You are commissioned by Mr. Del Trotter of Peckham Springs Ltd. to carry out a survey of the population’s like/dislike of mineral water. Mr. Trotter would like to discover people prefer his product, though he doesn’t say it outright.
So you head down to a predominantly Muslim area of London with your clipboard and approach people on the street asking “if you had the choice, would you prefer to drink a) mineral water or b) beer?”
The results: When asked, a staggering 95% of the population said they prefer to drink water! [The remaining 5% were recorded as "don't know" - they may have said "tea"].
It’s wrong isn’t it? Pure wrong. It’s cheating. You wouldn’t take on such a commission would you? You wouldn’t lie like that.
The Catholic Church did. The Council for Research and Development of the Irish Bishops’ Conference yesterday released the results of a survey on the “Factors Determining School Choice” [in Ireland, north and south]. A survey carried out by their own researcher.
You can read about it on the Irish Independent website or, if you have money to spare, you can read a different slant on the Irish Times website. If the Catholic Communications Office got its act together you could probably read the full text of the press release on their website too. But they haven’t published it (yet).
Here are some of the “findings”:
- 98% said they were aware when applying to enrol their child that the school choice was a Catholic choice.
Insinuation: 98% of parents selected a Catholic school.
What the parents were really saying: More than 3,000 of the 3,200 primary schools in the country are Catholic. Of course we were aware.
- 94% said that education was a shared responsibility between parents and the school.
Insinuation: 94% said that education was a shared responsibility between parents and the Church, as the school is Church run.
What the parents were really saying: Education is a shared responsibility between parents and the school.
- A clear majority believe that Holy Communion and Confirmation are best prepared for within the school.
Insinuation: Hey, look at us. Aren’t we great? Look at all we do for you? Look at the trust you place in us. Look at how much a part of your lives and the community we are.
What the parents were really saying: We couldn’t be bothered / don’t have time to do this ourselves. Shur we wouldn’t know the first thing about it, and anyway, we’re only going ahead with the Communion business to keep Granny and Grandad off our case.
- 60% believe that the school’s teachers should promote the religious life of the school.
Insinuation: 60% truly prefer a Catholic education for their children.
What the parents we really saying: As above - you fire ahead with this religion business and keep Granny and Grandad off our case.
- In the preamble (in the Irish Times) it said “three new State-run schools will soon open, but the question of faith formation in these schools has still to be resolved”.
Insinuation: Look at the results of our survey. Clearly you need to hand the management of these schools over to us. It’s what the parents want.
Del Trotter would love this researcher.
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Sorry, Primal, but I think your reading of the insinuations is wrong.
We have been reading angry letters and articles in the press demanding the church get completely out of primary education.
This survey is a small rebalancing of that.
There are shades of gray, obviously.
But as a parent:
1) I chose a Catholic school.
2) I want my children prepared for the sacraments in that school - because it will be with their peers, and with the clergy who will administer the sacrament.
There is already a mechanism for parents who chose something different - Educate Together for one, and Foras Patrúntachta na Scoileanna Lán Ghaeilge for two.
Nothing stopping the humanist society applying for the option of becoming a patron either.
In urban Ireland, there is no reason for the current hysterical discussion.
In rural Ireland, where there is less choice in schools generally I agree that people will have no choice but to go to the next school - which will likely be Catholic.
Not sure what to do about that, since homeschooling likely isn’t an option for everybody.
This issue is NOT handing the managment over to the Church. The issue is that the Church has every right to manage some schools, if that is what the parents want. And many do.
That survey spent little time in my town. We have 10 Primary Schools between the town and surrounding villages and hamlets, only one of them is Maintained (Catholic) while the other nine are Controlled (State).
Grannymar,
The survey was specifically of parents whose children currently attend a school under the patronage of the Catholic Church. And it says so clearly.
Aonghus - I have to say that when I first heard about this on the radio yesterday I thought it was a bit misleading. However I do agree that there has been a lot of ill-thought ranting against the involvement of religious of all shades in education and a more reasoned debate is needed. However misleading presentations of surveys does the cause of the religious no good whatsoever. Primal is right on this one.
I think myself that those of us ‘religious’ involved in education need to reassess what it is we are trying to do. The provision of education alone is a worthy goal for any church and I am inclined to think that confessional instruction should be in the context of the home and the parish. Not to say that the ‘ethos’ of a particular church/religion should not influence the ethical code of a school but I think that this is perhaps where the schools role should end. It is interesting that in the UK there is a Jewish school which has a 40% Muslim enrolment because the muslim parents value a school where ‘religious’ values are respected. The debate has only just begun I suspect.
Paddyanglican,
the point I would make is that Weltanschauung is inseparable from almost any type of education.
Certainly the teaching of doctrine is a matter for home and parish in the first instance.
There are shades of gray.
But one of those shades is that 50% of Catholics in this jurisdiction are still weekly massgoers.
Ah here, lads - I go away from the computer for a day and look what happens!
Okay, Aonghus, my insinuations were exaggerated. This was done intentionally for emphasis. And I’m all on for a bit of rebalancing myself. In fact I had my wheels done yesterday. The car was pulling to the left and now it’s running straight as a die. If the garage had returned the car pulling to the right I would have lashed out at them for over-correcting the issue.
However, that is exactly what the bishops have done here - over corrected. The survey was skewed, I imagine the questions were worded in such a way as to elicit their preferred response and the findings reported in language obviously designed to bolster their view.
Your point, Grannymar, about the different school management structures north and south is valid. By conducting the survey amongst those already with children in Catholic education, even if that is clearly stated, distorts the outcome. If the bishops had genuinely wished to discover the true situation, they would have surveyed the entire spectrum. Furthermore, sending one’s child to a Catholic school in the north is a conscious decision while in the south such choice is almost non-existent. Northern parents, having made that choice, would undoubtedly hold stronger, and pro-Catholic education views.
Stephen, you have understood my point perfectly - misleading presentations of surveys does the cause of the religious no good whatsoever. We are immune by now to the corporate world conducting biased surveys and releasing the findings in order to get a few column inches of free advertising. It is disappointing that any religious group would stoop so low. I hope for your sake that your boss and his peers never fall prey to this - you would be tarred with the same brush.
Now lads, lads, lads, we can have the debate some other day about the role of the religious in education. Let’s put the hobby-horses back in the stable with a nose bag for now. The debate (this post) is solely about unethically biased surveys.
Primal - Happy to move the debate over to Paddyanglican.com and would of course be delighted to welcome you to participate Give me a few days to come up with something worthy of debate. Re my boss - I am at the moment bossless as our good bishop has just retired so who knows what I might get up to in the inter-regnum! Suggestions?
OK, maybe I overcorrected too. Signs of seige mentality on my part, probably.
But I’m not sure how much was the Churchs fault and how much was lazy, careless journalism.
Stephen, I didn’t think your boss could retire! Surely your bishop is only your manager - a different category altogether!
Some bishop’s don’t make this distinction
- though I hasten to say would not include our former bishop in this category. By the way - belated sympathy on your recent feline bereavement - You have just been pastorally cared for by the way 
That done I can put my feet up for the rest of the day. 
Stephen ~ I may pop by for a row. Light refreshments afterwards? Or a pint down in Obama’s (soon-to-be) local?
Aonghus ~ From past experience, a well scripted press release, whether inaccurate or not, will usually be reproduced verbatim. The PR people make the best of that.
Stephen ~ As long as you ex-boss is not shy. Retiring is okay, but people who are shy and retiring bore me.
Primal - pint sounds good! - Beats tea and cucumber sandwiches (The staple diet of all good Protestants)
@Stephen how do you know they are CoI sambos? Well of course they are cut in fingers and not triangles
Grannymar - in response to your comment (and conscious that I am drifting off topic - forgive me Mr Primal) - and of course the crusts are removed! Very civilized
Crust almighty, it must be a bitch of a job serving jumbo breakfast rolls.
Thanks guys, you have given me inspiration for a blog post.
Aonghus, I was startled when I read your line “But one of those shades is that 50% of Catholics in this jurisdiction are still weekly massagers.” Then I realised my mistake. I suspect that says more than I care to have revealed about me.
Does anyone find the phrase “faith formation” creepy?
Me.