Some Thoughts on Education - ESSENTIALISM

Sincere gratitude to Prof. Rhodora Nicdao, PhD. of AdMU for the opportunity to tackle this school of thought, still so relevant at present with all these reforms in education not just here 

but also in the U.S.

ESSENTIALISM and EDUCATION

Nature and Context	·       Essentialism is more of an Educational theory that has parallel elements or themes with Philosophies of Idealism, Realism and Thomism. ·       Two waves of Essentialism in US Education history: 1930s – promoters came from prominent educators and professors vs. progressivism 1950s – reacted to new educ theory called “life adjustment” (personal & social needs of children as priority over academic subjects).  Together with their more contemporary counterparts are business leaders and neo-conservative political forces such as Rickover, Hirsch and Ravitch Both waves of advocates agree to a common view that progressives are to be blamed for the ills of the educational system which are; §  lacking standards, §  prevailing permissiveness resulting to delinquency, unpatriotism, under education of the youth ·       Essentialist educational theory fundamentally aims to transmit to the young a structured and orderly view of reality ·       Foremost advocates are include Willam Chanler Bagley (Colombia University), Michael Demiashkevich, Walter Ryle, M.L. Shane, Gary Whipple, Arthur Bestor (University of Illinois), Max Rafferty, Hymna Rickover, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Chester Finn, Diane Ravitch
Epistemology	·       Conception of reality or knowledge of reality for essentialists is from social, economic and cultural sources rather than methaphysical.   Some Essentialist derive positions from one of either Idealism, Realism or Thomism.
Axiology	·       Conservative view – education’s primary function is transmitting the funded and approved knowledge and values of the culture ·       As being reactionary to progressives, essentialist values are favoring stability, fixedness/already set notions and immutable to change. ·       Has semblance of Liberal perspective which emphasizes knowledge, skills, values (KSA) that enhance social efficiency ·       Opposes certain aspects of Naturalism (such as the stress on educational potency of person’s feelings and emotions, for essentialists the human mind cultivated by intellectual disciplines is primary), Pragmatism (such as open and evolutionary universe of constant change, essentialists prefer a secure and stable reference point) and Existentialism (such as human subjectivity and self-definition, for essentialists transmitting an antecedent curriculum to learners is more important). ·       Suspicious of innovation or change hence essentialist oppose testing curricular or instructional innovations
Goals of Education	·       Training for intellectual life, citizenship, vocation, profession (Essentialism aims to provide academic literacy and build the civic knowledge base of the citizenry).  The belief is that an informed intelligent citizenry will resolve social issues.
Role of the School	·      Specific function – transmit to the young generative skills and general intellectual disciplines to perpetuate cultural heritage o   Schools as agencies of cultural continuity and stability o   Social malaise will be helped with schools that have stable academic environments o   Non-essential for schools – “social adjustment”, career education, consumer education, cooking classes, activities that can be learned elsewhere (dilutes core skills and subjects) ·       Strictly academic role for schools (foundational skills and intellectual subject matters) o   Academic literacy to build civic knowledge base o   Examine issues academically in the subject matter
Curriculum	·       Arthur Bestor, foremost essentialist, prescribes what he calls as Intellectual Disciplines (only 5 essential subjects – History, Math, Science, Foreign Language and English) which should be structured according to scope and sequence.  Emphasis per level is as follows: o   Elementary – reading, writing, artithmetic then general natural science, geography and history o   Junior High School – abstract Math reasoning (algebra then to higher math), the chronological History, discipline-based Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), Foreign Langauage should raise to grammar analysis o   Senior High School – Math should be advance Algebra, Plane Geometry, Trigonometry, Analytic Geometry, Calculus; a Systematic Chemistry, Physics, Biology;  with History focusing on chronological  pattern and structure; a more accurate, lucide and graceful proficiency in English, and learning another new Foreign Language if done with one
Methods	·       Differentiated and organized learning experience for students (does not allow students to organize undifferentiated experiences) through subject matter curriculum with each subject or intellectual discipline organized separately from other subjects (*opposed to integration, multi/interdisciplinary or spiral approach in teaching endorsed and prescribed by K-12 constructivism) with carefully arranged scope and sequence ·       Rejects curricular innovations (such as experimentalist problem-solving and progressive projects) ·       Learning happens when elements of a subject are studied in the context of its discipline and not diluted or muddled by a mix or infusion of other disciplines or non-essentials to the discipline
Views on/of Teacher – Students	·       The role of the teacher is to transmit antecedent (prior existing and approved), structured and ordered curriculum to learners who absorb by training their mental abilities and powers ·       Teachers are academic authority figures (content specialists, skillful organizers of content for instructional purposes) ·       Teachers should have liberal knowledge but grounded on intellectual disciplines. ·       Teachers are mature representatives of culture competent in subject content and instruction
Strengths of Essentialism	·       Emphasizes the role of schools in promoting intellectual disciplines, raising intellectual abilities of students to become effective and functional citizens and workers. ·       Inclined to raising the rigor in learning ·       Systematic in organizing content or knowledge, there is progression in the development of accumulating knowledge and raising intellectual skills.
Criticisms of Essentialism	·       Too compartmentalized to a subject or discipline, disregards the integral nature of the learner and society.  Learning cannot be dichotomized to isolated subjects but exists in dynamic interplay within the person and immersed in society. ·       Disregards the findings of modern research in multiple intelligences of individuals and not solely confined to cognitive skills.
Illustration –  Cite an education reform, trend or issue which can be attributed to Essentialism	By preference, I feel that I am a progressivist but I suppose it was serendipitous that I get the topic on Essentialism.  I have appreciated more its value (renders clarity on importance of knowledge transmission) despite its extreme edges.  I agree with essentialist ideal of primordial importance to intellectual disciplining but it is not all that there is to education.  The human person is not just the mind, especially not solely the mind.  The person of the learner is multifaceted and social context makes it even more like a mosaic. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the US I think the CCSS takes advantage of the strengths of essentialism and other educational theories but essentialism is its dominant driver or hue.  Setting standards, or the floor, cut off or targets of what students are expected to learn at each grade level in the mastery of content is Essentialist. Schools all over the United States are adapting to Common Core State Standards or, as they’re known, the Common Core.  The standards were established as a way to “clearly communicate what is expected of students at each grade level.” (1)   More than the issue of Federal government control over individual State policies, to me, the emphasis of the US in common core is a step of Essentialism, which has its pitfalls.   I wouldn’t say it is exclusively essentialist, but has strong scents of Essentialism.  CCSS of course embraces progressivist interdisciplinary methods or the experimentalists innovative approaches using technology, but the manner it proceeds in strengthening intellectual disciplines or setting targets per subject content such English, Math, Science then eventually history is certainly anchored on essentialist principles. Although, CCSS advocates say it is not a curriculum but are lightposts to target if learning is measured, it still is going back to what’s essential in the content and making sure the learners get it. Looking at the nature of CCSS, which are as follows: The standards are: 1.     Research and evidence based 2.     Clear, understandable, and consistent 3.     Aligned with college and career expectations 4.     Based on rigorous content and the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills 5.     Built upon the strengths and lessons of current state standards 6.     Informed by other top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society (2) The fourth characteristic of the standards is what gives away its essentialist nature. One issue with the common core is reconciling varied context of learners and the culture they are immersed in.  Even with the claim, that the standards “draw on the most important international models, as well as research and input from numerous sources, including educators from kindergarten through college, state departments of education, scholars, assessment developers, professional organizations, parents and students, and members of the public”, educators critical of state standards view them as imposed antecedent curriculum that carry a particular cultural, if not political, agenda. The very strong claim that because the design and content of the standards have been refined through successive drafts and numerous rounds of state feedback, the standards represent a synthesis of the best elements of standards-related work in all states and other countries to date, (2) does not pacify counter-advocates. Another worry about CCSS is testing, the assessment that comes with it.  Because assessment of test results are tied up with teachers evaluation, there is a trend to prepare for the test instead really of genuine learning being the spirit of teaching.   Going back to the essentials of a subject or discipline is good, but it should not swing too far as to neglect the aspects of emotions and the soul.  Fundamentally, the human person is multi-faceted and intelligence is a web rather than a folder where files are neatly stacked.  Standardized tests cannot evaluate complex thought, can be culturally biased and will not be able to evaluate non-verbal (Strauss, 2012).  CCSS impinges traditional core subject standards into the diverse environment of learning and intellectual exploration and these will be what US kids are required to know and tested on.  For me, in its pure form, Essentialism will be harmful.  It can be one-sidedly developing one aspect of the learner, his mental knowledge, hence a tendency to promote intellectualism, and detrimentally neglecting other important areas.  The issue of loving, as a value or concept, for instance is a good phenomenon to point out.  It’s a human aspect which is both social and emotional but also involves the head.  Intellectuals may succeed in explaining or understanding the elements and examples of love, or other values for that matter, but when confronted with dealing with issues of real loving relationships, intellectuals usually falter.  If schools do not train students to manage emotions, a training on awareness and self-control or the socio-emotional learning, they end up making wrong decisions in intellectualizing love and relations. Improving education, raising learning levels of students, is not solely resolved by essentialist approach more particularly if by imposed standards.  The bigger question is how to support teaching in the ground to reach standard level for learners.  Support means not just availability of excellent resources such as adequate budget for teachers and teachers improvement but also the issue of equitable access to these resources by those on the ground.  It would be too reductionist to put all hope for school improvement in a vacuum of standards alone. The following case of common core implementation in New Jersey stresses this point.  “At the time, the New Jersey Supreme Court was an unusually progressive and foresighted court, and it responded to the state's proposal for standards with a series of landmark decisions that speak to some of the same issues raised today by the Common Core. The court agreed that standards for what schools should teach and students should learn seemed like a good idea. But standards don't deliver themselves. They require well-prepared and supported professional staff, improved instructional resources, safe and well-equipped facilities, reasonable class sizes, and—especially if they are supposed to help schools compensate for the inequality that exists all around them—a host of supplemental services like high quality preschools, expanded summer and after-school programs, health and social services, and more. In effect, the court said adopting “high expectations” curriculum standards was like passing out a menu from a fine restaurant. Not everyone who gets a menu can pay for the meal. So the court tied New Jersey's core curriculum standards to the most equitable (and seemingly generous) school funding mandates in the country.” (3) The danger with essentialist standards imposed from above is that it can become sanitized versions of history, politics, and culture that reinforce official myths of bureaucrats and politicians.  In dealing with education reform, we must look beyond and around to include not just the essential content and rigors of the disciplines but also the variables and resources needed to support learning rigorous essential content. Having distilled Essentialism as a educational theory through this assignment also made me think and look back into the inclinations or leanings of our different teachers.  Apparently, it helped me identify who adheres to essentialism and who inclines toward a different school of thought.  It’s an important context to understand as I try to put my learning and/or realizations together.
References: (1)  Tyre, Peg, Common Core: What it means to American Education. April 13, 2013.  http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/30/common-core-standards-means-american-education. Retrieved June 2, 2015. (2)  Read the Standards, http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/. Retrieved June 2, 2015. (3)  Karp, Stan, Problems with the Common Core, http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/28_02/28_02_karp.shtml, retrieved June 2, 2015.

Some Thoughts on Education - Reformation & Counter-Reformation

Thanks to Prof. Rhodora Nicdao, Ph.D., for the opportunity to learn these things. 

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A. Highlights of the historical period

	Period:     14th, 15th, 16th & 17th Centuries
CONTEXT	Protestant Reformers toward Education							Counter-reformation (Catholic Reformers)
	The period of Renaissance brought in Humanism which ushered changes that ushered in calls for reforms in the Church-dominated countries of Europe. Prominent leaders were Martin Luther (1483 -1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564).							Reactions or responses within the Catholic Church to the call for reforms accelerated by protestant revolts. Education was the vehicle embarked on by the Catholic reformers – teaching orders and congregations established, parish schools reorganized, Catholic children were trained and seminaries for training of priests put up. Most notable orders during the period concerned with teaching of the boys: ·       Society of Jesus founded by Ignatius of Loyola ·       Brethren of Christian Schools established by Jean Baptiste de La Salle ·       Jansenists who were followers of Dutch bishop Cornelis Jansen who establiahed the Little Schools of Port Royal ·       Education for the girls promoted by Archbisop Fenelon of Cambrai, a modern theorist on the education of women which encouraged girls’ schools run by nuns: ·       Order of Ursulines ·       Sisters of Notre Dame ·       Sisters of St. Joseph
	Protestant Reformers diverged in fundamental issues in dogma with those of the Catholic Church as follows:
	·       Individual authority to interpret the Bible ·       Individual judgment to determine truth in Scriptures to guide duty and conduct ·       Only abiding faith in God’s mercy  (inner piety and good will enough) to be saved			·       Authority of church as infallible on faith and moral practice ·       Collective judgment in determining truth to guide duty and conduct ·       Rituals through masses, penance or charity and good works (renounce self or the world) to be saved
	The divergence created ideals that affected the way education was provided in Europe under the hegemony of the Catholic Church.  Such principles as the state and church must provide for educational opportunities or that the church, state and home must work together to educate the youth emerged.  These principles were departures from the ideal of the Medieval period.							Culmination of reform efforts inside the Catholic church culminated with the Council of Trent (1545-1563).
AIMS	·       Provide religious and moral character education to make a person live a worthy life on earth in preparation for a glorious life hereafter. o   Religion as highest interest to achieve in life o   Education should also provide adequate training in duties of home, occupation, the church and the state (able to discharge all duties) o   Development of physical, mental and moral powers for personal salvation and society’s moral regeneration ·       Emphasis of training of children by parents in the right way (“good parenting which means teaching children to know and fear God is the way to heaven” ·       Aims for the 3 Ideals of hybrid of religious morality and the classics (ideals of the past) o   Intelligence (influenced by Greek, Roman periods & of Humanism) §  Elegant expression §  Rational inquiry §  Public service o   Social virtue (influenced by chivalry) §  Good manners §  Social service o   Piety (Christian influence) §  Personal piety							Ultimate aim is religious moralism. Preparation for a pious life on earth for a glorious life hereafter. Similar goals with the Protestant Reformation – religious moralism (chaste and pious moral character with loyalty to the Church and attain salvation of their souls) Differ with Protestant Reformers on immediate objectives: 1. subjection of individual to institutional control vs. protestant individual interpretation of the Bible 2. obedience to the authority of the Church vs. protestant exhaltation of individual reason and faith In practice, the Protestant reformation did not differ in objectives with the Catholic reformers because protestant education did not adhere to the ideals of their founders in education as clearly seen in their actual methods in education.  Aims of Jesuit schools were to train leaders to advance the cause of the Church – fluent Latin readers and speakers, disciplined and loyal to the Church and competent to teach the Christian way of life. Aims of Lasalle brothers were to provide Christian education to the children of artisans and the poor.  Together with the Jansenists, the formation of young boys and girls to be guardians of Christian homes and responsible members of a Christian society.
TYPE	There were varied types of education that concurrently existed in the period.  In the whole, however, the varied training is geared toward work which suited appropriately to the social system prevailing during the period, the rise of Capitalism. The types included: ·       Moral training ·       Social training ·       Civic training ·       Vocational training ·       Domestic training ·       Minimal training on Physical development and music in as much as it advances religious instruction ·       High education for church & state leaders							Religious and moral Instruction by schools. Vocational and domestic training primarily left to homes and parents Intellectual training in higher education which assisted service to the Church. For the Jesuits, training for mission work, pastoral duties, ministering to the sick or the poor. Attention to physical training  through sports and games was remarkable among the Jesuits during the period of counter-reformation. Emphasis on professional training of teachers – graduate schools of Law, medicine, Theology were developed especially by the Jesuits. Both the Jesuits and Lasalle brothers were noted for their careful selection and training of teachers.
	Home: -most of the  practical training in trade whether professional, commercial or industrial -by apprenticeships and home duties		Home & School -- Vernacular-primary (elem) level: -most of the moral training -compulsory (all social classes, boys & girls)				School-- Higher level: -for ministry and magistrate training (pastors or civil servants)
CONTENT	·       Mainly the study of the Bible especially in the elementary (common-vernacular level) o   Religion as the heart of the curriculum o   Bible as the principal textbook o   Supplement: catechesis by Luther, hymns and Aesop’s fables ·       Developing the basic reading skill ·       Practical arts of trade & home (Luther firmly believed in vocational training) ·       Humanistic subjects and Protestanism							Curriculum for the elementary schools run by the Lasalle Brothers covered the 4 Rs – reading, writing, elementary arithmetic and religion (emphasis on religion). Jesuits developed the broadest curricula in Secondary and higher education. ·       Studia inferior -corresponds to the German Gymnasien and the English Latin grammar schools -study of Latin, selected Latin classics, Greek literature, prescribed textbooks, history geography, science, mathematics studied as means to understand classic authors -study of language, literature and supplementary subjects  correlated to religious and moral training ·       Studia superior -corresponds to the protestant universities -scholastic philosophy (based of Aristotle) especially in the Jesuit college, study of Latin classics, logic, rhetoric, theology (based on Aquinas), oriental languages Jansen schools were considered advanced schools in the study of literature (survey of classical literature), Latin grammar, Mathematics, logic, teachers lead by example of pious lifestyle.
	Primary-vernacular level curriculum	Secondary level curriculum				Universities
	Religion Reading Writing Singing Physical training Trades and crafts House duties	Preparation for the clergy Latin Greek Hebrew Dialectic Mathematics Logic Rhetoric Eloquence History Natural science Music gymnastics				Biblical interpretation (replacing Theology) Medicine Law Philosophy Scientific studies
AGENCIES	·       Home (family) o   Luther believes that the foundation of the social order is the family esp. in the training of children, discipline and keeping a sound family life) o   Calvin insists on church-supervised homes where parents are compel to send children to schools (homes are even subject to inspection by the church) ·       Civil authorities o   The state is mandated to establish and support schools (in protestant countries, Theocracy is the system as when the religion of the ruler is the religion of the subjects) o   Laws are enacted to support the schools (which should conform to the pastor’s ideas) ·       Teachers o   They were considered as instruments of educations o   High value placed on teachers and the teaching profession o   Most teachers were university educated or ministers o   School masters were closely supervised and guided by the Protestant church (attendance to regular worship and loyalty to government is expected)							AGENCIES & ORGANIZATION Three types of schools: Elementary (mainly under the auspices of the Lasalle Brothers), Secondary and higher school (championed by the Jesuits particularly and the Jansenists).  All were church supported and controlled. Jesuits showed genius for organization of schools. They considered most effective institutions of learning. ·       Ratio Studiorum (Plan of Studies, 1599) – details of administration of schools, courses and programs of study, selection of training of teachers, techniques for teaching and methods of discipline (the first and complete Manual of Education at that time). ·       Heirarchical organization of authority from the General to the Provincials and within the schools from Prefect of Studies to Prefect of Discipline, House Prefects, Teachers and Monitors. ·       Clear and systematic groupings of students: o   Secondary school: §  5 classes – Infirma, media, suprema, humanitas, rhetorica §  those training to be Jesuit priests take on 2 years novitiate o   Higher school §  3 year arts course (faculty of philosophy) §  2 year teacher training (juniorate) §  5 years practice teaching (regency) §  for priesthood, 4-year theology follows §  ordination and tertianship year Lasalle Brothers had a counterpart manual to run the elementary schools– Conduct of Schools. ·       Organized special training schools for teachers (1685), required for all teachers to undergo before any assignment ·       Expanded educational activities eventually to industrial schools, reform schools, commercial schools, secondary schools and colleges. Jansenists organized school for boys under the “Gentlemen” and schools for girls under the nuns.  Schools were kept small and classes limited to as few as six pupils.
ORGANIZATION	·       There were three (3) parallel systems or organizations providing education together with the home ·       Not sequentially ladderized but parallel more like a dual-system of education ·       Gymnasium system started by Strum in Germany has the beginnings and influenced the organization of most European education until now ·       Gymnasium by Strum has 10 class organization with 1 class covering 1 whole year much like our present day grade level (so like 10 grades) ·       Calvin Academy also organized by 7 classes or grades ·       Laid the ground for modern day educational system (elementary, secondary and university)				Common-vernacular (elementary) -emphasizes reading, writing, religion
					Classical Secondary -humanism together with religion and morals -Saxony system which was a plan laid out by Calvin is organized by levels starting from beginners, Latin grammar and advanced level.
					University -Humanism - Medicine, Law, Philosophy, Scientific studies
METHODS	·       Method used is called Ciceronianism which are formal methods ·       Elementary level methods consist of reading by pronunciation, memorized catechesis, Gospels and Epistles, hymn and psalms ·       Secondary level methods mainly are memorization of the classics ·       Luther’s ideal methods are heavily influenced by teachings of Cicero, Quintillian, Plato and Aristole.  In Luther’s imagined method, education should be: o   Where study is pleasant o   Classrooms are attractive o   Lessons adjusted to capacity of the child o   Promotion is according to ability (most bright especially) ·       In practice, Protestant methods of education were very formalistic o   Rigid teaching o   Harsh discipline o   Divorced from outside-the-classroom realities o   Mostly religious indoctrination							All teaching orders made distinct contributions to development of educational method (pedagogy). ·       Jesuits – geared to doing small amount of work at a time, doing it well and making sure it’s retained (not many but much and with mastery); prelection and repittion emphasized o   Prelection – teacher taking his pupils over the work of the lesson to be mastered next (like a comprehensive course syllabus discussion) – explaining the general meaning of the lesson, matters of syntax and grammar, then all historical, geographic, literary and allusions to the rhetorical elements and the moral lessons; adapting lessons to abilities and interests of students; questioning used to enlist active participation in the lower classes, lectures in higher classes. o   Repitition – “repititio mater studiorum est”; first part of the day’s lesson repeats the previous days lesson, each week ending with the review of the week’s work; the last month of the year given to review of the year’s work ·       Jesuits were pioneers in development of devices for motivation: o   Utilizing desire to please parents and teachers, sense of duty, stimulating natural instincts of rivalry and emulation (pupil-pupil rivalry along equal ability, rival groups, camps and honor societies) ·       Lasalle Christian Brothers were the first to grade elementary school pupils into classes according to ability ·       Jansenists taught reading using phonetics or using beginning sound, insisted on the method of understanding first then memorization; motivation methods were auto-emulation (appeals to surpass past efforts) ·       Discipline was emphasized in all the Catholic Reformation schools and carefully supervised. o   Daily devotions o   Firm Jesuit discipline methods with corporal punishment as a last resort for extreme misconduct administered only by the Corrector (not the teacher); disciplinary powers delegated to pupil officials (a type of student governance system) o   Jansenist discipline relied on affection of the child and the zeal of the teacher never on any corporal punishment o   Lasalle Christian Brothers’ schools employed corporal punishment to enforce discipline under clear and specific conditions and extent.

B. Analysis

1. How was learning defined in the period of Reformation and Counter-reformation?

Learning during the period of Reformation and counter-reformation was mainly moral education, dictated by both the Protestant and Catholic Churches.  They aim to influence or form the person to live righteously as preparation for spiritual existence.   Teaching is dependent on the Church ministers and priests as sources of knowledge (morality, truth, God) and learning was mainly the formation of the conscience. 

Training in the functional abilities was largely the duties of the home through apprenticeships and guilds.  Higher learning is mainly elitist as access to the classicl works of literature and Philosophies were accessible to those intending to be ministers or priests.  education or higher learning, education for the masses is mainly the skill to read religious materials.

The venture of the Jesuits into higher education and the charism of this teaching order of “finding God in all things” also brought higher education to achievements and the rise of scholars in math and science.  Although firmly loyal to the church and prescribing strongly what to be learned and taught, the attitude of using things learned in as much as it serves the work of mission promoted a conducive climate for higher education.

2. Describe the educated person during the period.

An educated person is one who has learned how to read in Latin or Greek and can explain the classic work of Philosophers of Greece and Rome.  An educated person necessarily has to come from a higher social class.  For the common people, an educated person is one who is able to understand the language used in the Bible and catechetical text much as access to elementary school is universal and most often compulsory. 

3. Social class determined the degree of access that a person can have whether he reaches to university education or not.  Artisans can access up to elementary education only while sons and even daughters, especially in the period of Counter-reform, of nobility can go as far as university education (daughters however may reach only to as far as secondary education).  Opportunities of girls to be educated is limited in the higher level as mainly this level of education is intended to prepare ministers or priests, who are of course male.  The female is still predominantly trained in the lower levels of education for domestic duties.

4. Curriculum in both the Protestant Reform schools and the Catholic reform schools (Jesuits, Lasalle, jansenists) were common in emphasizing religion and character education.  The development of higher education though opened specializations in Mathematics, Science, Law, Medicine and Theology or Religion.

5. Protestant reform schools eventually reduced to the unitary indoctrination of students in its teaching methods despite Luther’s ideal of a “pleasant, conducive and interesting classroom adapted to the child’s level of ability”.  In the counter-reformist schools a more systematic and planned methods of teaching emerged.  The pride of working in a Jesuit school sets in me knowing that the Jesuits pioneered several methods of teaching still in use to this day and contributed significantly to the development of educational pedagogy both in practice and theory.  Modern educational research has in fact affirmed the undying methods laid down by St. Ignatius through the framework and approach of the Spiritual Exercises applied to education.

6. The Reformation schools greatly contributed to the organization of contemporary education in the way it structured education by grades or classes.  The Gymnasium of Germany and the Calvin Academy pioneered in this effort.  In a sense, the reform and counter-reform period highlighted the role of education both in sustaining or maintaining the church and the state.

Much of the set-up now in contemporary education progressing from elementary to secondary to university or higher education has its beginnings and consolidation during the Reform-Counter Reform period.  The kind of education that the Jesuits and the Lasalle Brothers began and codified in the 14^th to the 17^th centuries are very much present and institutionalized in today’s education in the world.  Many timeless practices still prevail.

C. Illustration.

In Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu, the Jesuit tradition of Ignatian education is very much embraced.  Curricular planning and implementation is abundant with the same principles that built the Reformation schools of the early Jesuits.  Ignatian Pedagogy is practiced still with the emphasis on ensuring the interplay of experience-reflection-action in the learning experience design and implementation.

www.ignatianspirituality.com

The animation in the sports and the arts by the Jesuits in the early years of Counter-reformation especially are very much the same spirit that is the climate of the school now, mens sana en corpore sano, “a sound mind in a sound body” is the same guide for the school until now.

The way discipline is handled, firm and concerned of the child, and closely supervised by Prefects is the same framework, system and spirit as the early Jesuit schools.

One important realization for me in this study of the period which fortunately included an appreciation of early Jesuit education is the value of two methods of teaching specifically prelectio and repititio.  Both principles are still observed in our teachers’ lesson design and somehow in its implementation but as far as a structure for it is concerned, it is not very much in place anymore. 

In the prelectio of early Jesuit schools, it involved the teacher taking his pupils over the work of the lesson to be mastered next (like a comprehensive course syllabus discussion), explaining the general meaning of the lesson, matters of syntax and grammar, including all historical, geographic, literary and allusions to the rhetorical elements as well as the moral lessons and, more importantly, adapting lessons to abilities and interests of students.  Prelectio is comprehensive and gives the student a clear big- picture view of the lesson.  This is a practice we need to strengthen in our lesson design and practice. 

Repititio is another principle that needs deepening in our contemporary practice.  The early Jesuit schools employ repetition by recap of previous day’s lesson as the first part of the day’s lesson then a recap of each week’s lesson as an ending lesson and the last month of the year as review of the year’s work.  There is a clear cycle and conscious effort to recall and master the lessons for the day, week, month and year.  This cycle is further strengthened by the method of “questioning to enlist active participation” of students or in contemporary parlance, to draw out what students learn which is the checking for understanding or use of formative assessments (a modern way of trying to see how much students have learned while we’re teaching).

Taking the context of our time, circumstance and culture, these principles still hold promise and value for us at Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu.  If we want a do more for supporting the learning and growth of our students, re-envigorating, re-articulating and distinctively manifesting these principles in our teaching practice will enrich our Ignatian nature as a school.

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