January 29, 2016

Catholic Schools Week Supplement

Catholic education: A gift that keeps giving through the generations

By John Shaughnessy

Amy WilsonAmy Wilson is the recipient of the 2015 Saint Theodora Guérin Excellence in Education Award, the highest honor for a Catholic educator in the archdiocese. She knows the impact that one generation has on another in sharing the importance of a Catholic education.

“I feel very fortunate to have been blessed with three shining examples of quality Catholic education during my own experiences as a student at Holy Name of Jesus School, Roncalli High School and Marian University,” notes Wilson, the assistant principal at St. Roch School in Indianapolis.

“Each of these schools provided a working model of the characteristics necessary to provide a quality education based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and his holy Church. This model was focused on a faith-driven community that strived to teach its children the meaning and values of traits such as compassion, empathy and hard work in an effort to shape the next generation of Catholic leaders. The overarching theme was always the need to serve others as Christ had come to serve us.”

To achieve that goal, educators must help their students “develop the heart of a servant,” Wilson says.

“My fellow teachers and I attempt to achieve this goal through our living example. We take every opportunity in the classroom to discuss how each action—good or bad—provides a learning experience. We then utilize these discussions to provide examples of how to live a Christ-centered life.

“It is my hope that these efforts will go a long way toward providing my students with a similar quality of experience to that of my own, and will serve them well as they transition into becoming our next group of Catholic leaders.” †
 

See more from this year's Catholic News Week Supplement

 

Local site Links: