Fr. Roberto Boholst SJ is the Director of the the four-year old Colegio de Santo Inacio de Loyola at Kasait, East Timor, and Jesuit Education Delegate of the Independent Region of East Timor. Here he writes about his experiences and insights from the JCAP Colloquium on the 4 Cs held at the Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from the 21st to 23rd of September 2016.
Educators, both Jesuits and lay, from all over Asia and the Pacific gathered in Jogjakarta, Indonesia from September 21 to 23 for an in-depth discussion of the implementation of the so-called “4 Cs” in our schools: Competence, Conscience, Compassion, and Commitment. Fr. Jose A. Mesa, S.J., the Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of the Society of Jesus was the keynote speaker.
The group photo of all the delegates after the colloquium
Like many of the participants, I was actually hesitant to come and attend the colloquium because I thought that what else is there to know about the 4 Cs? Nothing new. However, my superior, who happens to be the JCAP President, Fr. Mark Raper SJ, creatively encouraged me, especially because our education project in East Timor is very young. We are still defining our particular school mission and identity, so the conversations would surely help us.
Fr. Bert Boholst SJ confers with his CSIL colleagues.
I am happy to have come and listened to the inputs and stories of Fr. Jose because he gave a global perspective that was very enriching and inspiring. Sometimes, in our isolation, we may feel we have the heaviest problems in the world. Yet after listening to others, especially the questions and reflections of the veteran educators, there is that sense of belongingness, oneness, solidarity, and a certain sense of identification to the joys and challenges of forming the young digital minds and broken hearts of today.
Fr. Jose Mesa SJ was the keynote speaker.
The presentation of Fr. A Bagus Laksana, S.J., Ph.D., entitled “Against Impoverished Vision: Compassionate Commitment and the Challenge of Jesuit Education in Contemporary Society,” was a confirmation of what we have been talking about at our schools. Our students are changing every year. Each batch is unique. And it seems like they are becoming more and more difficult to handle. We have to acknowledge the wide generation gap, and the changing life situations we are facing today.
Fr. Jose Mesa SJ with some of the delegates including Fr. Stephen Chow SJ of the Chinese Province
This colloquium has deepened and widened my understanding of the 4 Cs, not simply as a list of values to emphasize in our schools; but as a way of life, a way of proceeding, and a framework of our understanding of the Jesuit brand of education. Fr. Jose emphasized that Jesuit education works only when it touches the heart. We have to listen to our digital students. We have to educate by example. Fr. Jose also explained that Jesuit education has been always eclectic, taking good practices from other traditions and philosophies of education, but we do them in a very Ignatian way, the magis, with greater depth. Our classrooms have been always student-centered, but also at the same time, teacher-driven, so that it is very important to have good teachers. And in all that we do, we always go back to our roots and foundations, the Spiritual Exercises that has given us a particular way of doing things, inside and outside of the classroom.
All photos courtesy of Fr. Boholst, SJ, except for the last one, which was furnished by Fr. Stephen Chow, SJ.
