1st INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON ACI EDUCATION

ATLANTIC EUROPE PROVINCE – 20-21 FEBRUARY 2015 – PORTO

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PARTICIPANTS

Maria Vaz Pinto, aci

Institut de l’Alma:

Williatte Gonzague

Dominique Coutty-Lubin

Bertrand Vicarini

Verónique Degrotte

Angeles Rodriguez, aci

Saint Raphaela’s Primary e Secondary School:

Mary Corr, aci

Rory Burke

Eileen O'Donnell

Mick Sheridan

Saint Christina’s School:

Paula Mortimer

Joan McConnell

Gemma Raimondo

Noella Pereira, aci

Externato Escravas do Sagrado Coração de Jesus:

Isabel Alves

Irene Guia, aci

Ana Pinto

Rita Pereira da Silva

Antero Santos

Filomena Sá

Isabel Milheiro

Maria José Gonçalves, aci

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AGENDA

FRIDAY, 20 February 2015

09H00: Arrival at School

09h15: Official Opening of the Meeting by Maria Vaz Pinto,aci (Provincial)

09h30: Introduction of the participants and Schools presentations (15minutes)

11h00: Coffe break

11h20: Conference “Saint Raphaela Maria and Education” – Mary Corr,aci-

Principal of Primary School - Stillorgan

12h15: Group sessions

13h15: Lunch

14h15: Visit to School

15h15: Assembly

16h16: Best Practices: UK + France

17h15: Visit to Porto/Dinner/Return to Hotel

SATURDAY, 21 February 2015

09h00: Arrival at School

09h15: Conference “Pedagogy of the Heart – Challenges in current times” – Isabel Alves, Headteacher of Externato ESC Jesus – Oporto 10h15: Coffebreak

11h45: Group Sessions

11h45: Assembly

12h45: Adoration

13h30: Lunch

14h45: Best Practices: Ireland + Portugal

15h45: Evaluation/Suggestions

16h30: Closing – Irene Guia,aci

16h45: Visit to Porto/Dinner/Return to Hotel

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Official opening of the Meeting

Maria Vaz Pinto,aci (Sister Provincial)

Welcome to this land, to this school and to this Meeting.

As you know, more than one year ago, our Congregation decided to unite the existing

communities and missions in France, UK, Ireland and Portugal, in an effort to reorganize

and better take advantage of our human and material resources for the Mission.

The Church, in the previous Synod of the Bishops, in 2012, launched a challenge not to

give up the old Europe and invest in a New Evangelization. New in terms of period, new

in methods, new in impulse...We wanted to respond. Thus we united our 4 countries.

Today, we are here united to “make History”...because this is the first Meeting of the

Management Staff of the 5 schools in the new Province of Atlantic Europe. It sounds

great sounds, does it not? It sounds very important!

We want it to become important: we wish it to be the beginning of a work of

collaboration, of training, of being together in reflection and in sharing of best practices,

striving to attain the best for our students.

We want to prepare them conveniently for the labor market, for research, the arts,

letters and sciences...; We want to prepare them to become active and critical citizens,

building Justice and Peace around them, taking care of Creation, promoting

profoundness and interiority and have a conscious and committed Faith...In a word, we

wish to prepare them for Life, the World and Love. That is what we have in common.

On the other hand, we, the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, have a very rich

tradition that it would be a waste not to know and not to use. At the origins of our

Congregation, in 1877, there was the fervent wish to respond to two great needs of that

time: Education- mainly for those who did not have access to education: the “poor girls”,

as the Foundresses called them. And to proclaim the Love of God, that saves, heals,

reconciles and repairs.. which is so close to us through the Incarnation in Jesus Christ

and becomes present in the Eucharist.

These are also the needs of our time. As the sisters ,then, listened to the voice of the

Spirit to find a way to should meet the needs and difficulties of that time and

circumstances in the most appropriate way, the same Holy Spirit prompts us to give a

response that will face the difficulties that we now encounter. One has to search, one

has to discern and one has to act accordingly.

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I'm grateful and pleased to see that this Meeting is very well organized: the room is

beautifully done, the posters, all the details, the organized tours. All that Irene and the

school staff have so carefully and attentively prepared, will certainly contribute to

create a great atmosphere...but the fruits we expect out of this Encounter go much

beyond this...

We will be listening to two lectures, on “Saint Raphaela Mary and Education” and on the

“Pedagogy of the Heart”, that together with the Ignatius Spirituality make up our

teaching style. I'm certain that these lectures will enrich us...We will also discuss best

practices, which will give us some good ideas and possibly, we will start the week filled

with enthusiasm with what we have seen and heard....But the fruits of the Meeting will

go beyond...

It is not so much what we will listen that will make a difference, but what each one of us

will give on its turn. All our wealth, all our uniqueness, if shared, given and received,

will make this Meeting a change provoking moment, that will lead us further and that

will be lasting.

This is the dynamics of the Eucharist. It is what the Lord does with our small loaf... He

takes it- receives and keeps it- in His hands; He blesses it- thanks what we give him and

is thankful for who we are; that He divides and distributes it....and, that small loaf

shared amongst all, will nurture us all and there will be leftovers...so be it with our

sharing today!

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Raphaela – Her Spirit of Education in Our Schools Today

Mary Corr,aci

I was delighted when Sr. Irene invited me to share some of my thoughts about Raphaela

and her Spirit in our schools since this is a subject which has energized and challenged

me in almost equal measure over the last thirty years of working in our schools. But it is

not something that I have ever spoken about before so I was at a bit of a loss where to

begin! My first thought was to go back into her letters, her life, and simply tell her story

illustrating it with lots of good quotations and historical data. But then, on further

reflection, I began to think, no, much of that material is familiar to almost all of us

already. Surely it would be more helpful to reflect on how we engage with her spirit of

education in the lived experience of our day to day life in school.

Indeed, from a personal perspective this talk is most timely given that within our school

in Dublin where I have been working for the past fourteen years as principal we are

facing a period of transition. We are currently in the process of appointing my

successor. The school is going to move on in a new stage of its journey. We feel a need

to reflect once again on who we are, what motivates us, what it is seek to achieve and

how we measure success.

I’m hoping that you can help us!

With this in mind I’d like to begin by reminding us of a little of Raphaela’s story so as to

give a little bit of context to her founding vision. I’ll then try and name some of what I

feel are her core values , and share how these are translated into the context within

which I am working.

I’d also like to share of the very real challenges that I face in living these values within

the demands of a busy large primary school. I hope that in so doing we can then open a

conversation about your experience of Raphaela and her way of educating in the hope

that we might offer each other a word of encouragement and support.

Raphaela was born in the small town of Pedro Abad in Andalucia in 1850. She was born

into a very loving large family to a life of privilege since her father was a landowner and

mayor of their small town. We know from her writing that even as a very young girl

Raphaela had a very deep personal relationship with God. She had an acute awareness

of the pain of humanity probably learned from her parents who looked after the local

people with enormous generosity. Her father died when she was only five from cholera

contracted while visiting the sick in the town. Raphaela’s mother would have carried on

in that role for the townspeople assisted no doubt by Raphaela and her sister Dolores.

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The two sisters were educated at home while their brothers were sent away to be

educated. The experience of the very sudden death of her mother when Raphaela was

only eighteen served only to deepen her conviction that only God could satisfy the

deeper longings of her heart and give meaning or purpose to her life.

And so in 1877 both Raphaela and Dolores determined to give themselves totally to God

in religious life and, through his church, to the service of His people.

It was the Bishop of Cordoba who first suggested to Raphaela and Dolores that the most

pressing need for his dioceses at time was the education of young people. The

government of the time had just closed down free schools. The queen was sent into

exile and the Jesuits were banished from the country. Young people were floundering

with no one to guide them or give them direction. They had little hope of a better future.

Raphaela and Dolores joined a small existing congregation of sisters called the sisters of

Reparatrice . We know that within a few short months several young women joined

that first tiny group dedicating themselves entirely to the work of reparation expressed

through devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and the work of education especially among

the poor. The group looked to Raphaela for leadership and all but two of them chose to

stay with her when the Sisters of Reparatrice, decided to leave Cordoba for Jerez in

order to dedicate themselves to a more monastic lifestyle, one which did not include the

work of education. These same first sisters followed her further still even out of the

dioceses when, faced with the constraints which the Bishop of Cordoba planned to

impose on them they took off for Andujar and later Madrid.

It is interesting to note that such was Raphaela’s skill in dealing with people that it

wasn’t many years later when she was opening schools back in his dioceses at his

invitation.

The love of the heart of Christ expressed in the Eucharist was the main focus of

Raphaela’s life. With a mystic’s insight she knew that each child is deeply loved by

Christ. She wanted each child to come to know that love and to experience its

transforming power. She saw the role of educator as one who accompanies, who

journeys with the children in their care.

It is strangely paradoxical isn’t it that while Raphaela never ran a school herself and

probably never even taught in a classroom, she was a great educator!

She supported, and facilitated the growth of schools.

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She formed and empowered young sisters, and through them she fulfilled her mission of

offering a holistic education to as many children as possible. A holistic education that

nurtured the emotional, academic and spiritual wellbeing of each and every child.

Her vision was universal, “our hearts must not be limited to any number “she wrote but

“must reach out to the whole world”. “ Give your heart completely to education” she

urged one of the young sisters who was just embarking on a career in teaching. What

exactly did she mean by “giving our hearts completely to education”? How would she

have us do that today?

I have chosen just a few characteristics of Raphaela’s distinctive style of educating, or

what I would describe as her core values, which seem to me to answer that question.

They are not exhaustive. They are intertwined and interconnected.

1. Educating with Love and For Love

One of the earliest publications of our Institute “Ora et Labora” describes as early as

1903 our education as “Pedagogia del Corazon”. That is quite difficult to express in

English. The translation that I like best is “to educate with love and for love.” We place

the child at the centre of everything that we do. Raphaela wrote to one of the first

sisters to teach in our schools “treat each child with great love since Christ has given his

very life for that child”.

This means that to be effective as an educator I have to know the name of each and

every child, I need to know their backgrounds, I need to know their difficulties, their

hopes and their successes. Raphaela’s way of education, our way of education is heart

centred. It is relational. It is personal to each child. As Principals, and teachers our first

task is to be “present” to each member of the school family. That means standing at the

school gate or door every morning, it means wandering around in the yard at playtime,

it means keeping your office door and the door of your heart open even when the

paperwork is piling up on your desk! We soon become experts don’t we at catching a

look in the eye that betrays anxiety or distress – and it is at these moments that we need

to be there.

I learned a valuable lesson last week when a young mother seemed to be hanging

around with what I can only describe as a very cross expression on her face. I had two

teachers out and was looking for a substitutes and an inspector in the building when

she said would you have a few minutes Sr. Mary. To be honest my heart sank but I hope

that did not show! I said of course and we sat down in my office. She told me that she

had just had a diagnosis of cancer and had no one to talk to! And of course we get the

happy moments too like Ms Orla Ryan a 5th class girl who hung around until 5 pm the

other evening because she could not go home without telling me that she had scored

highly in her Maths that day.

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Raphaela wanted each child to experience the love of God for them and our task is to

facilitate that experience in the way we relate and in material we teach.

I am convinced that it is the quality of relationships at every level in our school

communities that gives shape and life to our mission.

We must look for the good in everyone and encourage others to do so by our example.

That is what Raphaela did and that is how she formed those young sisters whom she

was sending into her schools. Remember the famous letter where she chides a young

sister for complaining about the behaviour of some of the children in her care…….

In a publication of 1903 one of the sisters close to Raphaela wrote “The surest and

easiest way to win children’s hearts is with kindness and gentleness”. That is not to say

that we are not firm and very clear in our expectations. Writing to her nephew Ramon

Raphaela urges him not to spoil his children since they need to be very strong if they are

to deal successfully with what life brings them.

We want our children to acquire not only knowledge and skills but also the staying

power that over a life time turns dreams however modest or great into a reality.

Resilience is a quality that is required for modern day living. “AD Finem Fidelis” our

school motto from the earliest days refers not only to God’s faithfulness to us but also to

our fidelity to the task entrusted to us.

2. A Community of Faith

Each and every member of our school families form a community of Faith ……a faith

which is nourished by the celebration of sacraments and by prayer. A faith which informs

our way of looking at everything. “We are in this world as in a great temple “wrote

Raphaela to one of the young sisters. This contemplative way of being in the world is

characteristic of Raphaela and is something we seek to foster in our schools. It has to do

not only with looking but also with listening, feeling, touching, speaking and being silent.

Contemplation invites us to enter into a world of new meanings, to be permeable and to

allow our perceptions to change. In and through creative realities we teach our young

people to connect to a deeper reality, the spirit of God alive and active within all things,

3. A Community which is united in a spirit of humble service

Raphaela deeply believed that no community could be effective unless it was united in a

common purpose. “Let us all be united as the fingers of a hand”. She wrote to the sisters

in Cordoba. Raphaela’s style of leadership was not from the top, it was from the very

centre. It was collaborative and empowering. It was also very humble. Her whole

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attitude was one of service. She readily took on the most menial tasks in the house and

in her later years having been ousted from her position as superior general by human

scheming she accepted the very difficult role of being simply a surplus member of a

community with no job and no recognition with a grace and humility which itself was

life giving for the congregation she loved. For us this humble spirit of service is a

wonderful example of the importance of all the unseen work that you do in your school

every day. Who is the one who comes in during the holidays to clean, to prepare a

happy school for children to come back to, who goes to endless at meetings at night and

waits for every child to be picked up, who makes lunches for the child with no lunch,

who is there when a child is sick! It’s you isn’t it? Raphaela would say this has

enormous value. We must never underestimate the importance and value of these often

hidden acts of service, in the life of our schools!

4. A Community which is Universal, Diverse and Inclusive

From the very beginning of the congregation Raphaela urged the sisters to be global in

their vision and very inclusive. For her the main difference was one of social class.

There is even greater diversity in our schools today. We are called to celebrate

difference. It is not always easy to marry diversity with a central set of values that are

embodied within the school. “The heart of the Handmaid must not be limited” writes

Raphaela - each student deserves equity of access to excellent learning opportunities.

5. A Community characterised by Openness and Dialogue in which everyone is a

lifelong learner

When we educate with dialogue we do not view the student as simply a passive

recipient of information which we hope they will digest and reproduce in some

recognisable form at the end of a module or a lesson. We want our children to be

critical thinkers, and our curriculum to be constantly evolving as we discuss and learn

from each other.

Parents are our main partners in our work of education. I constantly ask myself how

can I better improve my communication with them? How can I harness the wonderful

energy and expertise and support that they can offer. I have to talk to them! Most of all I

have to listen! In Ireland as part of self-evaluation we are now required to involve

parents in our school development planning, we are required to ask them for feedback

on how we doing we are required to listen to their voices and involve them in the life of

the school. It is all about listening isn’t it. Even when they say things that we would

rather not hear!!!

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The teachers in my school know that I like to ” tick boxes” so to speak, do a job to the

best of our ability and then move on to the next one. We have been fundraising with

parents for I pads for the last two years so as to improve our use of technology as a tool

for learning. We are almost there with our fund raising and every parent in fact the

whole of my Stillorgan is on board. Imagine my horror when after a fact finding mission

to other schools five of my teachers announced on Monday last that perhaps it is not

Ipads we need but laptops! I wanted to cry! The truth is that every time we discuss how

we use technology as a tool for teaching and learning I want to bury my head in the

sand and hope that it will go away because it is not something that I can control and

understand. I feel a bit like Raphaela felt when she writes to her niece of her attempts at

a rather advanced age to learn English so as to offer solidarity to the sisters moving to

London to open our first school there! The best she can say is that her attempts would

make her niece laugh! She was a lifelong learner!

Raphaela was a superb communicator….. She wrote hundreds of letters! No doubt if she

were alive today she would be blogger and google, and would encourage us to make

every use of technology possible. Through dialogue we build partnership and a sense of

ownership. Our spirit must be one which is not afraid to question, to evaluate, to

regroup, to break new ground.

6. A Community which sides with the Poor and Cares for the earth

The very first schools that Raphaela opened were “free schools” for

Children who would not otherwise have had any access to education. These schools

remained a priority for Raphaela and were usually situated right next door to fee paying

schools so that resources and personnel could be shared between the two and

opportunities provided for children from both schools to learn from each other.

Today more than ever Raphaela would urge us to help children to build bridges of

understanding between cultures and traditions, between those who learn differently

from each other, those who look different and dress differently from others. We are

educating global citizens for a world whose diminishing resources need to be cared for

and shared!

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In summary:

The key values of our schools that stand out as crucial to me are ….. do you remember?

Education with love and for love

The school as a faith community

The school as a community united in a spirt of humble service

The school as a community which is universal , diverse and inclusive

The school as a community characterised by openness and dialogue in which

everyone is a lifelong learner

The school as a community which sides with the poor and cares for the earth.

The task of every teacher and in particular the task of the leader is to facilitate learning

and personal growth by creating a warm caring climate in which everyone feels valued

and appreciated. It is to speak words of encouragement and words of compassion. It is

to challenge without crushing, to invite, cajole and encourage others to move on to give

more, to risk more in order to form young people steeped in gospel values who will

make a difference in their world. And yes …. This task which is entrusted to us does take

our whole hearts and more ….. I am reminded of a poem that a teacher shared with me

recently. Story of the baby taking a finger etc

The challenges we are facing today are immensely different from the challenges

Raphaela faced.

Many of our staff are suffering from burn out because the workload is simply too great.

We are bombarded by government initiatives and there is only so much we can

delegate. While our focus should be on articulating a vision for the future, this is not

always feasible in practice. I find myself firefighting as I deal with day to day crises.

More and more we are dealing with problematic relationships in family life. I find that

the need for greater pastoral support is crucial and that I often feel we lack the training

to deal with some of the issues we face.

We cannot ignore the market economy that prevails. There can be no doubt that the

imperatives of visible and measurable success, financial balance and league tables add

an extra level of accountability and therefore pressure and stress. Schools are being

judged primarily on academic achievement and some parents do not appreciate gospel

values. Our target setting culture is often a source of anxiety.

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Teachers are less and less confident of teaching R.E. Sometimes I feel that children

speak another language which I need to learn in order to make R.E. relevant to their

lives.

As a school leader I find it really hard to balance pastoral welfare concerns for each

member of staff with my professional managerial functions, particularly in performance

management and in regulating professional competency.

It is so easy to lose sight of our real goals in the face of these challenges! It is easy to

become disheartened!

So let me end by telling you a little story to hearten you:

Becky is in first year secondary school. She is not a catholic. Last week she wrote to Ms

O Sullivan her Year 6 teacher said “thank you for taking me on wonderful outings both

physical and intellectual” …… Ms O’ Sullivan did take Becky on special journeys!

The REAL journey, which she brought her on however was the one that Raphaela

wanted us to bring our children on: The journey that enables our youth to live with

gratitude, with trust, to live without the crutch or the grudge or the closed mind. It is

the journey that engenders compassion and commitment, that builds competencies and

skills, forming into people who are able to lift the burden for others! That is the REAL

journey that Becky made and continues to make in our secondary school.

The Spanish Poet, Antonio Machado, writing at the time of Raphaela, says “Caminante,

no hay Camino, se hace al camino al andar” (traveller there is no known path, the path

will present itself to you as you journey along it). Machado is right, tomorrow and its

challenges in education are not yet clear to us….but what is clear is that our core values,

our characteristic spirit and our purpose which we receive from Raphaela and make our

own today are lasting and have real value for all those who come under our care. They

do stand the test of time. Raphaela describes herself as the “cimiento” the corner stone

on which all our centers of learning are built. She entrusts her spirit to us to live in the

most dynamic creative way we can for the sake of the children we serve. I have no

doubt that she is delighted that we are here today seeking together to enrich the life of

our Province schools and to support each other in our common mission.

Questions for Discussion

What has brought you most joy in your school in the last year? What would choose you

celebrate from all the happenings of the last year?

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What challenges are you facing in school today that most undermine the characteristic

spirit of our schools?

From this first meeting as a group of Handmaid schools in our Province where would

you like to go from here? In What areas of school life can we support each other with?

How can we do this?

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Pedagogy of the heart – challenges in the present context

Isabel Alves

How do we see the World

The present context is the house of our freedom.

For Zygmunt Bauman,sociologist, the present moment is a liquid modernity – a society

which doesn’t maintain its form, unstable, marked by constant transformations,

unpredictability, instantaneity… (labor, technology, competition, efficiency,

individualization,…). It is a world of immediacy, of movement, of disposable things,

anxieties and uncertainties and discontentment, of the excessive need to acquire goods

and products, seeking income for a better life, at all costs.

The school is the context within the context, where all that is good or bad marks this

moment of modernity.

Yes, we live times marked by excessive selfishness, which in the anxiety of Wanting and

Having, scatter poverty, wars, destruction of human beings and the planet…

Yes, we live in times of crisis of moral values, which outrage us,…

But, closer to all evils, resides Love and Hope, in their diverse manifestations!

The present context is here and now, making choices:

- plunging in powerless distress before a condemned world;

- guided, with no opinion and no backbone;

- act, heal scars, sow life.

Our choices – who motivates us to make them

- As believers, we are called on to live the “Joy of the Gospel , that fills the heart and lives

of all who encounter Jesus.” And also, to live outside the Comfort and isolation – “Indeed,

those who enjoy life most are those who have security on the shore and become excited by

the mission of communicating life to the other.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 1;10).

- As managing bodies of the schools of this province; Saint Raphaela Maria called us to

be Persons of Peace able to enjoy life. And also, to have a cordial vision and not haggle

efforts in education (“Miren a los niños especialmente com el interés con que se mira una

cosa de mucho precio: pues cada uno a costado la sangre de todo un Dios.” – 1887).

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Indeed, we have chosen well. We are believers, we are educators and we are the

managing body together with the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus..If, we were an

army, we would belong to the Special Forces!

This makes us more privileged, more empowered, more engaged with our educational

mission which we embrace. And, of course, more responsible.

Our responsibility

All of us know what is expected from us as principals – our roles are described in the

regulations of each school, but it’s enough to use the cover that guides our schools. We

are responsible for fulfilling the purpose we were created – the evangelizing education,

in similarity to the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Our support

Our basis? – The Pedagogy of the Heart!

It is the pedagogy of love: from the heart of Jesus, we open our hearts and put our

students in it, educate their heart, make them feel loved and drive them …All of them,

from the more studious to the less studious, the more sensitive to the less sensitive, the

more mischievieous to the less mischivieous, the more obedient to the less obedient, all

will feel “very precious”. And that love will be the engine and the support of all other

learnings, while they are with us and in the future, when they will be the builders of the

better world we seek..

The foundresses of the Congregation can only have been inspired by God for such avant

garde purpose! Even today, following this Pedagogy of the Heart is revolutionary!

They didn’t take courses in Pedagogy (they would have wasted their time). We know

that they sought their inspiration from other Institutes with a tradition in Education:

Some even read what the French Bishop Félix Dupanloup wrote (1802-1878): “ What is

the most precious in society is entrusted to the educator that is the children, and what is

most precious in children is their hearts. Not so much the external, the visible behavior, the

work, the school, but the internal, the heart, religion and education of the feelings.”

(Scritti, IV). But for the education style they created and developed (educators of the

heart and from the heart) there were no fundamentals in the science of men.

In modern times, several currents, scholars and researchers Post Handmaids advocate

the importance of the heart, love, affection and emotions in pedagogy, as essential for

learning. Contributions from Howard Gardner, Daniel Goleman, António Damásio, Ken

Robinson and many others, have been very valuable so that the schools would be

devoid of its obsolete academicism and start to know better its students. The teachers

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all over the world are compelled, upon their commitment with their own

professionalism, with the students, parents and tutors, to carry out their continuous

training by keeping updated.

But we, the fortunate people of this group and all those that work with us, we have

more fountains to drink from, the closeness with the Handmaids and all writings on

education, with which the foundresses of this Institute have inspired and enriched us!

But beware! This Pedagogy of the Heart not only quickens our pace in training and

constant updating, but also makes us go a lot further:

- Live our mission with joy and humbleness of being collaborators in the mission of the

heart of Jesus;

-Embrace all our students in their singularity, “with predilection for the more fragile

ones” and provide them with the best personalized educational service!

The Handmaids themselves tell us how:

- “An indispensable quality of the educator is to love all their students. If this true love

really exists (…) it will make us seek every moment what suits the student.” (M. Cristina

Estrada, 1951);

- “Know the child to adapt work to his/her capability, way of being, temperament… In

addition, this adaptation, is in a certain way, a duty of justice, since we have to respect and

develop in the child all natural qualities which God has put in them and educate them

without truncating any of their natural riches.” (M. Oliva Reina, 1932);

- “Individualize education in a way specific to each child: Educate each, because each child

is a unique individual, souls don’t repeat themselves.” (M. Oliva Reina, 1940);

- “There is no impediment which demoralizes as much and incapacitates to work with the

child than to demand superior efforts from him/her. This point has to be taken into

account by the teacher because adjusting what is required from each child is a job which

requires a lot of attention and in addition denial and study.” (Regulamento, Madrid);

- “For some, the ideal seems to be that students in the same class room have the same level

(…) but i tis obvious that in the same classroom you have children with different

intellectual capabilities, the teacher’s merit is that those with less capabilities learn the

school’s programme, the average students master almost master all of it and those with

greater capability work towards cultivating their faculties according to their skills (…) I

know that it’s difficult and I’m not saying that you should do it now but it is to guide your

work along these lines.” (M. Margarita Aguirrezabala, 1954);

- “Our pedagogy is essentially of “affection”: this derives from Love which generates life,

respects the rhythm of growth and the people’s differences.” (Own character).

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Assuming the Pedagogy of the Heart is only possible if we are passionate about what we

do if we also constantly take care of our heart;

Assuming the Pedagogy of the Heart is only possible if we understand the “Reparation”

of the Handmaids – the in-depth Outlook, the Outlook with the heart and reaches the

heart, brings to light all that is good, which understands frailty, which cares, heals,

transforms and makes you grow;

Assuming the Pedagogy of the Heart is never giving up on a student;

Assuming the Pedagogy of the Heart is to acknowledge the richness of cohesion of an

entire community and be a body;

Assuming the Pedagogy of the Heart is to accept living upright, ready to walk down the

path, constantly seeking the answers to change. ;

Love our students and accompany their growth as human beings and Christians, by

combining firmness and fondness, as written by the foundresses, i tis much more than

being firm and say words and gestures of affection and receive and meet them, learning

to meet their needs at all levels, considering their pace and difficulties. It is to facilitate

the discovery and development of their skills, encouraging them to overcome their fears

and weak points, and teach them to manage their emotions to cope with success and

frustration- and it also motivating them to give their best – “Magis” – always.

Objectives of the Pedagogy of the Heart

The objectives of the Pedagogy of the Heart, due to their depth and timeless reach, are

still the same since the first times:

- “If you truly want to conquer the children’s hearts, there is only one objective to win their

heart to Jesus.” (M. Mª de los Santos Mártires, 1885);

- “What importance does Evangelising education have! (…) It is an option for Jesus Christ

and his Kingdom. It is an option to accompany the life of the other, in his/her human,

Christian, personal, social and fraternal…” Rita Burley aci, 2000);

- “The Pedagogy of the Heart should be for us the path where we are accompanying our

students in their growth and maturity in all aspects of their personality. When love is born,

we should respect the identity of each one so as to be the agent of his/her own training

and can collaborate in building a society where the priority is on the individual, respecting

the other, solidarity and seeking what is more just and fraternal.” (Teresa Laiseca aci,

2003)

- “We have been summoned by this God, friend of life, to collaborate with Him in making

possible his dreams for each person and for our world. (…) We are sent according to our

identity and with the traits of our reparation pedagogy, to work with those with a

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universal heart and ready for God’s mission as Santa Rafaela Maria would have wanted.”

(Inmaculada Fukasawa aci, 2014);

The new challenges

In the 19th General Congregation (February 2012), enhances, since the beginnings of

the Institute, an “ integral education which embraces all dimensions of the individual” and

underlines “the challenge of educating with Christian values for the society of the 21 st

century goes through an education which integrates the practice of discernment. It

supposes to make our students protagonists of their growth as individuals, by

harmonizing responsibility and freedom, putting them in a situation of choosing and

deciding with responsibility. Education should be capable of asking questions, of opening

horizons, of generating creativity. An education capable of seeking own answers, of

discovering the needs of the others, of listening to the pain of those who suffer, of not

accepting injustice.” (Inmaculada Fukasawa aci, 2014)

For us, the main challenge is therefore to find the way to answer the challenge of the

Evangelising Education / Pedagogy of the Heart.

Action Plans

We are governing boards, therefore the challenge is, first of all, to be called to challenge

ourselves and challenge all sectors of the educational.

Challenges stimulate the action which takes us to establish plans and objectives, define

paths.

For such, we need to reflect on the school we have and if it is the one we want. The

questions I’m going to ask are to help us with the reflection, to decide on the need or

not, of establishing action plans. I am going to include some comments and quotations,

only to soften the questions:

- How do we see our school? – How do we see our educational project? Which

priorities have been established? What autonomy do we have and what to do with it? As

catholic school, do we give the answer that society needs? How do we respond to

change? Are we attentive to the reality which surrounds us and the world? Do we

educate towards voluntarism, solidarity, fraternity? Do we innovate?

Roberto Carneiro (2009) speaks to us about the catholic school as school of character

education, which transmits the values, guides, creates solid ties, doesn’t resign, has a

strong recognised identity. He warns us that no one educates alone and therefore we

need to create networks, establish partnership:

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“In our educational centres we are called on to build a community where students,

educators and parents work together to achieve the educational project. The educational

community is called on to be a Christian community, where the joy of the gospel is

proclaimed every day. This community educates and evangelizes with its testimonial.”

(Inmaculada Fukasawa aci, 2014, quoting Pope Francis);

- How do we see our educators? – Animated, energetic, confident, they use positive

psychology, are pleased with the results obtained, Or, on the contrary, complaining,

discourage, rebellious with the lack of correspondence of the student to their work and

effort? Are they restless, or giving in and tired? They work as a board, they support each

other, are they creative, innovative? How do they relate with the students and the whole

community?

“Will it be necessary to take huge risks to create the knowledge which will give birth to the

school’s radical innovation, if we want to respond to the current challenge. The experience

can be painful but also passionate. It requires a knowledge based on a dynamic of “

moving to and from” of practice to reflection and vice-versa, where we run the risk of

thinking and doing things in a different way, to go against the current of immoveable

forces and disappointment of “all is a disaster” and it was always done like this.” (Andy

Hargreaves, 1985)

- How do our educators live the pedagogy of the heart? – Do you know its reach? Is

it their way of being? They think it’s really good but it’s more of a nun thing? Do they

use it as affection with the students but disconnect it from the rest of the pedagogical

action? And still do they know the importance of affections?

It’s of paramount importance to enhance the school’s role in developing affections.

The teacher should make the student feel loved by him and not object of teaching.

“Affection should be the first subject to be taught in school and patience its guardian.”

(Eugénio Cunha, 2008)

“Significant learnings starts from the relationship between people. The objectives, the

means and the results are consequences of an affective and transforming relationship.”

(Thiago Chaer, founder of the “Instituto Inovar para Educar”, 2013)

“Without love, it is not possible to reinvent and reenchant any world, any class room.”

(Roberto Crema, 2004)

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- How do we see our educators in terms of pedagogical competence?

- How do they see the students? – Do they receive them according to the pedagogy of

the heart? Do they love them, in spite of the distress, worries and questions which

provoke ,their impertinence, unruliness … Or are they seen ads difficult students, “ no

patience!”, “I have tried everything but nothing seems to work”? How do you address

the students’ learning disabilities? Do you consider personalized education?

- Do they master the subjects taught?

- Do they master and use ICT in class room dynamics?

- Do they know the student and development stages?

- Do they know about the mechanisms of the mind and learning?

Michel Develey ( Donner du sens a l école, 2007) there is only learning if the subject

learning finds there is meaning in the situation of the teacher he lives. In learning it is to

act upon desire and on the student’s motivation.

- Do they know about multiple intelligence?

Howard Gardner defined as having them all! They are anatomically independent; they

are a potential; they need to be stimulated; each enriches the other. “If we use the

strongest to stimulate the others, we obtain unexpected and profound results in the weak

areas.” (Zita Areal, 2012, citing Howard Gardner)

- Do they know the implications of emotional intelligence (intrapersonal and

interpersonal) in learning?

We know that learning above all is, emotional. António Damásio (2000) advocates that

when we think, we think with our body and emotions. “Emotion is an integrating part of

the reasoning and decision making process, for the worst or for the best”

“Emotions determine the quality of our lives” (Paul Ekman, 2003, Emotions Revealed)

- How are their classes?

“School privileges logical reasoning instead of affection. The learning difficulties are much

more related to emotions than with intelligence”. (Nelson Lima, 2001)

- Which strategies are used to capture and keep the student’ attention?

- Motivates the students, what importance is given to curiosity and creativity?

“The curious students learn to learn and how to make it funs (…) The main thing for the

students to know is not how to think but how to face the new challenges and solve new

problems” (Amanda Lang, The Power of Why)

“We are one of the species with broadened Consciousness. Can we have broadened

creativity? Can you learn to be creative? Can you learn leadership? According to Ken

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Robinson, «creativity in the 21 st century is as important as the literacy in the 20th

century». What is our «Element»? What place is this where «the Passion and Individual

Talent of each person reveal themselves to allow to reach Excellence»? (Zita Areal, 2012)

“Creativity enhances human imagination and consequently modifies the method by which

people cope with information and its processing.” (Max Haetinger, Creativity– the

Revolution in the Class Room 2014)

- Do they ensure the development of transversal competences? Do they educate

towards the future? Do they educate towards the preservation of the planet?

Jacques Delors (1998) pointed to four pillars of education which should be part of the

teacher’s everyday life so as to seek together (student and teacher) a more productive,

just and healthy world for all. They are: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live

together and learning to be. (Unesco – International Commission on Education for the

21stcentury)

- Do you know the importance of leisure and game?

- Create and maintain a good atmosphere for learning, with no problems of discipline?

- Do they provide let their students discover their talents?

- Is it an example for the students?

“One of the major objectives of education of young people shall be to develop all their

faculties (…) to be profoundly attached to the noble ideals of peace, freedom, dignity

and equality between women and men and imbued by with respect and love for

humanity as its creative achievement.” (UN General Assembly, 1965)

- Do they praise their training and updating?

We have open the doors to innovation! 2009 was declared by the European Union, the

year for innovation and creativity. “Creativity, sustaining innovation, is mainly born

from experience … and is demonstrated in all kinds of life. Innovation consists in the

construction and deconstruction of new ideas; creativity is a sine qua non

characteristic. Leaping towards innovation passes through the necessary theoretical

domination, it requires creating experience. Therefore to train innovative

educators,only permanente creative training can face this challenge. We convert

ourselves into educators who unlearn to return to learning, as said by the wise

Benedetti, when we knew all the answers, the questions changed. We learn to unlearn.”

(Alfredo H. Calvo, 2012)

The teacher’s duty will be as tough as his/her attachment to the past. The courage to

educate receives the present, opened to novelty, to “learn to learn” confidently

projecting in the future which will be built by the students.

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- How do we see our students’ families? – Does it make sense make them more

familiar with the Pedagogy of Love? How? Is it enough to deduce based on how we

educate our children? How are we challenged? Which actions are required to deepen

our partnership?

“This collaboration of Family and School is becoming more and more necessary, both

should follow the same direction and be coherent with what is taught in each space. (…)

It is important for the parents to relate to the values and Christian vision that the school

offers so that their collaboration is effective and coherent.” (Inmaculada Fukasawa aci,

2014)

- How do we see our students? – Do they feel welcomed and cherished by all of us?

Are they happy, motivated, participative, integrated, fun? What results are obtained? To

take with them a solid preparation? What kind of relation to they have with the school?

When they leave do they still maintain ties? Do they return?

“Children and young people urgently need our joy and enthusiasm in living. The

discouragement lived is transmitted without even knowing it. We need educators which

in today’s world are signs of hope!” (Mónica Cienfuegos, 1995)

“We want the school of the enchantment, where all feel included!” (Max Haetinger,

2014)

Task:

- How do we see ourselves as governing board? – Where does the Pedagogy of the

Heart take us? Which functions absorb us most? What is our priority? Which constraints

/ expectations?

- How to bring closer the schools of the Province? – How to bring closer educators?

Students? What can we share?

Final Consideration: If this reflection creates a will to change which is the will to

challenge our educational communities because you only really change when you want

to change and not when changed is imposed. And we shouldn’t disperse; An action plan

at a time; Grounded, consistent, accompanied and cherished.

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Education as hope

Praying with refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Jésus le Christ, lumière intérieure,

ne laisse pas mes ténèbres me parler.

Jesus le Christ, lumière intérieure,

donne moi d’accueillir ton amour.

From the Scripture: Mark 10,13-26

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples

rebuked them.

When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me;

do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter

it.

Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

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“Kashunga, 16 February 2015 – Moambi's white blouse gleams bright in the morning

sun of Kashuga. She beams with pride in her new school uniform – she gets to attend

high school after two years of staying at home.

Maombi is one of the more than 2.7 million internally displaced persons living in the

Democratic Republic of Congo. She and her family fled their homes due to attacks from

one of the countless armed groups operating in the region. Having left all behind,

Maombi's family had very little resources to start over.

High school fees meant that only Maombi's brothers could attend school at first. Her

mother and father had no money and felt that educating boys was a wiser investment.

Now after two years, the family is more and less established and Maombi can begin

secondary school.

Growing up without consistent education is the fate for many displaced children in

North Kivu, where JRS works. The reasons are manifold. Many families cannot afford

the school fees, whereas others can afford to pay but do not have enough money for

school uniforms or supplies. In other families, the children have to work to keep the

everyone afloat. Orphans and unaccompanied children often have to support

themselves or their younger siblings. In other cases, armed groups have destroyed

school buildings and children lack safe spaces to learn.

No matter the reason, education is a fundamental right and absolutely necessary for a

hopeful future.

For Maombi it is as simple and fundamental as this: "education gives me hope of a

better future beyond the camp."

With one last appraisal of her new uniform, Maombi enters the class rooms towards a

brighter future.”

The Kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Come Lord, and open in us the gates of your Kingdom

Reflections for prayer The Bible praises wisdom, which is considered a gift from God. It is achieved both through education and through the process of helping others. Wisdom cannot grow if education is denied. Without it, an individual cannot develop his or her personal dignity nor self-determination. Felix Polten SJ, Education Coordinator, at the Jesuit Refugee Service in Mweso, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

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Donna nobis, donna nobis. Donna nobis pacem.

Donna nobis, donna nobis. Donna nobis pacem.

Pacem, pacem. Donna nobis pacem.

Pacem, pacem. Donna nobis pacem.

Spontaneous prayers:

Our Father…

Donna nobis, donna nobis. Donna nobis pacem.

Donna nobis, donna nobis. Donna nobis pacem.

Pacem, pacem. Donna nobis pacem.

Pacem, pacem. Donna nobis pacem.

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Closing Address

Irene Guia,aci

I do not believe it is mere chance, that we have started our first Meeting on the World

Day for Social Justice.

We are aware that , through our educational project and the spirit of our Congregation,

social justice is at the basis and in the horizon of the training and education we provide

our students in our schools.

We believe that our commitment and also the honor we experience when we follow the

development of our students to become grown-ups, make us hope that the World we all

live in and share can become a place with more justice and fraternity, thanks to them.

In this first meeting, we start as representatives of good schools, each one working with

dedication, striving for excellence of the human being. Each one on its own.

Now, after only two days spent together, I believe I can say on behalf of all of us, that on

seeing so many different realities, but also so many things in common, we conclude this

time together with the awareness of being a body.

This awareness of being a body brings with it, at least two challenges:

- the awareness of being a body leads to the responsibility of being one

- being a body makes us question, right from the beginning, what type of body we want

to become. Here is where Pope Francis assists me, with his wisdom about us and the

different peoples. What type of body? Pope Francis says that the geometrical solid that

should represent harmony is not the sphere, but the polyhedron. The polyhedron

represents the permanent challenge proposed by the Pope as the facilitator of life and

communion: the culture of encounter in a multifaceted harmony. The body we build

amongst us and that we are conscious of being favors communion and the respect for

the huge diversity, that we are made of.

I believe that creating amongst ourselves this culture of encounter in a multifaceted

harmony, not only makes us a body of ACI educational centers, but strengthens us in the

role of assisting the new generations to grow up in peace and be committed with life.

Thank you all for having accepted all our proposals. Without your willingness to

participate this meeting would have not been what it was.

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ADDENDUM

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