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THE LASALLIAN HERITAGE 1679-1995
RECCB/REB: Christian Brothers Conference
St. John Baptist de La Salle opened his first school in Reims, his birthplace in north-eastern France, in 1679. He was convinced that without Christian schools some poor children would be lost both to the Church and to civil society. His initial efforts led him to organize the teachers whose services he had secured into a religious community called the Brothers of the Christian Schools. De La Salle inspired these teachers with the following principle: “You are under the obligation to instruct the poor. You should therefore have a great tenderness towards them and supply their spiritual needs to the best of your ability, looking upon these children as members of Jesus Christ and as his much loved ones” (Meditation for the feast of St. Nicholas). Over a period of thirty years, he opened schools in several French cities and towns and worked with numerous teachers and students from various socio-economic levels. By the time of his death he had founded different types of educational institutions: primary schools, teacher training centers, boarding schools, and homes for delinquents.
Alert to the needs of his time, he was an innovator in the development of teacher training programs and in curricular and pedagogical practices. Teachers ranked with servants in seventeenth century France. De La Salle, however, recognized that teachers stand in a providential and grace-filled relationship to children. Because of the special dignity of this calling, he provided teachers with extensive pedagogical preparation and on-going supervision. In consultation with his teachers, de La Salle designed a curriculum and wrote practical and effective textbooks infused with gospel values. De La Salle was one of the early proponents of universal education. Although de La Salle’s schools were primarily for the poor, they attracted children from families of differing economic backgrounds. However, he tolerated nothing of the social segregation which was the practice of the day. He prescribed uniform management procedures for the classroom instruction of students from different social and academic levels.
De La Salle regarded a school as a community of believers working cooperatively to achieve a shared vision. De La Salle envisioned teachers as ministers of grace who exercise their vocation daily by instructing youth in the principles of the gospel as well as in the various academic and vocational subjects. His teachers thus helped young people to commit themselves to the teachings of the gospel, to develop loyalty to the Catholic Church, and to prepare themselves for productive citizenship.
De La Salle’s educational ideas are embodied in several major works: The Rule of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Meditations for the Time of Retreat, and The Management of Schools, as well as in the textbooks he wrote for students. His contributions to Catholic education led Pope Pius XII in 1950 to proclaim him the Patron of Teachers.
Today, students in more than 80 countries throughout the world receive their education in Lasallian schools which differ greatly in terms of clientele, curriculum, and methodology as well as in social and cultural conditions. These schools are unified in their Lasallian heritage.
The Teacher
At the core of the Lasallian school is the teacher. De La Salle views the teacher as God’s special minister of grace to students and envisions the teacher as one called to play a special part in God’s providential plan for the young person. The Lasallian teacher grows in holiness by exercising the ministry of education in a zealous manner and by sharing responsibility for the effectiveness of the total school. Lasallian teachers view the ministry of education as a central component of their spiritual development. Therefore, one’s personal commitment to the spiritual, academic, and vocational formation of students is a means of living a Christ-centered life. In the Lasallian school, teachers, administrators, counselors, and other personnel share this educational ministry.
De La Salle charges the teaching minister to see all things through the eyes of faith. He encourages the teaching ministers to recognize God’s continual presence and His guiding spirit both in themselves and in the hearts and minds of students. Such faith expresses itself in a zeal for the spiritual and temporal welfare of students and in a wholehearted commitment to what is best for their total formation. This zeal leads the Lasallian teacher to work with all students in a loving manner and to give special attention to those students who are most in need.
Association
In the Lasallian school, teaching ministers come together as brothers and sisters in association based on a common acceptance of gospel values and on a shared desire to foster these values in their own lives and in the lives of students. They work in mutual charity, that is, with tolerance, generosity, patience, humor, and humility. Lasallian teachers nourish and sustain the spiritual, personal, and professional development of each individual. They cooperate with each other in order to make possible a collegial style of administration and decision making. They witness publicly to their Lasallian charism and manifest an openness to all who wish to associate themselves with their ideals. This lived expression of shared values attracts students and others and invites participation in the life of the Lasallian school.
Management of Schools
The Lasallian School is a Christian school which serves in the teaching mission of the Catholic Church. Among its chief concerns are the religious instruction, religious formation, academic preparation, and cultural development of its students. By examining the changing demands of society and recognizing the individual needs of students, teachers create appropriate programs of studies and activities.
The Lasallian school is characterized by the importance it gives to the education of the working class and the poor. It seeks vigorously and enthusiastically to attract students from various economic levels, academic abilities, racial communities, and ethnic backgrounds. At the same time, the Lasallian school fosters among its students attitudes of tolerance and sensitivity to the individuality of all, of genuine concern for justice and peace, and of service to fellow students and others in the community.
The Lasallian school gives priority to the Christian instruction and formation of its students. It offers a formal program of religious instruction and integrates gospel values into all subjects. The prominence of a religious atmosphere in the Catholic tradition fosters apostolic service projects, private and communal prayer, and liturgical celebrations.
The Lasallian school commits itself to academic excellence in response to the needs, goals, and abilities of the students it attracts. It provides programs which enable the students to realize their academic and personal potential and to participate productively in society. It includes a curriculum which exposes students to the humanities, physical and social sciences, mathematics, and fine arts. Teaching strategies and methodologies enable students to become flexible, inquiring, and critical thinkers.
De La Salle advises his teachers to pray for the ability to touch the hearts of the students. This gift unifies the Lasallian association in the creation of a disciplined structure which challenges young persons to accept the responsibilities of their vocation as students. Teachers, by their love and care, encourage students to grow in leadership and personal responsibility.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What aspects of your ministry do you feel are part of the Lasallian Heritage? Why?
2. What aspects of your ministry seem to be preventing you from continuing the heritage of De La Salle? Why?
3. What are some ways that you can “hand on” this heritage (tradition) to others?
4. What do you believe to be the future of the Lasallian school?
5. What will be your role in this future?
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