happy.
At Cardinal Newman Academy we keep in mind this goal of humanizing our students – of giving them the knowledge and tools they will need to succeed not only at college, but at life as well. I want my students to know good and true things, and I also want them to be good people in the fullest sense of that word. I want them to be responsible citizens of good character.
Sincerely,
Stephen Fitzpatrick
Head of School
Cardinal Newman Academy