The Cathoholic

On Purpose: How Great School Cultures Form Strong Character

Samuel Casey Carter's new book, On Purpose: How Great School Cultures Form Strong Character, offers broad principles, case studies and great snapshots of schools that succeed in providing all kinds of students with an engaging, purpose-driven education. Here's my review in The Weekly Standard. On Purpose is the culmination of Carter's work at the Center for Education Reform, a Washington, D.C. education reform advocy group that has collected a goldminen of information on what makes schools great.  Carter first grabbed the attention of eduction reformers when he wrote No Excuses: Lessons from 21 High=Performing, High=Poverty Schools, which  repudiated the long-standing argument that poor children couldn't excell.

Waiting for Superman

Waiting for Superman will transform your understanding of the problems that besest our broken public school system. In my two commentaries for Headline Bistro, I begin with the fight over the soul of public education led by Michelle Rhee and end with a look at the Catholic Church's own "superman" moment, as large nubmers of Catholic schools continue to close every year, a trend hitting inner-city students the hardest. After I posted my comments, I found tht Archbishop Dolan of New York had already made another connection with the documentry film: he suggested that Catholic schools provided an answer to the problems of inner-city schools.

The Street Stops Here (documentary)

On March 31st, PBS will be airing a  documentary, "The Street Stops Here," about St.Anthony, a Catholic high school in Jersey City that educates inner-city teenagers, some of whom become top basketball players. Their strong work ethic and team spirit come together through the  dynamic influence of their coach, Bob Hurley, Sr.. I heard about the film today and plan to take a look at it soon.The Street Stops Here is based on Hurley, the central figure in the book,  “The Miracle of St. Anthony.” (Update: The film is not based on the book, but takes a fresh look at Coach Bob Hurley, Sr, a new team, and a new season).

It's a slightly strange coincidence, but today the New York Times published a story about a nun at Xavier University who helps to keep their basketball team focused on academics, and obtaining their diploma

The Times front page story begins:
"

( page of 4 )

By some measures, the success of the Xavier men's basketball team rests not with a sharpshooting guard or a ball-hawking forward. Rather, it rests largely with a 5-foot-4, white-haired 77-year-old nun not afraid to rap on dormitory doors or to call players before dawn to ask about missed classes or late assignments.

Xavier, a Jesuit university in Cincinnati, is entering the NCAA tournament seeded sixth in the West Region with a 24-8 record. But Sister Rose Ann Fleming is a perfect 77-0. Since she became the academic adviser for Xavier athletics in 1985, every men's basketball player who has played as a senior has left with a diploma."

UPDATE: Here's my review in the National Catholic Register of The  Street Stops Here. It airs tomorrow, March 31st. check local listings.