By Mary Lackie

The Catholic high school is here to stay, but it must become interested in the total American community. Dr. George N. Shuster, author of “Catholic Education in a Changing World,” said in an interview.

In his book, he predicts a gradual cutback in Catholic primary schools and an expansion and upgrading of Catholic secondary schools. The book is an analysis of two recent studies conducted by the University of Notre Dame and the National Opinion Research Center in Chicago, IL.

Dr. Shuster, assistant to the president of Notre Dame, was in Atlanta last week to address the Notre Dame Alumni on the SUMMA, a $52 million development program.

“When we began our survey for the Notre Dame study, we assumed the slavish instruction according to the Baltimore Catechism. We discovered encouraging trends to update religious education with strong emphasis on experience development,” he said.

The parish school must be open to all children of the parish and encourage a common interest in dialogue, Shuster said. “This includes conversation between parents interested in Christian educated as differentiated from just ‘Catholic’ education. It also includes student participation in social action.”

On the college campus today, the educator said, there is an almost overwhelming desire on the part of students to respond to community needs. As part of the development of character value for high school students, he said, “They should participate in tutorial projects. Given some leadership, the young people could enter into the total mission of the parish life, drawing other young people into parish work. The more we can involve the students the better.”

“Students come into high school with an awakening mind and a sense of doubt. In this age when their temptations are strong, parents and educators seem to think of the temptations in only sexual terms. But, in this total society in which we live, we need a willingness to help the student work on his doubt. I believe that character is always a result of belonging.” “It is not instilled by rote or teaching by force. A student’s character develops almost spontaneously from a sense of wanting to belong to these schools, from wanting these beliefs. If modern educators can achieve this, it would make the individual’s outlook one in support with his environment.” While the majority of Catholic high schools are encouraging interests in dialogue and social action, Shuster said the extensive survey indicated a survival of the parental attitude that the child must be protected.

“We found that parents feel strongly, and this is not only true of Catholics, but of middle-class Americans. They feel their children are in danger in high school and they would rather have them in schools which are less ‘pernicious.’ There are other motivations for sending a child to Catholic high schools, but most parents feel they are living in a trauma. They don’t see how they can bring up their children all by themselves and need to get some help.”

The studies revealed that parents of children who attended inner-city schools have a two-fold conviction. He said, “They believe their child is better for having attended the schools and has learned more. Secondly, they believe the teachers are extremely dedicated.” What is Shuster’s opinion of the inner-city Catholic high school? He said, “They are demonstrably better by far. I don’t care whether they are located in a Negro area, a poor white area, or where the location is. Even in my early days in New York I began to hear success stories about them. If there were no other reason for maintaining them, their existence would be justified by the studies and by my personal experience.” He briefly discussed the lay board of trustees at Notre Dame. The educator said the decision was based on a spiritually motivated idea. “The community was trying to run a big institution and concentrating on that to the neglect of the spiritual mission.”

He added, “A lay board of trustees for a Catholic high school could help the school not only in material terms, but the laymen could reach people. The school would no longer be an introspective operation, because the community would know what the school was doing. And, the board provides a point of appeal. If the principal does not know what to do, he has someone to consult and turn to for the genuine, informed assistance he needs.”