Narratives of Meaning in Education

I sat down with Father Daniel O’Mullane, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, to discuss how and why he’s built a Catholic school based on the classical education model. Rather than obsessing over college and career preparation, the typical goals of primary and secondary schooling, he approaches education from the ground up, prioritizing the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of children. Fr. O’Mullane believes that time-tested teaching methods—measured in centuries, not decades—and the great works of Western civilization are among the best tools for cultivating students’ sense of meaning and purpose in a culture adrift.

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Learn more about Our Lady of Mount Carmel School: https://olmc.academy/

Follow Fr. O’Mullane on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/fatherdano

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Outline:

[0:00] Not your average Catholic school

[5:38] Should “college and career” be the goal of school?

[23:28] Purpose, narrative, and progress

[36:50] Man is both spiritual and material

[56:43] What does classical education look like?

[1:07:17] Why the great works of Western civilization matter

[1:13:38] Orderly behavior vs. true virtue

[1:17:45] Building a school that’s better than prison

[1:26:28] School should protect a child’s sense of wonder

[1:32:09] Schools shouldn’t interfere with parenting

[1:37:44] How to find teachers who aren’t ideologically captured

[1:41:03] Entrepreneurship within the Church structure

[1:55:56] How Fr. O’Mullane’s became a priest

[2:15:28] What is the future of faith in our culture?

[2:18:00] Rise to meet the demands of love

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Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xBW7NePlI0U

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