Alternative Education

The future of the country is in the hands of the young, says the principal of the first alternate school in the Catholic educational system. But many of our students, he told the Peace Weekly--referring to the happiness index of the Organization for Economic-Cooperation and Development, which lists Korea as having the lowest happiness rating among students in the 30 countries surveyed--are not happy.  Now that the Catholic Church is experimenting with alternative schools, the hope is that the happiness of our students will be favorably affected.

A number of reasons have been suggested for student unhappiness, financing their college education being one important reason. High-school students often cite another reason: Studying for college entrance exams and the intense competition to score high on the exams puts a great deal of pressure on to succeed. And the biggest  culprit for this current situation, says the principal, has been the disappearance of holistic education.

In an attempt to correct some of the problems, the law has been changed to allow schools to pursue an atypical curriculum that is more varied, natural, and holistic. Some educators feel that this is not a wise move. They worry that the students attending these schools will not be able to fit into society, find work and earn enough money. This is often the way those who are immersed in our industrialized society choose to see the benefits, or lack of benefits, of alternate types of education, compared with the perceived benefits of the current educational  system. 

The Peace Weekly gives an account of a recent workshop-meeting that brought together the teachers and the parents of students attending the first alternative Catholic school in the country. Although the primary emphasis of the school is on character formation, the principal is contemplating a move into more spiritual dimensions of life. If character education is understood to form the person, the spiritual will work to go beyond the person to more community involvement, always searching and working for the common good. Moving in this direction will deepen the freedom and autonomy of the students. When this is achieved, the principal said we will have "a happy school"--a school that students will want to attend.

A professor from the Catholic University is quoted in the article as saying that Catholic schools are now at the crossroads of a new Gospel mission. Whenever Catholic school administrators are tempted by the present educational system to be complacent or to compromise, they should bring to mind the Gospel message and have that inspire  them.

 

The Road to Healing

In Korean society we frequently come across references to the word 'healing,' perhaps a sign that our society is undergoing a pathological change, with many of us becoming worn out and lonely and finding it more difficult to keep the body and mind healthy. The editorial in the Peace Weekly points out that for some people the keys for the transformation to healthful living may be as simple as adding new projects, including plans to travel to new destinations. 

The Buddhists have encouraged this transformation to health by holding 'stays' in their temples, where people can come for a few days to get away from the concerns that bind them to the world, preventing them from enjoying peace of mind. The World Health Organization, in 1996, issued their definition of health. Using a holistic approach, they provided criteria for determining not only what makes for physical and mental heath but spiritual health as well.

Healing, all healing--physical, mental, spiritual--is, as the editorial puts it, in God's domain. Because, ultimately, God is the only healer. In the Old Testament, becoming a new person--recovery to spiritual health--often begins with the healing of physical disease. In the New Testament, healing is clearly shown to extend beyond the healing of the body to the spiritual--and salvation.

This healing of the spirit is also available whenever we receive the sacraments of the Church; they help bring the love of God into our lives. The grace of God should be one of the means to rid ourselves of disease in both  body and  mind, as well as in the spirit. Because of these benefits, the editorial believes the Church should be more interested in promoting this apostolate, which should help satisfy, according to the editorial, our need for the sacred.

God, from the beginning, poured into humanity his grace, and if our lives are sufficiently open to the continual graces that are being offered, nothing but good can come from this openness, and health would be one of the gifts received. We need only to empty ourselves, forgive others, and do what the voice of conscience dictates.

Living the Spiritual Life

The world is a noisy place, says a columnist of the Catholic Times in his column on spirituality. By simply hearing the news or watching TV, we can readily come to appreciate how much noise surrounds us every day of our lives. It's not the kind of noise we can distance ourselves from easily and examine as a spectator might, he says. It's always there, hovering around us. Some of this noise is obviously 'out there,' but the noise coming from inside us, he maintains, is even more troubling.

In fact, we have a tendency to fear quiet, welcoming the noise, which explains to some extent why we like  celebrities and sports stars, following what they say and do with enthusiasm. Among the causes for the inner noise, he includes the desire for money and honor, and beckoning city streets that entice the strollers with their culture of pleasure. Much of what we see and hear is intended to titillate the senses, making it difficult for many of us to pass it by.

However, when the time is right, all that disturbs our inner peace can disappear, the columnist tells us. Often we do not allow ourselves to resonate with God's will. In an instant, moved by faith, we can be pushed into the cloud of unknowing. No matter how complicated life becomes, it can still resonate with God's will.

When we are overcome with the noise, however, and feel trapped, not knowing what to do or where to go, the situation may be similar to putting on a garment and, when not paying attention, placing the first button in the wrong button hole. When overcome with the noise, and its disabling distractions, it may be because we are not attending to the reservoir of hope and faith that is available to us. From birth on, being alert is the way we grow into mature adulthood.  We have to turn this tendency to become as fully conscious as possible in the direction of God. To loosen up somewhat is all that is necessary. When we are uptight, the danger of suffering a breakdown is always a possibility. Not setting our sights on the results of victory or failure, but directing our awareness to God is the path we want to take.

It's a path that requires faith and hope, mellowness and firmness. For a Catholic understanding of spirituality, the words that come to mind--vulnerability, openness, becoming clay in God's hands--allow us to be moved by his love for us. The initiative belongs to God. We simply rest in a humble receptivity of his gift. 

Peace and Violence Cannot Exist Together

 "No school violence, No sexual violence, no drunken violence, no racketeering or other organized violence" were the words painted on a number of police patrol cars seen recently by the priest-columnist writing on social issues for the Peace Weekly. What especially caught his attention were the words above the others: "Eradicating the five areas of  violence." They reminded him of the two placards he had seen over a school gate. "Violence Reported," one said, "Will Be Eradicated." The other, which he found extremely troubling, said "Week for Eradicating School Violence."

Students who are studying hard to do well in school, he pointed out, should not have to contend with school violence, as if it were a normal part of school life. All violence is the enemy of the State, but it should be doubly abhorrent when it takes place in a school environment.  Whenever violence in the schools is reported in the news, and it involves a suicide, the blame usually goes to the school authorities for paying little attention to what was happening, or for keeping silent or doing nothing to prevent the violence. What about the responsibility of the State? the columnist is implying.

Although a certain amount of violence by police and military personnel is accepted as inevitable by the State, violence in other areas of civil society is considered illegal.  However, violence can be cleverly packaged into a commodity, which is then legally bought and sold in the marketplace, as is evidenced by what routinely appears  on TV and in the movies. Violence, in its many less obvious forms, has been around for a long time, but society, for the most part, seems not overly concerned. In redevelopment projects and building new towns, for example, we have come to expect conflicts. One side promotes ownership rights, the permission to demolish existing structures to construct new ones; the other side argues for the right to residence. At a certain point in this conflict over 'rights,' it's the demolition that usually takes place.

These problems, whether with labor or with people forced to move from their homes, are not much different.  The police are not there to prevent the violence but are often criticized for taking sides. Labor-management autonomy is usually cited to justify the situation, but more like a referee who sees a foul and does nothing. Church teaching on violence (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church #488) however is very clear: "Violence has [now] made its appearance in interpersonal relationships and in social relationships. Peace and violence cannot dwell together, and where there is violence, God cannot be present."

A Good Teacher of Youth

We have been called to be merciful, to be filled with authenticity-- breathing deeply and slowly, and walking leisurely. It is only in this way that essentials are understood, blessings are gratefully accepted, and the painful is seen, heard and felt as painful. The lifestyle of our adults--superficiality and speed--is now influencing the student community and the teachers. Living life honestly and with respect is not easy. Without this commitment, our preciousness is disregarded, pain is overlooked, and we are not conscious of how we are being bombarded with violent words and actions.

A religious teaching sister, writing in a bulletin from an  institute in Seoul, Korea, explains that  as a teacher this is the reality she lives in. She sees the disappearance of the respect and concern we should have for each other. She would like to know why we are treating each other so badly.

At work, teaching daily, she sees big and small incidents among the young that exemplifies what she is trying to convey. One example she cites: "Sister, Sister! There is big trouble on the third floor, in front of the toilets. They are fighting and damning each other, hurry to the spot. Their faces are bloated and red; they will have to go to the hospital."

She went in haste to the spot, and found that the first round of fighting was finished. The fighting had been motivated, she said, by an all-encompassing  anger that could be seen in their eyes and in their body movements; they were ready to kill each other. Another example: "Our daughter was abused, blamed and threatened," she was told by her troubled parents, leaving their daughter depressed and fearful, and she soon had to withdraw from school. "The school has to take responsibility for such incidents," she said. "All the school authorities have been notified and it is now up to them to punish the students responsible."She mentioned a third example: There was a fire on the fourth floor of the school, smoke coming out of the window. A student, who had been breaking the school rules against smoking, threw a cigarette butt into a wooden basket that caught fire.

Sister went on to reflect on her position as a Christian and as a teacher who wishes to live her mission in life responsibly. But with the continual violence, depression, anger, weakness, helplessness, frustration and despair that often surrounds her, she has to acknowledge her limitations and frustrations. However, to use this helplessness as an excuse for attempting to deal only with an immediate and superficial  response to any crisis, she admits, is not going to be of great long term help to the students. It has to be a daily effort, a waiting hope, accompanied by a warm demeanor. Educators, she strongly believes,have to be one with the students who are hurting and have lost hope. To be with them in their grief and despair, to cry and laugh with them, and to be able to give them life and love.

She ends by saying that there are many young people, whether known or unknown to us, who are in need of our care and  love. As Jesus walked with us to give us life, we, also, as teachers, she hopes, in imitating him as an educator, will benefit from his example.

The Special Act Relating to Adoption

The new adoption law (The Special Act Relating to Adoption) went into effect this month. The editorial in the Peace Weekly, raising serious reservations about some aspects of the law, noted that there were more than the usual number of adoptions recently, because these adoptions could be kept secret under under the old law; this will no longer be possible with the new law, which requires that the baby be registered soon after birth with the mother's family name. Only after the child is adopted will this information be deleted from the record. Forcing the unwed mother to divulge in a public document that she has given birth to a child can have terrifying consequences, the editorial claims, for both mother and child, as the mother contemplates her options in dealing with this difficult situation. That is the reason Catholic facilities for unwed mothers are sending petitions to the President asking for a change in the law.

The editorial cites an important provision of the new law: To receive the approval of the court for any adoption, there must now be a waiting period during which the suitability of the adopting parents is thoroughly reviewed, and all references checked. These measures, among others, are necessary, the editorial pointed out, to protect  the rights of the child, and should be highly praised.

However, the editorial goes on to say, the law is not fully considering the reality of our present situation. Because of the new provisions to the law, there is likely to be an increase in aborted or abandoned babies, since unwed mothers often want the birth kept secret, not wanting their parents and friend to know, and will oppose any registering of the child. The editorial feels that you will not find many of the unmarried mothers who are forced  to register the child, deciding to have the child. Either there will be an increase in abortions or there will be more abandoned. Obviously, not a small matter for everyone concerned, including those in government entrusted with monitoring the health of our society.

Because of these concerns, the editorial strongly urges that changes be made to the new law to avoid its possible negative consequences.  And no matter how good the law appears to be, the editorial warned, when the reality of the situation is not fully seen, problems are likely to occur. Instead of opting for more adoptions, lowering the number of abortions, according to the editorial, should be the motivation for any adoption law.

The preservation of family, promoting in-country adoptions, and meeting world standards by doing away with the dangers of child trafficking are meritorious aspects of the new law, but the negative aspects also must be acknowledged. It is believed by many that solving the adoption controversy can best be accomplished by changing the cultural beliefs and expectations of society. If we can begin to see our unwed-mothers in a new, more compassionate way, it will be a great help in persuading the mothers to keep their babies, rather than deciding for the terrible choice of either aborting or abandoning their child.

Importance of Prenatal Care

Currently, the Korean society is faced with an increasing number of sterile couples and of children having ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).  Bullying, autism, suicide, and such problems are a concern for a teaching doctor in a Seoul hospital, who feels that proper prenatal care would help solve these problems.

In the past, everyone considered  prenatal care an ideal goal, but if you didn't bother with it, no one paid too much attention. However, today the baby is understood to be influenced by both the physical and the psychic environment into which the baby is born.

In addition to the influence of genes given to the baby from the parents, the personality of the baby is also likely to be influenced by the thinking and activities of the mother.

This is all medically verifiable. Children who are bullies and violent show abnormal brain activities. Consequently it is now standard practice for the medical profession to recommend that the baby in the womb get as much care as possible, with the intention of providing the best environment in which to form the baby's personality. A baby born healthy, both in body and mind, and raised well, is a fundamental and virtuous responsibility of the parents. It is an act of love, and should be a concern not only for  parents, says the the professor, but should be a concern to all of us.

He mentions that his dissertation on the effect of classical music on the fetus was the starting point that changed his thinking on how he now sees the issue of prenatal care.  From that time on, he devoted himself to the study of prenatal and natural remedies, beginning a prenatal school in his hospital and giving lectures to the interns on the importance of prenatal care, using natural measures as much as possible.

When we have the correct understanding of life, he says, then the importance of caring for the baby during the prenatal period, as well as the importance of attending to the proper raising of children, will become self-evident. This understanding will be especially true for mothers; by understanding what is happening, how their thinking and activities are affecting the baby in the womb, the mothers will no longer be able to see the prenatal period as before.The sex act  also will be seen differently for there  is the possibility it will continue for 100 years.

The professor will publish a book on prenatal care next month. And he hopes that there will soon be natural birth centers in all the general hospitals of the country, and that the leaders of our society will take an active interest in pursuing this issue by encouraging more acceptance of prenatal care by all expectant mothers.