A Teacher Review Model

The following model is based on the view that in a Catholic school all teaching is part of the process of evangelisation which is the mission of the Church. Every member of the staff of a Catholic school engages in evangelisation through the roles they play in the school.

Use of root metaphors in theology

The way in which each person works characterises a particular paradigm and its root metaphor. If you want to do some reading in this area, then visit the following e-source: http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/mwt/dictionary/mwt_themes_909_mcfague.htm

In 1988, Sallie McFague’s book Models of God was published. Chapter Two is titled Metaphorical Theology. The link above is to an article about her book and her understanding of the role root metaphors in theology.

Why take this path? Because teaching in a Catholic school is “evangelical,” then at some point in the process of reflection, we must think theologically. If we don’t, then our thoughts will be irrelevant.

Part of the theological reflection involves the use of root metaphors. For some time I have been advocating the use of organic root metaphors as opposed to those that are implied by some of the language that is used, such as “appraisal”, “formative evaluation” and “summative evaluation”.

Use of the Review of Life method

My reflection is based on the Review of Life method which was developed by Cardinal Joseph Cardijn when he was a young priest in Belgium, early in the twentieth century. If you want to read a summary of his method, read the following .pdf file released by the YCS movement (Young Christian Students) in Australia:
http://www.aycs.org.au/files/wwb.pdf

I have included this document because it provides an insight into a way of thinking about Catholic education. The Review of Life with its three steps of SEE-JUDGE-ACT has been enshrined in Catholic Social teaching. To learn more about this, visit the following site. The article that you will read was published in Eureka Street, a magazine published by the Jesuits. The Jesuit influence should be strong in our school (Loyola and Xavier Houses are named after two great Jesuits, St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits and his friend, St Francis Xavier).
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=3055

The Examen of Consciousness

The third influence in this proposal is taken from the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. He taught his followers to use the “Examen of Consciousness.”

Here are two sites worth visiting to learn about the examen. The first, from a Catholic high school in the USA, presents a summary of the five steps of the examen:
http://www.stxavier.org/s/106/stxavier.aspx?sid=106&gid=1&pgid=973

This second site is much more detailed. It comes from a popular catechetical e-resource known as Catholic Update:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0303.asp

My first contact with the examen came when I was helping to write the early drafts of the RE Guidelines in the mid-eighties of last century (Wow!). We developed an examination of conscience model based on the examen. It was largely a positive approach to examining one’s conscience. It had two significant characteristics: first, the examination of conscience is a form of prayer, ie, dialogue with God; second, it is a prayer of thanksgiving for the good that we do.

Some suggested review questions

What are you passionate about in your teaching?

Campus Ministry and Nurturing Charisms

One aspect of the role of the ADP (Ministry) involves the curriculum of community (koinonia) and it is in this context that I reflect on the task of nurturing charisms. But first, a word or three about words.

The word charism means a God-given talent or power. It came into the English language in the seventeenth century through ecclesiastical Latin from Greek. The original meaning of the word is "grace." The word grace means a gift freely given by God. Someone taught me a long time ago that grace is sharing in the very life of God.

The word koinonia means “partnership” and it refers to the spiritual fellowship of the community of faith. It is the first form of religious life that the College receives from the Church. Theologically, the people who comprise the College have been created in the image of God who is proclaimed to be a trinity of divine persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

There is a sense of gratitude about the presence of charisms in the life of a community, both on the part of those who exercise charism and those who benefit from others' charisms. The spirit of thankfulness is a response to God's love and mercy active in the presence and work of the person who exercises their gifts and talents in service of the community.

In the previous blog, I described the koinonia tasks of the Assistant Deputy Principal (Ministry) in the following way:

• nurture faith in Christ as the head and heart of the College community; to encourage members of the community to live in accordance with the goodness in people, the virtues befitting discipleship.
• ensure that the Catholic faith tradition to which the College belongs is made present and celebrated through its signs and symbols.
• organise opportunities for structured reflection on the college mission statement as the formal expression of the common desire for community.
• assist the Heads of House in developing students’ understanding of and appreciation for the charisms of their House patrons.
• promote experiential learning opportunities that contribute to the formation of the conscience of the College community.
• foster awareness of the eschatological dimension of College as a Christian community, particularly through the celebration of the liturgy.
• through the use of various forms of media to support the development of publications that promote the College as a faith community.
• develop ways of drawing the College community into the parish communities, eg, Altitude, World Youth Day, an Arts ministry team that enhances liturgical worship in the parishes, youth groups that interface with parish youth groups.
• undertake whatever tasks the Principal determines that relate to the College as a faith community.

Those who serve their community make use of their charisms. There are many talents and gifts operative in the life of any community.

Charism

What is “charism”? Is it the same as “charisma”? Occasionally, we come across people who have charisma. I have met a few teachers who were charismatic. Students were drawn to them like iron filings to a magnet. Most of us have to work hard to achieve success, however, charismatic people seem to exert little effort to gain greater results. Their “megastar” status can be quite unnerving.

The word charisma is defined as a “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.” It is the plural form of charism which has come into the English language from a Greek word meaning “grace”. A charism is a gift that is given freely. Usually, it is inferred that the gift is divinely given. The word charisma means “giftedness,” that is, possessing many gifts or talents, hence the “megastar” status of charismatic people.

St Paul is credited with having been the first writer to use the word “charism” in a religious and christian context. For instance, in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, a Greek city, he wrote:

There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. (1 Cor. 12, 4-6)

When St Paul used the word “charism” he usually meant two things. First, he used it to refer to the gift of Christian life given in Baptism. Second, he meant a specific gift given by God to individuals or groups so that they could serve the community and build up the Kingdom of God. It is this latter meaning that is of interest to us now.

In the Catholic Church there are many religious orders, congregations and institutes. Each of these religious families has received from the Spirit through its founder a particular charism to achieve a specific mission in the Church. It's worth the time and effort it takes to explore some of the statements made by a few of these families in order to understand the concept of "charism" so that it can then be applied to St Maximilian Kolbe and then the school that has his name. One site worth visiting is that of the Sisters of St Francis. On their homepage, they have the following statement about their charism:

We, the Sisters of St. Francis of Savannah, Missouri, believe that the Holy Spirit has gifted us and continually blesses us with a charism in the service of the Church. We identify this charism as A JOYFUL SIMPLE SPIRIT, FOUNDED ON A PRAYERFUL DEPENDENCE ON GOD, WHICH FREES US TO WITNESS GOD'S LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE IN GENEROUS, HOSPITABLE RESPONSE TO THEIR NEEDS.

We share this value as a community. It has been handed down to us from Father Sebastian Schwarz and Mother Franziska Wimmer. It was especially manifested through Mother Pia Feichtenschlager, whose guidance established our community in the United States and whose living example served to call forth and to form the expression of our charism in the American Province.

If we analyse their statement, we arrive at a set of core values:

• joyful, simple spirit
• prayerful dependence on God
• giving witness to God's love
• generously providing hospitality to those in need
• living in community

The Sisters believe that these values are needed so that God's Kingdom can be established and maintained on earth. Moreover, they believe that these values are consistent with the mission of the Church as it was given by Jesus.

If these values identify the charism of their community, what makes it different from other religious communities in the Church? What is the charism of St Maximilian Kolbe? To what extent do we share in his charism?

Charisms are recognised in the actions of those to whom charisms are given. The Sisters of St Francis would be recognised by the qualities listed above. What are the qualities that identify us as members of a College named after St Maximilian Kolbe?

The College crest displays the motto: Courage, Faith, Excellence. These words suggest the qualities we hope to develop in ourselves and also instil in our students. Are they the charisms of our school?

Discerning the Charisms of Kolbe's House Patrons

Kolbe is proud of its vertical pastoral care programme. The school is divided into six Houses. Each House is made up of students from Year 7 to Year 12 and staff. Each House is named after a saint (or one-day-to-be saint). It has always been my dream that each House would contribute something significant to the life of the school that was drawn from the charisms of the House patrons.
What follows are some readings and websites to visit that hopefully will help to identify the charisms of each House patron.

Chisholm

The following link takes you to a short biography of Caroline Chisholm. The writer identifies Caroline Chisholm's charisms. The article is followed by a string of messages from people who have visited the site. Hopefully, you will gain some insights into this amazing woman's gifts and how people benefited from her generosity and commitment.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire/asop/people/caroline_chisholm.shtml


Loyola
The following website gives some insights into the charisms of St Ignatius and how his followers have used the charisms of the Order he founded to engage in Catholic education.


http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/st-ignatius-of-loyola-100.php






MacKillop
The Sisters of St Joseph (the "Brown Joeys") provide us with some understanding of the charisms of their foundress, St Mary of the Cross. She is Australia's first canonised saint and her canonisation was celebrated in Rome and around the world on Sunday, 17 October, 2010.


www.faithdoingjustice.com.au/docs/Editorial1010.pdf



Rice
Blessed Edmund Rice is the founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. This short history of his life gives us some clues about the gifts with which he was blessed and which he used to help the poor in and around Waterford.
http://www.ercrs.com.au/dloads/cms/A%20short%20biography%20of%20Blessed%20Edmund%20Rice.pdf


Teresa
Blessed Mother Teresa lived an amazing life. This brief biography does not do justice to its richness, but it does help us to understand a little about her giftedness and her faith in God strengthened her when there seemed little hope for those whom she served.

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1907


Xavier
St Francis Xavier was a good friend of St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He joined Ignatius in his plan to establish a group of men who would dedicate their lives to bringing God's message to the world. To gain an insight into the charism of St Francis Xavier, visit the following website:

http://www.biographybase.com/biography/xavier_francis.html