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Saturday, August 20, 1960 THE BULLETIN Section Two—PAGE. ELEVEN NEED TO PROGRESS Center of Education Tremendous Growth Seen for Decade (Continued From Page 10) in parochial control. The percentage of private schools has remained constant. Undoubtedly, the advantages that accompany the consolidation of small schools into a larger unit such as the diocesan has led to the closing of some schools formerly serving a single parish. Increase in Lay Teachers The increase in percentage of lay teachers and the decrease in percentage of sisters are probably the most notable items in the Catholic secondary schools. Sisters have borne the main task of teaching in all Catholic elementary and secondary schools, but it has been impossible for them to increase in numbers as rapidly as the schools have expanded in these past few years of mushroom growth. The clergy, religious, and laity alike are coming to realize the significant contribution the lay teacher has to make, particularly in the education of adolescents. It is clear that there are not enough Catholic high schools to accommodate all the boys and girls seeking admission to them. Applicants are sometimes rejected, although most schools use every possible means to take all who apply. National testing programs have been designed to select for scholarship grants those students who ap pear most capable of succeeding in college. These test ing programs have become powerful influences on high school curricula and admission practices. Historical Development To understand better the history of Catholic se condary education a brief look at American educa tional development is necessary. In this country there has always been some type of institution corresponding with elementary and second ary schools of today. The first elementary school was the reading school, necessary for literate citizens and church members. This early elementary school expanded in curriculum and length of term into the six or eight-year school of our time. Secondary school development is more complex. In pioneer days there existed side by side with the reading school a Latin grammar school needed to pre pare boys to be ministers and statesmen. It was selective and its aims were primarily social because it served the need of society for clerical and political leaders. In pioneer society this form of higher educa tion was not needed by all youths and was not pro vided for all. Children of more prosperous parents were often sent to European schools. Ey.en in Colonial times, however, the situation be gan to change. There was a growing recognition of the need for wider educational opportunity, and the acad emy, founded in 1751, was a first step in that direc tion. Although it did not change radically from the Latin grammar school, it was more aware of both in dividual and social needs. It recognized expansion in commerce and attempted to prepare youths for com mercial pursuits. Catholic secondary education laid its permanent foundation in the dominance of the academy. Before that time, Catholic education in general had been carried on in seclusion and secrecy because of intoler ance and persecution. In 1789, however, when Georgetown became a per manent institution, it was apparent that the era of persecution was ended. As other secondary schools were established they offered a curriculum typical in European secondary schools, a six-year classical course forming the core of the curriculum. Appearance of High School The high school appearing on the scene in 1821, but which began multiplying in numbers only since 1890, has brought the education of adolescents far along toward attainment of the democratic ideal. It has con tinued to prepare for college, but has recognized wide differences in native endowment and, basing its pro grams on sound psychology, has attempted to lead each youth to progress in proportion to his native ability and aptitude and to be ready to assume with dignity his place in society. The real beginning of the Catholic secondary school as separate from the college or academy took place in 1890 when the Roman Catholic High School for Boys was founded as a free school. John W. Hallahan High School for girls followed in 1912. The liberal arts ideal of education for living rather than for specific occupational competence has remained the strongest concept in the Catholic philosophy of education. Consistent with this has been the stress on those courses that are considered the foundation of the Christian cultural heritage. Sister Janet predicts that there will be tremendous growth in the parochial high school system. In the next 10 years, she says, “it is reasonable to hope that we shall know more about meeting individual dif ferences, about stimulating all types of pupils to maxi mum achievement, and about valid and reliable meth ods of educational and vocational guidance. The Catho lic high schools of 1960 have great responsibility to progress in all these areas.” The classroom remains the center of Catholic edu cation. Here pupils receive not only instruction in religion along with moral training, but the best of ber of Catholic institutions of higher learning in their enrollment. According to John P. Sullivan in a pamphlet, Catholic Higher Education, U.S.A., published by the NCWC Department of Education, the number of Cath olic colleges and universities has more than doubled in the past 50 years, jumping from 98 in 1909 to 224 in 1959. Even more startling is the explosion of enroll ment in these schools. “Since 1909,” Mr. Sullivan writes, “college and university enrollments have jumped from i6,040 to 290,578,” an increase of more than 17 times. In comparison other private colleges and universities in the country have increased their enrollments by about 11 times in the same period. In addition there are about 14,000 persons enrolled in non-credit courses in the Catholic institutions in such public service areas as labor schools, business, manage ment, and government courses, correspondence pro grams, and adult education. An additional 21,000 stu dents attend summer institutes, clinics, workshops, and in-service training programs. Women's Colleges Most impressive has been the development of higher education for women. Of the 136 colleges founded by women religious now operating, 109 have been founded within the past 50 years. “Catholic women’s colleges,” says Mr. Sullivan, “gave evidence of a really heroic determination and sacrifice. During the worst depression years, women religious founded 29 institutions of higher education; all but one are still operating.” Of the 224 Catholic colleges and universities, 33 enroll male students only, 110 admit only females, and 81 (almost one-third) receive students of both sexes. “Women students,” according to Mr. Sullivan, “account for 40 per cent of the total undergraduate enrollments at all Catholic higher education centers in the United States. This is higher than the national average (35 per cent) of women undergraduates at all institutions of higher education.” One of the best indications of the quality of Cath olic colleges and universities is the percentage of these institutions that have received recognition from re gional accrediting agencies. According to the U.S. Office of Education Directory, 1958-59, 87 per cent of four-year Catholic colleges and universities meet the standards and requirements of their regional accredit ing organizations. These figures compare with 73 per cent of Protestant and 41 per cent of all other private foundations that can claim this distinction. An area in which Catholic higher education is making great strides and in which still greater prog ress will be made in the future is the field of gradu ate study. “In education beyond the bachelor’s degree, there are 60 Catholic institutions that now maintain graduate teaching in secular subjects. All is in an environment imbued with Christian ideals. schools or departments.” In addition to arts and science programs, these schools have broadened their graduate offerings to include such specialized fields as music, social work, library science, foreign service, education, business administration, and journalism. About 10 per cent of the masters’ degrees awarded by private universities in the United States are con ferred by Catholic institutions. The picture is less rosy in the area of doctorates. “In June, 1958, the 12 Catholic universities with doctorate programs con ferred 247 Ph.D. degrees and four Ed.D. degrees, which represented but six per cent of the 4,272 earned doctorates presented by 56 private foundations.” Great in Healing Arts One of the greatest contributions of Catholic educa tion to the welfare of the United States has been in the area of the healing arts. Medical and dental schools, it should be pointed out, are the most costly department of any university, and “these schools rep resent heavy financial sacrifices on the part of the Catholic universities which maintain them.” Five Catholic universities, Georgetown, Creighton, Marquette, Loyola of Chicago, and St. Louis operate both medical and dental schools; two more, Detroit and Loyola of New Orleans, have dental schools. Seton Hall is now developing both a medical and a dental center. In 1959 these schools graduated 450 doctors and 514 dentists. All have the full approval of the AMA and the ADA. Some of these schools provide-a large proportion of physicians and dentists in areas in which there would otherwise be a severe shortage. Out of 64 institutions of higher education having fully accredited collegiate nursing departments, 24 are Catholic, a proportion of more than one-third. Catholic colleges and universities face problems, some of which may become more severe in the future. “Catholic institutions, according to estimates based on current data by the National Newman Federation, now educate only two-fifths of all American Catholics who go on to higher education. With the rising tide of college enrollments at hand, Catholic higher educa tion faces a most critical challenge.” Unbelievable Triumph Despite its problems, Catholic higher education in the United States represents an almost unbeliev able triumph. The dimensions of this triumph were well stated by the eminent English historian, Christopher Daw son: “Only in this country (the United States) and in this half-century have Catholics of such diverse national backgrounds, without help from the state, produced the educational machinery to bring its youth from kindergarten through grade and high schools to college and university.” FROM 98 TO 224 INSTITUTIONS Catholic Colleges, Universities Make Breath-Taking Progress in Fifty Years By Edward T. Smith T HE STORY OF CATHOLIC COLLEGES and universities in the United States in the past 50 years is one of breath-taking progress, spiced with difficulties, new and old, that have yet to be overcome. Mirroring the growth of the Catholic population in the U. S. from a missionary outpost of 14,000,000 in 1909 to a stronghold of 39,000,000 in 1959 has been a dramatic jump in the num-