Adlerian Education at Our Lady of Sorrows School and its Implications for Parent Education

Abstract

Having attended public schools from kindergarten through four years of college, I was a bit apprehensive about student teaching in a private parochial school. How would I fit in? Would the fact that I am a Buddhist disappoint the people with whom I would work with for the next five months? How much of the stereotyped impressions I had of parochial schools were in fact, reality? The first day at our Lady of Sorrows found me cautious of jumping to conclusions. After all, I knew nothing about the school or its policies, having done all my previous observations in public schools. I was aware of my constant comparisons with D.O.E. schools and my experiences in school. Luckily, I was assigned to a very patient and understanding woman named Della Walsh, who took the time to acquaint me with the philosophy and practices of the school. After listening to a tape recording of the school philosophy, and about two weeks of long afternoon discussions, I was ready to begin. My first impression of utter chaos soon subsided. Beneath what seemed to be an excessive amount of activity, was an underlying sense of purpose and direction. What appeared to be at first, harsh and difficult for children to understand became so sensible… and logical.