Goodbye to All That – Forty-Three Years of Catholic Secondary Education

Leo President Dan McGrath, "D" and Me in 2010 at St.Columbanus Catholic Church for Leo Graduation

I had a ball!  Since 1975, I have worked exclusively and loyally in Catholic secondary teaching and fund-raising.  I taught thousands of young people who have grown into remarkable men and women.  I have worked with brilliant people at Bishop McNamara, La Lumiere School, Leo High School and Brother Rice High School.

It was a privilege to work for Alpha-male teachers and school leaders like Bob Foster of Leo, the late Fr. Ken Yarno of Bishop Mac and with Headmaster Larry Sullivan of La Lumiere School. These gentlemen led the herd and protected its flanks – always.  Leading from the front is the action of a true servant.

I was out of the classroom for twenty-two years and when I returned the passive aggressives seemed to dominate.  I went to work as substitute/permanent sub -and at-will, no contract, we can fire without cause, salary saver.

I thought I was part of an old-timey, collegial faculty.  In fact, I was welcomed to the work by the key administrators with all the warmth of a Turk at a christening.

The faculty was very nice. They offered a great deal of help in matters like computer-based learning and scantron testing.

The bosses, not so much.

Wherever passive-aggressives thrive, the culture dies hard.  For years this seemed limited to ‘downtown’ – the educators who mandated directives, issued policy contortions and relayed third-hand dispositions, like “The Cardinal will never agree to that.”

Bob Foster said, “Well then, let’s go and ask His Eminence!” And he did and learned that the Cardinal was in full agreement with Bob Foster.


Today, the Beta primate-in-charge shrugs and smirks in too many Catholic high schools.
I ended my four decades of work in Catholic high schools on January 26, 2018.  Let’s let things go at that.

Safe to say, I walked into a passive-aggressive booby-trap and took the bait.
 I got to get back to fishing; don’t open your mouth and you won’t swallow a hook. The story is sad and sordid.

The day that my position as a substitute teacher was terminated, I applied for work as a laborer on one of the Flood Brothers Disposal Trucks, where my talents would suit the charism of that corporate culture.  I would rather haul trash than teach wonderful young people, while second guessing every assignment, lesson and word that I might dispense.

The school I worked at is staffed by some phenomenal teachers and administered by a passive-aggressive cohort, not unlike the ‘downtown’ crowd of alumnae of closed girls’ schools who dominated the education chancery.

I wondered about that.  Maybe that is all part of the ‘thinking-outside-the-box’ corporate culture that requires no candor and plenty of empty-sizzle- Marketing 101 stuff.

Anyway, I am out of it for keeps.  I loved teaching and the students seemed to appreciate what I was presenting. Now, I am an acquired taste, I know.

What worries me is the rooted nature of Catholic secondary school administrator passive aggression. It will not go away.

It is not only the school for which I last worked but many of them.  There are no leaders like the Father Kens, the Larry Sullivans, or the Bob Fosters.

Brother Rice President Dr. Kevin Burns and Cardinal Cupich

Teachers hunker down and wait for things to pass over, but Catholic schools do not have much time left.

Forbes magazine noted in 2013 that, “ Passive-aggressive behavior in any company is one of the most destructive cancers to a culture that ends up killing both a great company, and the self-esteem of the individuals working there.  “
Forbes offered these signs of the creeping cancer in an organization – Leader(s) who:
• on the surface appears to be agreeable and supportive, but behind the scenes will back stab, undercut, and sabotage. 
• constantly states that you can trust their words when their actions have consistently shown that not to be true.
• makes promises about things when they have no intention of ever following through, often then blaming things that were “out of their control” for precluding them from being able to fulfill their promise.
• smiles and agrees with you to your face, but then disagrees or even sabotages things behind your back.
• states “I was supportive of you, but this other person wasn’t so there is nothing I can do” in order to place blame on someone else rather than voicing their own lack of support for the matter.
• gives positive praise and feedback to you directly, but then takes actions to undercut you to coworkers and management. . . .

Demoralized faculty members are silent at meetings.  Coaches and teachers who had been part of a school’s golden age of recruitment, school spirit and instruction watched their programs, camps, mission goals and successes shoved aside, or dismantled, in favor of new blood that was anemic at best. The mantra now is - "Hey, what’s the big deal? It’s all good!"

Things are not all that good. If enrollment is down, it is not only the latest census figures to blame.  Kids want to go to a school with a sparked-up faculty and leadership that is willing to have the backs of its teachers and students; not merely, complaint department for helicopter parents.

My last lesson to my Theology 3: Social Justice class was this. “We are, who we used to be.  If we do not honor the Bishop Bernard Sheils, Mother Cabrinis and Terence Powderlys, how can we know what the hell Social Justice is all about?”

Likewise, if Catholic schools do not honor Alpha Dog leaders who built our schools, nurtured their traditions and reputations, how will they keep operating?  If I do not remain faithful to the creed that ran my family to America, I must be a Unitarian.

Catholic high schools will go the way of the carburetor, I'm afraid.

Cardinal George and Leo Legend Jack Schaller '43

Cardinal Cupich seems to agree.   Archbishop Blase Cupich is no Francis Cardinal George,

Sour grapes? Oh, hell no.  I had a ball.  The job is about the kids.  If I did a good job, or bad, they tell me.  They are far from Passive Aggressive.   They learn to be Passive Aggressive out in the work-world.

You will never find a Passive-Aggressive type taking out the trash - they send memos to have it done by others.

I am beginning a new career away from Catholic secondary schools.  I have been selling buckets of golf balls at 50 Acre Park in Evergreen Park, since April. On Monday, I begin a new career.