State of Monday: 'BENEDICT'S HATES A QUITTER'
It’s very simple. Have standards and do hard things.
Greetings, Dear Reader,
Bari Weiss’s CBS is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Ousted (and disgraced, ask me) correspondent Scott Pelley is doing the rounds, this time with an interview in The New York Times.
He actually cried on camera while equating his journalism to troops on the front lines in battle. No, I’m not joking.
But I’m tired of kicking Pelley in the face.
Let’s do some good news, shall we?
‘BENEDICT’S HATES A QUITTER’
Another, certainly less talked about, story out of CBS this past weekend highlighted a 55-mile, 5-day mountain hike one secondary school’s freshman must complete in order to become sophomores.
Students at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark are required to make the trek with minimal supervision in teams of five. Each team has designated positions – cook, captain, navigator – and together they must manage resources, pace, camp, etc.
In case you’re ancient like me and need reminding: Most of these kids are only 15 years old.
CBS’s entire feature package is worth a watch, even though it only scratches the surface.
Benedict’s, which is Catholic, has two mottos: “Whatever hurts my brother or sister hurts me” and “Benedict’s hates a quitter.” The education kids receive there is both multifaceted and simple. Students learn through “experiential” training blocs, through traditional education blocs, and they also share in the responsibility of basic school operations.
The goal, as outlined by Benedict’s itself, is for students to become mathematically, linguistically, and religiously literate, of course, but also civically literate. To emerge with a sense of duty and promptly become functioning and contributing members of their communities.
The hike itself falls in the “experiential” side of Benedict’s course work. Eleven miles a day with a pack is no easy task, even for a grown man, so it takes training and organization in advance.
I know any fellow veterans reading this can relate: Carrying a pack 11 miles across rocky terrain every day for five days is a bruising exercise. It’s not even that simple, however, as land navigation is part of the equation.
Ever tried to use a topography map and a compass to traverse wilderness?
The Appalachian Trail might in fact be a trail in some places, but people get lost on it all the time.
The hike started as an experiment for Benedict’s more than 50 years ago and has since stuck. As for the education, their graduation rate is near 100 and the percentage of students who pursue post-secondary education is near 100. Their median SAT score is 1100 and ACT score is 21-23. The school has produced famous athletes (in fact, olympians), personalities, journalists, lawyers and so on.
Oh, and 85% of the student body is either black or hispanic.
CBS’s report didn’t say this explicitly, so I will.
A little Catholic prep school is quietly proving most of public education is a costly charade. Young people want structure, standards, demands and, dare I say it, a higher purpose. They also deeply yearn for civic duty, if you have the spine to actually make them answer the call.
St. Benedict’s does, and their kids are all the better for it.
MORE LINKS
Trump Lobbying For Slam Dunk Victory In Battle Affecting All Americans
The classic debate.
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The Pentagon Gears Up For An Internet-Based War
A whole new ball game.
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Damn!
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Good news for the kids; after the 11 mile hike, they didn't have to dig a fox hole. On the other side of the equation; the kids know that when the going gets tough; the tough get going!