St Agnes School - Lamb Yearbook (Rockville Centre, NY)

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schools of our country taught religion. In such schools Wasllington, Franklin, Jefferson, John Marshall, the Governors of Colonies, all the makers of our country were educated. It was not until the year 1840 that what is known as the Public or State school made its appearance. From this time religious teaching was banished from the classroom, on account of the multiplication of denominations, to such an extent that it became an insoluble problem for 5fl1B.G0V6IHlB6Ht to ascertain what doctrine to teachn For, if religion were to be taught in the State School, what might please Christians, might displease Jewsg, what might-bel-acceptable to Catholics, might be funacceptablevto Protestants, what' Episcopalians -might -approvegl-Presbyterians might disapprove, andfso on through- the longvlisbof three -'hundred and fifty:Protestant sects' existent -in, our country: -I Hence -our-State-Sch'ools do not teach religion, 'because they cannot find any acceptable religion to-teach.-f e The Father of our country in his farewell address, in very clear andy very distinct-language: said: - 'GRELIGION AND MORALITY ARE THE ' NAT-ION?SH INDISPENSABLE. -SUPPORT: ITS' AFIRMEST PROPS, THE -GREAT PILLARS OF HUMAN -HAPPINESS, AND REASON AND EXPERIENCE BOTH FORBID US CTO EXPECT THAT NATIONAI:fMG'RALITY7CAN PREVAILf IN 'EXCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS PRI'NCIP.LEi,,'i Is- it- not' 'then fmost- commendable, istit-not rising to the heights of patriotism, when, faithful, and loyal, and true to the teachings and traditions of the Fathers and Founders of the Republic, we, in the atmosphere of religion and solid piety, 'fol- lowing5strictly- the curriculum! of the State, instill .into the- minds and hearts of our children that required secular and essential religious instruction that makes the ideal: patriotic, God-loving citizen, fand, though receiving ingratitude and dispraise from those we relieve, make light of our double burden in contributing equally with our non- Catholic fellow citizens the taxes required for the State Schools and the further expense of providing and supporting our own schools from the sacrifices made by our loyal wparishioners. I Rt. Rev. Peter Quealy, V Y Principal. 8

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FORE Worm The igreat French patriot Danton, who said, 'Tet France be free, though my name were accursed, and who devoted his wonderful talents and the untiring energy of his short life to the overthrow of Bourboni-sm and the establishment of the Republic, in emphatic burn- ing words declared that, after bread, Education is the first need of a free people. Education, as we understand it, is not merely a knowledge of books or a collection of facts or dates carefully stowed away in the tablets of an unerring memory, or of - 21: it ik Words of 'A learned length and thundering sound That amaze the gazing rustics ranged around. It is the due preparation of the individual for the future that lies before him. A It is the gradual evolution of all those latent talents that help to promote, and the efficient restraining of all those propensities which are calculated to tell against, the success of the child in his future career. ' It is the means, tl1e only means, but the all-powerful means whereby one is enabled to enter i11to the possession of these good- temporal and eternal things which Providence intended that he should secure and enjoy. It is the aggregate of all those influences, physical, mental, moral and religious, which give growth, grit and consistency to the texture of the individual character, which educe and train to the highest per- fection the several senses and faculties, andyimpart to the individual an inward strength and power whereby he may clearly know and efficiently do his duty 'to himself, his family, his country and his God. Such being the scope and aim of Education, it must needs be both secular and religious. If there be a God above us, if eternal years await us in the world beyond the grave, and if our condition there depends, as we know it does, upon our conduct here, it is plain and obvious that the religious element in education is as far above the merely secular as Heaven is above the earth. Hence itis of paramount importance for the Christian Pastor, who is solicitous not only for the eternal salvation but also for the temporal welfare of the citizens com- mitted toi his care, to devote himself unsparingly to the cause of educating and moulding the youthful mind and heart. It should be remembered, and a mere cursory glance through the pages of our history will show, that 'less than a century ago all the - 7 V:

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CLASS OF '21 j f OFFICERS ' ' President .. ............. .... H elen M. Kiley Ifioe President .... .... R obert F ishelf Trofzsurer .... ..... H eleil Carlin! Secretary .... .... , .Jacob Koehler? COLORS' FLOWER L Crimson and Gold 4 Lily. MOTTO A ' MStuc1ia In MOIFCS Abeun-t 9