This School Took Away Smartphones. The Kids Don’t Mind.

This School Took Away Smartphones. The Kids Don’t Mind. By Julie Jargon at The Wall Street Journal. Not having a phone at school this year has allowed [Yamalia Marks, a 17-year-old senior at Buxton] to make new friends and to savor more moments of her senior year, she says. “I’m a lot happier being on social media less. I think I’ve been a lot more self-aware,” she says, adding that she expects the benefit to carry into her first year of college. “Will I ever go back to having a phone with me all the time?” she wonders. “I don’t know, but I hope not.” Read

Is Christianity Fading Away? Teens' Thoughts about Jesus Give us Hope and a Challenge by David Kinnaman at USA Today. The Open Generation: A Global Teens Study surveyed nearly 25,000 teenagers from 26 countries with the intention to listen to what they think about Jesus, the Bible and making an impact on the world. The teens were from diverse geographic, cultural and religious backgrounds. What we discovered is that it isn’t just Christian teens who still care and consider the life of Jesus – his impact crosses all boundaries: 52% of the teens surveyed are “committed” Christians (they’ve made a personal commitment to follow Jesus) or “nominal” Christians (they identify as Christian but have not made a commitment to follow Jesus). 70% have a high view of the Bible and read it several times a week, or are at least open to its teachings. 75% are motivated or oriented around causes that make a difference in the world. Read

Catholic Schools Tiptoeing the Line on Gender Identity by Matthew McDonald at National Catholic Register. The Register contacted Catholic school officials in about 90 dioceses in the United States during the past few weeks, asking what they do when they are approached by a student who has gender dysphoria. The vast majority did not respond. Several said they can’t talk about it because the diocese doesn’t have a policy yet. Others commented privately but said they don’t want to do so publicly. It’s dangerous territory. In August, Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska, issued a policy requiring that school employees and parents “act toward a person in accordance with his or her biological sex at birth” and saying that failing to abide by the policy could lead to dismissal. Six days later, after a backlash, he rescinded the policy, pending forthcoming revisions. Read

With Parental Rights in Spotlight on Election Day, Some Christian Teachers Balk at Using Gender Pronouns by Matthew McDonald at National Catholic Register. Some teachers who profess Christianity say school officials are forcing them to affirm a lie about their students and to deceive parents about what their children are doing at school. The clash has led to tense school situations and significant disciplinary measures against some teachers. In Ludlow, Massachusetts, for instance, Bonnie Manchester, a middle-school teacher, was fired in 2021 for informing parents that their two children at the school were attempting to transition to a new gender identity. School officials had instructed teachers not to tell the parents. Read

Harvard Begs Supreme Court to Keep Affirmative Action and Protect 'Student Body Diversity' by Jeremiah Poff at Washington Examiner. An attorney for Harvard University insisted the Ivy League institution did not discriminate against Asian American applicants during oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Monday even as he acknowledged that the institution gave those applicants a lower personality score. The case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, was the second of two the Supreme Court heard Monday challenging the constitutionality of affirmative action in college admissions and specifically asks the court to overrule its 2003 precedent in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allows colleges to use race on a limited basis when considering applications. Read

Throwback Thursday

Restoring Wonder in the Classroom by Elisabeth Sullivan at Catholic Mom on February 3, 2021. “Classical education” speaks to the origins of this ancient tradition that was taken up by the Catholic Church and ordered toward the Incarnate Word. “Catholic liberal education” speaks to its end: freedom in Christ. Freedom to become a saint. Different Catholic schools and homeschools in this renewal may use different labels, but they are all seeking the same thing: the intentional recovery of the Church’s rich heritage in the formation of the human person. Charter schools and other private schools have rediscovered the fruits of classical education, though it is incomplete without Christ as the Logos in Whom all things cohere. Read