Abstract

The word "school" has never been so commonly used as it is today. But do we really think about what it means? What reality(s) lie(s) behind this apparently neutral term? Originally encompassing a wide range of different meanings, the noun gradually became confined, in the wake of the Renaissance and the French Revolution, to common or public education, associated with simultaneous teaching. Older, more traditional forms of child-rearing, more domestic in nature, have steadily declined. The consequences of this anything but trivial phenomenon are numerous for individuals, families, societies and even the Church. It's important to be aware of them, to be conscious of them, and to take stock of them, which is what this two-part post hopes to contribute to.