Formed by the Lasallian education philosophy: the Lasallian educator
Grounded in a tradition of faith and service, and guided by a clear mission, a Lasallian educator brings the principles of Lasallian education to life in every interaction. Respect and attentiveness shape a teaching practice that nurtures both hearts and minds.
Use this content over the summer to reflect on these principles and prepare to enter the new school year ready to foster faith, learning, and community with purpose and care.
The Lasallian educator is open to, in fact welcomes, the transformative love of God that acts through and within the student-teacher relationship. The teacher in the Lasallian school must be truly present, first and foremost, to the needs of the student and, in so doing, give witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. In such a relationship, both student and teacher are transformed.
The Lasallian educator, especially in the religious education classroom, must give faithful witness to the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. The young are most transformed in the catechetical process through the teacher’s authentic love and genuine respect for them—perhaps this can be considered the greatest pedagogical practice in the Lasallian school. The competent catechist knows too that the interiorization of faith happens over a lifetime—not within the scope and sequence of “a course of study”—thereby acknowledging that they are but one teacher along the way.
The Lasallian educator knows that at the heart of catechesis is personhood—the lived encounter of the relationship between the person of the student and the person of Christ Jesus. The aim of catechesis is always to help young people see the world and interpret their experience, throughout life, through the eyes of faith in Christ. This is what Lasallians mean when we speak of “enlivening minds, touching hearts.”
The Lasallian educator recognizes and respects the reciprocity of relationship between human experience and the proclamation of the Gospel. Catechesis is an apprenticeship in interpreting experience in the light of the Gospel. The young cannot articulate their faith without linking it to their lived experiences. That is to say, the young person’s experience of being loved opens their heart to the Word (which is Love); this openness leads to hearing the word proclaimed in ever deeper ways so that experience is reinterpreted in the light of the Catholic Christian tradition.
The Lasallian educator masters the art of facilitating the young people’s important questions of faith. How does a person mature if not by asking over and over throughout life critical questions, such as “Who am I?” and “What should I do with my life?” The effective catechist is one who creates “space” within the catechetical session for the young people to articulate their questions, for their questions present the opportunities for them to gain inklings of “who” they are. One of the most important methods a catechist can employ is the art of constructing questions that engage young people in conversations of profound religious meaning. This means too that the catechist must be able to accept that young people will ask questions of faith that are beyond the human capacity to answer.
The Lasallian educator uses methodologies that help young people come to a deeper understanding of the content of faith. Method and content are necessarily related in so far as catechesis is a dynamic interaction between receiving the word proclaimed and interiorizing Christian knowledge through apprenticeship in Christian living.
The Lasallian educator welcomes and respects the diversity of students that are entrusted to them. The religion classroom, in particular, cannot be presumed to be a place where faith speaks to faith. Some of the young people before us are believers, others find themselves struggling with their faith and are disconnected from the Church, some come from faith traditions other than Christian, and yet others have not heard the Gospel proclaimed. The catechist must welcome and respect all by acknowledging, accepting, and seeing the world of each of these students so that the proper conversation can be constructed for their salvation.
The Lasallian educator engages young people in dialogue as a constitutive dimension of evangelization and catechesis. Evangelization and catechesis are not monologues; rather, they happen in a dialogue that affirms the great insights of the young as faithful contributors to the conversation. The catechist must shun any exercise that keeps the student in a passive role.
The Lasallian educator uses language that is accessible to the young people they serve. How can the catechist capture the imagination of the young if not in using language they can access and that has meaning in their culture and experience? We know all too well that words can be used as a knife or as a spoon. The one cuts apart, divides, and separates; the other feeds and nourishes. The language of faith must always be at the service of catechesis, rather than catechesis being at the service of figuring out an inaccessible language. The Lasallian catechist strives to achieve a balance between the use of a common language of faith, which can serve to unify the Church, and language adapted to young people. From the founding of the Institute, catechism has been taught in the vernacular—so that the student can surely understand. We must ask ourselves perpetually, “what is the ‘vernacular’ of the day” in the education and formation of the young. Our language must be accessible in the context of their lives and their cultures, but accessibility is not simplicity—we must be cautious not to oversimplify.
