From the Director

Advent is the perfect season for turning our attention to the importance of history to our Catholic faith. Unlike many ancient Greeks such as Aristotle and Polybius, who believed that time was eternal and the cycles of civilization (and even reincarnation) recur over and over again, St. Paul taught us that Jesus was born “in the fullness of time” – history prepared the way for the most unique event. As the drama of history unfolds, the Church continues the mission of Christ to bring the Good News to all the nations in preparation for His second coming in glory.

This issue of Beyond the Test reflects on the role of history in the Catholic school. I share my thoughts on visiting Philadelphia, the historical birthplace of the United States. Our Resource Center feature is the history series being produced by the Catholic Schools Textbook Project, which the Institute had an important role in getting off the ground. Christopher Zehnder, editor of that series, discusses the proper approach to teaching history. Finally, our Focus On article features one elementary school’s successful implementation of the Junior Great Books curriculum.

Christopher Dawson expressed fifty years ago the tremendous opportunity and mission Catholic schools have in passing on our history.

. . .As education reaches a certain point of development, it opens up new and wider cultural horizons. It . . . becomes the gateway to the wider kingdom of Catholic culture which has two thousand years of tradition behind it and is literally world-wide in its extent and scope.

In Christ,

Andrew Seeley, Ph.D.
Director, The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education