Catholic school effect
n.— «If it makes sense you learn democracy by being randomly thrown together with a classroom of strangers, what could explain why chosen schools do better at it? It could be that parents are more involved, says Wolf, or teachers are freer to discuss moral values. It could be what’s called the “Catholic school effect,” as when Catholic schools responded to nativist suspicion by bending over backwards to instill patriotism: Private schools know they must try harder.» —“The unity that we choose” by Patrick McIlheran Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) May 26, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
One of the most powerful words you’ll ever hear — and one of the most poignant — isn’t in dictionaries yet. But it probably will be one day. The word is endling, and it means “the last surviving member of a species.” The...
Ribbon fall. Gallery forest. You won’t find terms like these in most dictionaries, but they and hundreds like them are discussed by famous writers in the book Home Ground: A Guide to the American Landscape. The book is an intriguing collection...