Thriving in the Time of Corona

From the Pages of Gilbert!
The Magazine of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton

By Andrew Youngblood, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, The Chesterton Schools NetworkFrom the May/June 2020 Issue of Gilbert!

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” – G.K. Chesterton

This article will appear in the May/June 2020 issue of Gilbert! (available June 1)

Things were moving along fine. We were assisting the network schools as they worked towards  accreditation; we were starting new initiatives to increase collaboration among teachers from various schools; we were getting ready for our Juniors to travel to Rome on pilgrimage. 

That last item is what started the ball rolling. Whispers were getting louder and louder that a pilgrimage to Rome in mid-March would not be possible because of the new virus. A week before the students were scheduled to leave, the executive committee of the Chesterton Schools Network held a meeting, and we decided to cancel the trip. It was Wednesday, March 4. 

The possibility of at-home learning was starting to be discussed. We decided that we would introduce the headmasters to the fundamentals of on-line learning platforms at the next headmasters’ meeting on Wednesday, March 11. It seemed like we had plenty of time.

We invited Marco Sermarini from the Italian Chesterton community to open our discussion and share his experiences with the coronavirus. That was the moment that things changed. Canceling the Rome pilgrimages had been annoying; at-home learning seemed a small, very temporary possibility; quarantine was not even being discussed. Until we spoke with Marco. 

As he opened up our meeting, he explained the situation in Italy—they were not allowed to leave the house, school was cancelled, businesses were shut down. “That could never happen in the US,” I remember thinking. But then Marco made the following prediction: “The US is a week behind where we are. This will be you in a week.” His prediction was off by two days.. Within five days, the two Chesterton schools in the Philadelphia area where I live were closed, and we were being asked to stay at home.

The situation that Marco described, and his prediction, propelled us into action. The network schools began ensuring that they had the proper learning management systems in place by which they could communicate with the students. We highlighted Jupiter Ed and Google Classroom and encouraged everyone to adopt the system that worked best for them. We gave them a tutorial about Zoom, which (and this is funny to think about now) some had never heard of before. Those with a background in homeschooling were able to talk about the difference between learning at home versus learning in the classroom. As a network, we were having the same conversation that nearly all schools would end up having a week or two later. We were well positioned to initiate the change.

And we did. By the following week, when we met again for our headmasters’ call, all of the schools, even those that had not yet closed, were ready for the transition. A few of the schools, including mine, had already switched over to at-home learning. The transition was surprisingly smooth for the teachers and students. 

Since we, as a network, choose hardcopy books that we can write in and Socratic discussion in the classroom instead of technology and computers, we are often asked by prospective parents if this will make us unable to function in the modern world. Well, in the modern world of coronavirus, that question has now been laid to rest for good. Our students, teachers, administration, and network transitioned to online schooling with alacrity, flexibility, and creativity. The current situation proves what we have known all along—that we don’t eschew the use of electronics in the classroom out of fear or ignorance; we opt not to use them because we have something far better.

We are now halfway through the fourth quarter and nearly at the end of the academic year, a year that for most of us will be finished at home. We are making plans for finals, looking at ideas about virtual graduation, and creating a marketing campaign to tell the world that the Chesterton Schools Network is thriving in this new environment. Based on our experience, we are anxious to share with everyone the message that “Joy is Possible,” “Rigor is Possible,” and “Spiritual Growth is Possible” in the time of corona. We are seeing it every day with our students. Amidst the growing obstacles, the Chesterton Academies around the country and in Canada and Italy are fulfilling their academic and spiritual mission to bring students closer to Christ. 

Despite the current uncertainty and economic difficulties, the CSN is in the midst of explosive growth, as our current schools attract more students and we support new start-ups across the country. We receive inquiries continuously from groups who are attracted by our simple and scaleable model for enabling faithful, affordable, classical high schools at a time when Catholic education seems out of reach for so many.

This is just a small affirmation for the CSN that has come from this worldwide pandemic. A far greater positive side-effect is the strengthening of the communities and of the network. We were already strong, surprisingly strong, for a fledgling organization in the midst of rapid expansion. But the shared experience of “faith in exile” has united us in our love for Christ, our longing for the sacraments, the necessity of Holy Mother Church, and our strong bond with one another.

Even though we live in a challenging time, we have never been stronger than right now.

_____________________

Andrew Youngblood is Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Chesterton Schools Network. He also serves as Director of the Regina Chesterton Academy at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania, the first “school within a school” Chesterton Academy program within an existing diocesan high school. He has over twenty years of experience in classical education, including serving as Headmaster of Regina Coeli Academy, a classical elementary school; homeschooling his own children and those of others through the Cor Jesu Academy co-op; and serving as Adjunct Professor of Theology at Christendom College. He holds a B.A. in Theology from Christendom College and an M.A. in Theology from the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College.