The Magazine of St Aloysius' College • 'Men for Others' • Issue XLVII ...

from the deputy principal
Dipping back, as I often
do, into the life of St
Thomas Aquinas, I found
again some interesting parallels
with Ignatian pedagogy. Both
stress the importance of the role
of the teacher, what teaching is
and the challenges it provides.
Josef Peiper’s Guide to Thomas
Aquinas reveals what brought
Thomas into the Order of
Preachers was his passion for
teaching. Teaching does not
consist in making public talks on the results of meditations
he said, even if it is done so ex cathedra, before a large
audience. Teaching in the real sense takes place only
when the hearer is reached – not by dint of some personal
magnetism or verbal magic, but rather, when the truth of
what is said reaches the hearer as truth.
Real teaching he said, takes place only when its
ultimate result - which must be intended from the start - is
achieved; that is, when the hearer is “taught”. Being taught
is something else again from being carried away, and
something else again from being dominated by another’s
intellect. Being taught, to Thomas, meant to perceive that
what the teacher has said is true and valid, and to perceive
why this is so. Teaching, therefore, presupposes that the
hearer is sought out where he or she is to be found; bearing
a striking resemblance to an age old maxim of Ignatius who
pre-dated Thomas, that you meet people where they are at,
not where you want them to be.
That is the nature of teaching as Thomas understood it.
Teaching, says Thomas, is one of the highest manifestations
of the life of the mind. The teacher simultaneously looks
into the faces of living human beings and undertakes the
rigorously disciplined, often wearisome labour of clarifying,
of presenting, of communicating. Where this communication
does not take place, teaching does not take place.
There are interesting parallels with Ignatian pedagogy
and methodology here which we explored in an introductory
way with our new parents over the course of two evenings
in the first part of the year, as we have done now for
some years. Fr Ross Jones SJ and Mr Bill Irwin joined me
in presenting to our new parents the essence of Ignatian
spirituality and how it has impacted on the Jesuit Order,
leading to a Jesuit approach to their various ministries, such
as education. The characteristics of Jesuit Education were
explored and unravelled, as was the Ignatian Pedagogical
Paradigm, which is our way of promoting the Jesuit mission
in the classroom and in the various other ways in which we
engage with students.
When the authors of Ignatian Pedagogy were searching
for the best practical method to promote the Jesuit mission,
they found something very helpful in the proceedings of the
General Congregation (their international policy-making
body). The 33rd General Congregation called for a review
of all the Society’s ministries and asked Jesuits to review their
endeavours “through a constant interplay of experience,
reflection and action”. These three words: experience,
reflection and action, lie at the centre of the teaching
paradigm articulated in Ignatian Pedagogy. More than a
model or approach, the paradigm of Ignatian Pedagogy
is largely an unfolding of what Experience, Reflection and
Action might mean for the teacher who wants to teach
faithfully in the tradition of Ignatius of Loyola.
This is not without its challenges in today’s world, but
the resolve of all our programmes and processes here at
Aloysius’, as indeed it is in every Jesuit school, is to ensure
as was just stated, that the goal of Jesuit education is to form
young men and women of competence, conscience and
compassion. This is done by promoting the spirit of Ignatius
and the mission of the Society of Jesus in every way we
engage with our students, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam, for the
greater glory of God.
To return to Thomas Aquinas, precisely this characterises
the teacher best: the teacher possesses the art of approaching
the subject from the point of view of the beginner; the
teacher is able to enter into the psychological situation of
one encountering a subject for the first time. He speaks
of this as being the fruit of love and devotion to learning,
which he defines as more than mere acquisition of material,
but rather a growth into a spiritual reality.
Mr Sam Di Sano
Deputy Principal
The Slaven Boys!
Most families think they have enough on their hands
with their families, but spare a thought for Kevin
and Anne Slaven. Until their eldest son Mark (SAC
2007) left the College, they had five boys at St Aloysius’
College at one time! (Kevin and Anne’s daughter, Alice,
attends Loreto Kirribilli) Pictured are the Slaven boys after
the College Prize Giving Ceremony in November 2007.
Five sons at the College at the same time is a feat equalled
by the Darwell (1970s and 1980s), Virgona (1950s and
1960s) and Tracy (1950s) families.
The ‘Slaven boys’ (back row) John (Year 11), Mark (SAC 2007),
(front row) Anthony (Year 8), Peter (Year 4), Nicholas (Year 6).
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879
aloysiad / page 14