or a non-Catholic?
http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/05/17/should_a_protestant_work_in_the_catholic_school_board.html
By: Ken Gallinger Ethically speaking columnist, Published on Fri May 17 2013
Q: I’m an active member of a liberal Protestant church. I’ve been hired at a local school board in a casual capacity. A friend, recently hired by the Catholic board, tells me her casual position pays significantly more. She has encouraged me to apply; is it ethical to do so?
A: Ontario has two publicly funded school systems, and they are fundamentally different. The public system is by definition non-sectarian; it is structured around community values rather than religious ones, and is open to Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Wiccans, and anyone else who either chooses not to, or can’t afford to, send their kids to private school. The Catholic system, on the other hand, is explicitly sectarian. The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) puts it this way: “while our schools adhere to Ministry of Education requirements, we do so from a Catholic perspective … Faith development is integral to every part of a Catholic education.”
Please don’t ask me to defend that; asking an ethicist to defend such a situation would be like asking the Pope to curse out loud. But it is what it is, and no Ontario politician is going to challenge it after what happened to John Tory.
There are several important implications of building a faith-based system.
First, Catholic schools have a “preferential right” to hire teachers who are Catholic — or at least claim to be. I don’t know of another publicly funded institution that could legally ask job applicants about their religious convictions, but it is an explicitly stated preference/expectation that those who teach in the Catholic system be active, practicing Catholics. How this plays out varies from board to board, but if you applied for a teaching job in many parts of the province, you would be required to declare that you will “participate regularly in the sacramental life of the church” — and bring a note from your priest (!!) confirming that you do so.
Second, Catholic schools are for Catholic kids. In a paper called “Catholic Education: Myths and Realities,” the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association spells it out: “It is the constitutional mandate of Catholic Schools to provide Catholic education to Catholic kids.” That’s a fifteen-word sentence in which the word “Catholic” is used three times. Amen. There are some circumstances in which “other” kids are allowed to attend a Catholic school — but the system is explicitly designed for Catholics.
And third, Catholic schools are shaped by Catholic values. The TCDSB puts it like this: “Graduates are taught the virtues and values of the Catholic faith.” Please note that’s not “Christian,” but “Catholic.” Most of those values, listed by TCDSB, are wonderful: faith, hope and love are at the core, with justice and ecology strongly expressed. But official Catholic values on LGBT issues, abortion and the place of women are more troublesome for many people.
So, let’s rephrase your question based on all this. You’re asking “Is it OK to take a job in a system where people of my faith don’t have the right to teach, where my kids don’t have the right to attend, and where some values are unacceptable to liberal protestants like me?”
Do you still need help to arrive at an answer?
http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/05/17/should_a_protestant_work_in_the_catholic_school_board.html
By: Ken Gallinger Ethically speaking columnist, Published on Fri May 17 2013
Q: I’m an active member of a liberal Protestant church. I’ve been hired at a local school board in a casual capacity. A friend, recently hired by the Catholic board, tells me her casual position pays significantly more. She has encouraged me to apply; is it ethical to do so?
A: Ontario has two publicly funded school systems, and they are fundamentally different. The public system is by definition non-sectarian; it is structured around community values rather than religious ones, and is open to Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Wiccans, and anyone else who either chooses not to, or can’t afford to, send their kids to private school. The Catholic system, on the other hand, is explicitly sectarian. The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) puts it this way: “while our schools adhere to Ministry of Education requirements, we do so from a Catholic perspective … Faith development is integral to every part of a Catholic education.”
Please don’t ask me to defend that; asking an ethicist to defend such a situation would be like asking the Pope to curse out loud. But it is what it is, and no Ontario politician is going to challenge it after what happened to John Tory.
There are several important implications of building a faith-based system.
First, Catholic schools have a “preferential right” to hire teachers who are Catholic — or at least claim to be. I don’t know of another publicly funded institution that could legally ask job applicants about their religious convictions, but it is an explicitly stated preference/expectation that those who teach in the Catholic system be active, practicing Catholics. How this plays out varies from board to board, but if you applied for a teaching job in many parts of the province, you would be required to declare that you will “participate regularly in the sacramental life of the church” — and bring a note from your priest (!!) confirming that you do so.
Second, Catholic schools are for Catholic kids. In a paper called “Catholic Education: Myths and Realities,” the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association spells it out: “It is the constitutional mandate of Catholic Schools to provide Catholic education to Catholic kids.” That’s a fifteen-word sentence in which the word “Catholic” is used three times. Amen. There are some circumstances in which “other” kids are allowed to attend a Catholic school — but the system is explicitly designed for Catholics.
And third, Catholic schools are shaped by Catholic values. The TCDSB puts it like this: “Graduates are taught the virtues and values of the Catholic faith.” Please note that’s not “Christian,” but “Catholic.” Most of those values, listed by TCDSB, are wonderful: faith, hope and love are at the core, with justice and ecology strongly expressed. But official Catholic values on LGBT issues, abortion and the place of women are more troublesome for many people.
So, let’s rephrase your question based on all this. You’re asking “Is it OK to take a job in a system where people of my faith don’t have the right to teach, where my kids don’t have the right to attend, and where some values are unacceptable to liberal protestants like me?”
Do you still need help to arrive at an answer?
