Reflection On Horace's Compromise

Reflection on Horace’s Compromise While parallel to the system of education I have experienced, the observations made by Horace in Horace’s Compromise apply only to the institutions I have attended, not the students with whom I was educated. For the entirety of my life I have attended a private, Catholic school in northeastern Pennsylvania. I went to Gate of Heaven School from kindergarten to eighth grade, and then Holy Redeemer High School for grades nine through twelve. Both of these establishments are run by the Diocese of Scranton, an institution that dictates which schools remain open, who teaches in those schools, and what is taught within said schools. The educators are placed in a situation similar to Horace, but with a bishop, rather …show more content…
All decisions within the school are made by the administration. The administration separates the day into nine 40-minute classes, with a three-minute break in between each one. The administration decides which classes are available to which grade. The administration plans school-wide functions, many of which interfere with the scarce amount of time allotted for each class. The goal of the administration is to put forth a robust image of the school in order to increase its enrollment, as opposed to focusing their energy on ways to better the education their current students are receiving. The faculty and students know that if the administration has planned an event, such as mass, a pep rally, or an elementary leadership seminar, class becomes secondary. This is both discouraging to educators and harmful to students, creating an atmosphere that values image over education. Teachers who once dreamt of shaping the minds of youth have become jaded and discouraged, and students join organizations simply to get out of …show more content…
My junior year of high school was filled with some of the finest teachers the school has to offer, igniting my passion for education. One teacher especially, Mrs. Kara Beviglia, inspired me and several other students to become the best students we could be. Her passion for not only her subjects, but also the entire learning process was absolutely contagious. Her classes transformed even the most apathetic student into a dedicated scholar, even if it was just for her seemingly impossible class. Her spark lit a fire that students carried into their other classes, improving the quality of the general upper-level classes in the school. Students suddenly realized how topics in their theology class related back to their honors rhetoric class, and how to use their calculus skills to improve their knowledge of AP Psychology. Though not intentional, she instilled an interdisciplinary mindset into all students who took her classes, one that did not go unnoticed by fellow educators. When reading papers, literature teachers could decipher which students took a course with Mrs. Beviglia and which did not. Students in her classes developed better study habits, improving their scholastic performance