Church schools building character, not seeking converts, says Reece
ALTHOUGH SEVERAL of the more prominent schools in Jamaica are operated by churches, Archbishop Emeritus Donald Reece estimates that less than 10 per cent of the students in these institutions belong to the denomination that operates their school.
Reece, who is the chair of the Ecumenical Education Committee, told a Gleaner Editors’ Forum last Tuesday that in some schools, it is actually just about two per cent of the students who worship with the denominations which operate them.
“I am being generous, but they have less than 10 per cent of their respective congregants in their schools,” said Reece, who heads the body of about nine church groups and trusts that own and sponsor schools.
“The ethos of our church and trust schools must somehow be maintained even as we teach students of various denominations or of no faith. Love of God and love of neighbour undergird the ethos, it undergirds the regulations, it undergirds the culture of the church/trust schools. This orientation, if allowed to permeate our curriculum, ought to bode well for the nation,” added Reece.
MAINTAINING THEIR ETHOS
He told Gleaner editors and reporters that while the aim is not to convert students from their beliefs, these schools are built on a Christian foundation, and as such efforts are often made to maintain the ethos of the schools.
“Church educational institutions have as their objective the formation of character with a Christian bias that entails genuine human values, which enshrine the total development of a person, body, mind and soul,” said Reece.
“Some people may feel that we are forcing our culture of the church schools down people’s throat, but I t hink not,” he asserted.
The archbishop emeritus said that some Jamaicans chose church-run schools because they like the fact that discipline and spiritual development are prioritised.
“Our nation can benefit from a person with character, with values. That’s why we are in education. If we can’t do that, we might as well say bye-bye,” added Reece.
He argued that it is therefore important that the Ministry of Education take into consideration the culture undergirding churchoperated schools.
“It is to this end that the Ecumenical Education Committee seeks occasional dialogue with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, as our ethos must be maintained, because it aims at the entire person, body, mind and soul,” said Reece.