Catholic school effect
n.— «If it makes sense you learn democracy by being randomly thrown together with a classroom of strangers, what could explain why chosen schools do better at it? It could be that parents are more involved, says Wolf, or teachers are freer to discuss moral values. It could be what’s called the “Catholic school effect,” as when Catholic schools responded to nativist suspicion by bending over backwards to instill patriotism: Private schools know they must try harder.» —“The unity that we choose” by Patrick McIlheran Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) May 26, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary...
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...