{"id":702,"date":"2010-04-12T04:20:23","date_gmt":"2010-04-12T12:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/?p=702"},"modified":"2010-04-15T07:39:54","modified_gmt":"2010-04-15T15:39:54","slug":"why-teach-in-a-catholic-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/why-teach-in-a-catholic-school","title":{"rendered":"Why Teach in a Catholic School?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So you’ve landed a job interview at a Catholic school, and you’re trying to prepare. What will they ask you? How should you respond?<\/p>\n

I’ve interviewed dozens of applicants over the years, and one of the questions we often ask is, “Why do you want to work in a Catholic school?” Here are three responses to avoid:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The students are more well-behaved in Catholic schools.<\/li>\n
  2. Parents are more involved.<\/li>\n
  3. I like small class sizes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I have heard all three of these reasons during interviews over the last fifteen years. More than once. The problem is, they totally miss the point of the question. What’s more, they totally miss the point of Catholic education.<\/p>\n

    Here are three alternative answers to the question, “Why do you want to work in a Catholic school?”<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Jesus.\"\"<\/li>\n
    2. Jesus.<\/li>\n
    3. Jesus.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If Jesus is not at the core of our reasons for teaching in a Catholic school, then we have our priorities out of balance.\u00a0 Jesus has called us to be teachers.\u00a0 Jesus has given us the ability to touch hearts and minds.\u00a0 Jesus wants us to bring the Good News to the world. There is no more important reason than that to teach at a Catholic school.<\/p>\n

      We don’t teach in Catholic schools because it’s easier than teaching in a public school. Catholic schools are not the minor leagues of the academic world.<\/p>\n

      Catholic schools are where teachers assist parents in fulfilling their sacred mission to tell the Good News to their children. And what is the Good News? Not a what, but a Who: Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

      Our goal as Catholic educators should be to so design our lessons, our classroom management, and our lives, that Jesus Christ stands clearly at the front of it all.\u00a0 He can be found in the novels we choose to teach, the writing prompts we assign, the historical events we study, the natural world we examine.<\/p>\n

      Street-corner evangelist Frank Sheed once wrote that Catholicism is the union of humanity with God through Jesus.\u00a0 The goal of every Catholic school teacher is to do everything in his or her power to foster that union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      So you’ve landed a job interview at a Catholic school, and you’re trying to prepare. What will they ask you? How should you respond? I’ve interviewed dozens of applicants over the years, and one of the questions we often ask is, “Why do you want to work in a Catholic school?” Here are three responses … <\/p>\n

      Continue reading “Why Teach in a Catholic School?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[39,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature","category-teaching-tips"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/prZ8V-bk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3394,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/the-craziness-of-catholic-schools","url_meta":{"origin":702,"position":0},"title":"The Craziness of Catholic Schools","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"January 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"My wife Brenda and I have four kids\u2014ages 9, 15, 19 and 22\u2014and they each drive us crazy in their own way. That\u2019s what kids do. They ask for money, they make messes, and they require lots of time and energy. Life would be much simpler without them. Simpler, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Catholic School Hot Air Balloon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2267,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/dont-miss-the-most-important-catholic-media-event-of-2011","url_meta":{"origin":702,"position":1},"title":"Don\u2019t Miss the Most Important Catholic Media Event of 2011","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"December 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Mark your calendar for September 2011, for what promises to be one of the most beautiful and inspiring events in Catholic media next year: The Catholicism project. Fr. Robert Barron has been traveling the globe \"to explore, through a global journey, the living culture of the Catholic Church.\" It's quite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Catechesis"","block_context":{"text":"Catechesis","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/catechesis"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fr. Robert Barron","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/barron-150x150.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2363,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/101-reasons-to-send-your-child-to-a-catholic-school","url_meta":{"origin":702,"position":2},"title":"101 Reasons to Send Your Child to a Catholic School","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"January 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"With Catholic Schools Week 2011 nearly upon us, Catholic schools all over the country are about to celebrate the gift of Catholic education. My own involvement in Catholic education has been a blessing I could never repay. From first grade through high school, from undergraduate to graduate school, I spent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Catholic Classroom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Classroom.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Classroom.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Classroom.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1256,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/kindle-books-for-catholic-educators-basics","url_meta":{"origin":702,"position":3},"title":"Kindle Books for Catholic Educators: Basics","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"August 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This week we feature two books to help you or your students brush up on the essentials of our faith. Catholicism for Dummies, by Fr. John Trigilio and Dr. Kenneth Brighenti. For Dummies. Print Length: 432 pages. Kindle Price: $13.19. There are more than one billion Catholics in the world,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Catechesis"","block_context":{"text":"Catechesis","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/catechesis"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/cathdummies-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2916,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/a-catholic-education-is-better-than-disneyland","url_meta":{"origin":702,"position":4},"title":"A Catholic Education Is Better Than Disneyland","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"January 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"That's the opinion of Doris and Thomas Briant, the parents of four Catholic teachers: In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught his disciples that God's word must be nurtured to yield a fruitful harvest, words that four members of the Briant family -- sisters -- have taken to heart.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sleeping Beauty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/SleepingBeauty-207x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":319,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/top-5-reasons-to-send-your-child-to-a-catholic-school-now","url_meta":{"origin":702,"position":5},"title":"Top 5 Reasons to Send Your Child to a Catholic School Now","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"February 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"With the economy in rough shape, the National Catholic Education Association recently asked the question, \"Why send your child to a Catholic school in these difficult economic times?\" Here are the top five answers from the Elementary Department's Executive Committee: It's all about value. Nowhere else can you get Catholic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/feature"},"img":{"alt_text":"Catholic Classroom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/Holy-Trinity-CLASS-NEW1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/Holy-Trinity-CLASS-NEW1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/Holy-Trinity-CLASS-NEW1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":860,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions\/860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}