GREETINGS. I AM THE VOICE. IN THIS COLUMN, I PLAN TO CRITICIZE SCHOOL POLICIES AND DECISIONS THAT SHOULD CHANGE. IN THIS, THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE VOICE, I WILL POINT OUT THE FLAWS WITH A CLASS THAT EACH OF YOU TAKE - THEOLOGY.

THEOLOGY IS NOT A NORMAL CLASS. NO MATTER WHAT PERIOD YOU HAVE RELIGION, OR WHAT TEACHER HEADS YOUR CLASS, EACH OF YOU ARE IN AN "ACCELERATED" THEOLOGY CLASS. THIS SYSTEM IS HARDLY CONDUCIVE TO LEARNING. EVERY OTHER DEPARTMENT FOLLOWS THE BETTER SYSTEM OF THREE OR FOUR LEVELS OF CLASSES. THE MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT HAS COLLEGE PREPARATORY, ACCELERATED, HONORS, AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT LEVELS. THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FOLLOWS THE SAME STRUCTURE. THE SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT AND THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT PLACE STUDENTS OF DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS IN DIFFERENT CLASSES. WHY, THEN, DOES THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT LUMP ALL SORTS OF STUDENTS TOGETHER?

IT CERTAINLY ISN'T BECAUSE THE DEPARTMENT HAS A DIFFERENT ROLE IN THE SCHOOL. BROTHER THOMAS PETITTE, FMS, HAS SAID THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS AS ACADEMICALLY ORIENTED AS ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT. STUDENTS IN DIFFERENT CLASSES INVARIABLY FOLLOW DIFFERENT PATHS, REGARDLESS OF A STANDARD SYLLABUS.

THE RATIONALE BEHIND A FOUR LEVEL SYSTEM IS THAT STUDENTS OF DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS CAN GO THROUGH A SYLLABUS AT A PACE CONSISTENT WITH OTHER STUDENTS OF THE SAME SKILL LEVEL IN THAT CLASS. MIXING TOGETHER STUDENTS OF DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS INTO THE SAME THEOLOGY CLASS MAKES IT FAR MORE DIFFICULT TO MOVE AHEAD THROUGH THE SYLLABUS AT A UNIFORM PACE. SOME STUDENTS WILL ALWAYS LAG BEHIND IN AN UNSTRUCTURED SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT THE PROPER WAY TO LEARN.

WHAT REASON COULD THE ADMINISTRATION HAVE FOR NOT HAVING SWITCHED OVER TO A NEW, STRUCTURED SYSTEM? PERHAPS THE UNSTRUCTURED NATURE OF THEOLOGY HELPS THE ADMINISTRATION MAKE CHOICES DURING THE SCHEDULING PROCESS. IF THIS IS TRUE, THIS SEEMS TO SUBORDINATE THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT TO ALL OF THE OTHERS BY GIVING THEM PRECEDENCE IN THE SCHEDULING PROCESS. ANOTHER POSSIBLE REASON IS THAT THEOLOGY IS REGARDED AS A CLASS THAT IS NOT "SKILL-SPECIFIC." BY THAT, I MEAN THAT THEOLOGY IS NOT A CLASS THAT REQUIRES, FOR EXAMPLE, A THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS, A HOMERIC VOCABULARY, OR AN UNDERSTANDING OF ANGULAR VELOCITY CALCULATIONS. ONE MUST SIMPLY SIT DOWN, TAKE NOTES, AND REGURGITATE FOR A TEST. HOWEVER, LEARNING IS SKILL-SPECIFIC. BY ALLOWING THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT TO CONTINUE ON AS AN UNSTRUCTURED DEPARTMENT, THE ADMINISTRATION IS SLAPPING IT IN ITS METAPHORICAL FACE.

ONE OF THE THEOLOGY TEACHERS DISAGREES. HE FINDS POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE UNSTRUCTURED STYLE OF THEOLOGY. "There is a wide range of opinions among students. Putting kids of different skill levels into the same class give each type of kid a chance to open their mind to other opinions," SAID MR. PATRICK DRISCOLL OF THE RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT. HOWEVER, SEVERAL TEACHERS FROM THE DEPARTMENT AGREE THAT A STRUCTURED SYSTEM SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED, INCLUDING BRO. PETITTE AND MR. TIMOTHY O'CONNOR.

THE ADMINISTRATION, WHEN INCORPORATING THESE CHANGES FOR THE 2003-2004 SCHOOL YEAR, SHOULD BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION IN THEOLOGY. WITH THAT IN MIND, INSTALLING AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT THEOLOGY CLASS WOULD NOT BE CREATED WITH THE SAME GOALS AS THE OTHER ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT THEOLOGY COURSE CREATED HERE, BUT I COULD UNDERSTAND IF THE ADMINISTRATION DECIDED NOT TO INSTITUTE SUCH A PROGRAM. THERE IS NO REASON THAT THE ADMINISTRATION SHOULD LET THEOLOGY TAKE A BACK SEAT TO OTHER DISCIPLINES FOR ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR.

LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF THE VOICE. THE TOPIC IS "EXTRACURRICULAR CONTRACTION" - FIND OUT WHICH ONE NEEDS A RADICAL MAKEOVER.