Celebrate Catholic Schools

Happy Week of Celebrating Catholic Schools 2022!

Almost 15 years ago, while I was still working for a Diocesan schools office, I made the bold statement that we needed to change “Catholic Schools Week” to something a little more positive. While some folks thought I had finally gone over the edge, the reason was that we live in a “soundbite” society, and the human brain understands what it hears…and it doesn’t necessarily hear the written word. Proof of that statement is manifested in the power of non-verbal impact. The non-verbal aspects of how words are communicated are more powerful than the actual words which are spoken.

One of the most powerful aspects of marketing is to connect seemingly incongruous ideas together to reinforce an image. In the language of education, it’s the same effect as making the connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. For instance, if you want to describe your emotions (right brain) to someone so that they can be understood, create a word picture (left brain) for them by relating a situation where the other person was in an emotional state. For example, you could say to someone, “Do you remember how you felt when you made that basket that won the State title game for our school? Well, that’s how I feel today.” Genuine understanding is fostered by using this technique.

Because it takes creativity to link two seemingly incongruous ideas, marketing uses this technique to make a message memorable. The result can be powerful – both positively and negatively. A positive example would be the marketing tag line “Uplifting” for a local ski resort. One of ours used that image a number of years ago. The picture that accompanied the line was a close up of the legs of skiers on a ski lift. Even though it was the ski lift that was lifting the riders up the mountainside, the experience of skiing can certainly be an “uplifting” one.

May I be so bold as to suggest that “Catholic Schools Week,” especially when the three words are spoke without context or out of context, can create a negative image in the listener’s mind. Not only is the celebration held in the dead of winter (forcing the rescheduling or cancellation of events in the various regions of our nation), but our culture’s need for “headline news” has influenced the ways that messages are conveyed. In this case, the phrase itself sounds exactly the same as if the printed words were “Catholic Schools Weak,” with a homonymic quality that sends a subliminally perceptive, yet detrimental message – especially when the completely opposite result was intended.

Consider other historic cultural celebrations that used to last only a week. “Black History Week” used to be celebrated in the month of February. It was not long before the celebration period was changed to “Black History Month.” Similarly, “Hispanic Heritage Week” used to be celebrated in March; soon after the first event, the celebration was extended to a month-long time period that began in September.

A “Catholic Schools Month” would give ample opportunities for recurring events as well, rather than trying to compact activities into a span of 7 days. If a month is too long, then modify the headline-style phrase to “Celebrate Catholic Schools.”

Therefore, this week, I encourage you to “Celebrate Catholic Schools,” or, more appropriately, celebrate YOUR school, as in “Celebrate All Saints School!” And not just this week, but every week, continuing to make connections among your parents, parish and community on an on-going basis throughout the entire year to strengthen your school’s image and presence in the community. In today’s media-rich society, constant messaging in necessary, since a week-long campaign just once a year is, well, weak.

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