This report is written by John Gilles of St. Ignatius, Riverview Australia, one of the lead facilitators of the recently held Ignatian Teacher Program (or ITP) in Sydney, Australia. It’s the third–and last–of the workshops offered by JCAP’s IGNITE (Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence) this year.
The 2017 Ignatian Teacher Program, held last November 12 to 17, was a meeting of hearts and minds.
Drawing together senior educators and administrators from the Asia Pacific region, delegates from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Philippines, China and Taiwan travelled to Sydney, Australia for two core purposes: First, to encourage dialogue between significant educational trends, Ignatian Spirituality and Ignatian Pedagogy,; secondly, to contribute to the invigoration of Jesuit Education within the framework of the global network of Jesuit secondary educational institutions
ITP 2017!
Delegates were welcomed to the conference by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, and quickly undertook the task and coming to know one another. Monday’s theme was Teaching and Learning, with a particular focus on Integrated Learning and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education.
The best part about the workshop was the sharing of experiences from diverse contexts.
Tuesday saw delegates investigate the role of a Companion through the lens of Holy Conversation and growth coaching, with the assistance of Fr Ross Jones SJ. Wednesday was a cultural day, beginning with the story of Australian Catholicism through the experience of St Mary’s Cathedral, its Mother Church.
Fr Ross Jones SJ, Rector of St. Ignatius Riverview, drops by the workshop to share his thoughts about Jesuit education.
Thursday and Friday focused on the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and the broader picture of Jesuit Education, and delegates were fortunate to hear from Ms Jennie Hickey, Delegate for Education of the Australian Province of the Society of Jesus.
The fruits from the small group sharing were eventually shared with the plenum.
The hope of the organisers of the Ignatian Teacher Program was to facilitate an experience of Ignatian Pedagogy through the conference itself. As such, reflection time was structured into the program, both individually and communally. One of the highlights of the days together was the sharing of the experience of Jesuit Education, drawing us all more deeply into this gift that we all share, and inspiring the obligation to grow our school communities in authenticity to this charism.
Martin Carl from Xavier High School, Micronesia, leads the sharing among the participants in this mixed group.
The last activity of the conference was an exercise in reflection that assisted with clarifying the desired actions of delegates once they returned to their homes and school communities. The Commissioning Mass was one of lifted spirits, encouraging delegates to remain faithful to the high ideals of collaboration and networking that had characterised the previous days.
As in every IGNITE workshop, the participants learned from inputs that came from fellow practitioners.
Ron Capinding of the Ateneo de Manila Junior High School has this to say about the experience: “JCAP’s Ignatian Teacher Program revitalised the Ignatian values within me, allowed me to understand education in Jesuit Schools as a global apostolate, and inspired me to dream further for my school in terms of caring for and forming our students and school personnel. After the JCAP, I am back in my school with a renewed and deepened sense of mission and identity, and greater passion to offer the best for each student brought to our care.”
Congratulations to the participants, and a big “thank you” to Fr. Ross Jones and the awesome Riverview team led by John Gilles, with Gus Masters, Sally Tranter, Angela Pollicino, and Jennie Hickey.