https://nzcatholic.org.nz/2020/07/10/my-grandfathers-service-to-church-remembered/ The New Zealand National Catholic Newspaper Sat, 11 Jul 2020 06:34:31 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6 https://nzcatholic.org.nz/2020/07/10/my-grandfathers-service-to-church-remembered/#comment-58180 Sat, 11 Jul 2020 06:34:31 +0000 https://nzcatholic.org.nz/?p=21556#comment-58180 Thanks for the remembrance, Michael. I was associated with Walter over the effort to assist Catholic schools from the ’50s to the ’70s, as well as living with the family at times. His work was a foundation for the eventual integration of the Catholic schools into the State system, and it was far-seeing, so that many of the pitfalls that have troubled this relationship in so many countries have been avoided in New Zealand. Additionally, the wise move to require each school to have its own “special character” forced them to establish what their special character was, so has given direction to their curriculum and development, even though it was frightening at first. I have worked in Catholic education in many countries, and have found the NZ model a good guide in helping schools to express their character, both in words and in practice. Walter and his helpers have done great service for Catholic education, and need to be remembered!

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