The sun., 1916-08-27
The significance and Value of the
international Federation Of
Catholic Alumnae
Correlates Ideals of Education With Life After Graduation Catholic Woman
hood Will Realize Ideals When Home and School Cooperate in DeveT.
opng Sense of Duty, Spirit of Reverence and Habit of Obedience

N''auuats, u III lIc COuutb " OT
than the profession. There Is, Of course.
much acclaim for the resolutions and
the measures Of reform and the solemn
promises hat ana from powerful
organizations. And this Is as II should
be. But there IL always me danger
that the Individual will como to lean
too much on the organization and forget
to reform just where reformation. like
charity. ought to begin.
This federation. on the contrary. will
seek to strengthen each Of its members
In loyal adherence to her Catholic faith,
both for her personal welfare and for
the common good. It will insist that
each shall live W to the standard-'by
their fruits ye shall know them" And
II will emphasize the practical truth that
example u the most eloquent Of preach
ing.
For the intelligent graduate there 10
nothing new In this insistence on loyalty:
she has heard Of Il in all the years Of
her schooling. Precisely so: but what
the federation does 10 meant to Offset
those influences which % often produce
indifference and doubt. These are not
a. . rule Of the violent sort They
exert . moro gentle pressure. appealing .
to the natural desire for recognition.
appreciation and prestige. They create
an atmosphere and In This atmosphere
there Is sorely needed q breathing space
for faith. There IL needed. IN other
words, the consciousness Of q standard
higher than social usage or general
opinion. and OF its acceptance by a body
OF educated persons. The federation
recognizes this need and provides for Il
by bringing into communication all
those who are united BY the bond of. .
common faith.
But. II will be asked. on what ID this
Communication to lay stress? In what
RnnaRofA enprn .s,... s--,N. 49, HaltA
appear? Where n how shall Il bring
TO realization those ideals Of Catholic
womanhood for the maintenance q
which me federation was organized?
womanhood finds Its immediate sphere
Of action In the home: Catholic woman
hood has its sphere Of power. Of activity
and Of influence In the Catholic home.
There Is no other sphere that has greater
need Of n life by faith or richer oppor-
tunity. There is nom that suffers moro
when the light OF faith goes out or that
accomplishes more when hat light burns
brightly. And the homo at this very
lime needs protection against encroach-
ment from many quarters.
Let II be understood once for all that
the Catholic m Is to be the centre
Of n Catholic home: otherwise II will be
useless to talk OF "ideals' In any other
sphere. It surely Ia not a happy state OF
things when the child has to 70 away
from home to get It's ideals of right liv-
inE. and less happy still Is the condition
when the home life counteracts what
education tries to accomplish.
There IL reason to fear that IN our
anxiety to make the school do everything
We are really giving Il too much Of what
belongs Of right to the home. TN loco
PARENTS" Is a serious reminder for the
teacher. and II cannot be repeated too
often or too earnestly. II the work OF.
teaching II to be done with . sense OF
responsibility. But the '1ocus" In .
variable thai depends on what Is as
signed to the parent and that approaches
zero A. the homo influence decreases.
The function Of the school In to help n
strengthen the home. not to set II aside:
m ever where the home IL not What
II ought to be. the aim Of the school
should be to correct and supply What 70
wanting. but not to displace the home.
Here. then. we have . problem. or
rather a whole series Of problems which
the federation may properly undertake
to solve. Home and school must be
brought into closer cooperation for the
upbuildlng Of Catholic life. What can
education do toward making the ties Of
family more secure? How car the homo
life be made so pire and wholesome
that II will correct and even prevent
the evils from which social and public
life are suffering? These are questions
that cannot be answered with merely
abstract or theoretical considerations.
To get at their meaning. which Is the
first requisite. II will be necessary to
discover the facts Of the situation to
ascertain the defects that actually exist
and, II possible, to remedy them by re.
moving the causes. II may be that
both causes and conditions are different,
according to the section OF the country
which Is under consideration and again
II Is possible that In any section ono
may a W to note the difference between
city and country. between conditions
that have long prevailed and others that
ere of recent origin. A careful study
covering these various points would
furnish the data that should servo ~
guidance In formulating plans and draw.
ing them out In detail.
The Importance Of corelating school
work with external conditions and needs
has been quite generally felt, and in con-
sequence much attention u now given to
arts that are OF service in the homo and
C. many other lines Of vocational rain
ms. This Is all very practical. no doubt
n yet the fact remains that many Q
homo where domestic science" wa per.
feet has fallen into ruin. and that many
"vocatiOns" have been followed, with an
the mastery of skill. to utter destruction.
There 10 more In the making Of home
than the science Of things domestic. Or
let VI say psrhaps that, there 70 . domes-
tic art which includes the whole Art OF
2