A Global Partnership Initiative of the Jesuit Schools Network
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IGNATIAN INQUIRY VIRTUAL SESSIONS
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The Jesuit Schools Network is eager to encourage a spirit of inquiry across the many layers of our work in Jesuit education. We envision our particular brand of Ignatian Inquiry to be: The art of inquiry as seen through our Ignatian lens; asking questions and exploring issues that matter in our schools through the frame of our shared Jesuit mission. With this lens, the JSN is embarking on hosting a series of Ignatian Inquiry Virtual Coffee Shops over the course of the academic year. These virtual sessions are designed to be a supportive resource to our member schools– a carved out space to listen, learn and engage.
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LAUDATO SI' ACTION PLATFORM AND UAP4: HOW TO TAKE PRACTICAL FIRST STEPS
On February 8, the JSN welcomed Michael Downs, who serves as Director of Justice and Kinship at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, to lead an important conversation on the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. Michael previously spent nine years at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose as Religious Studies Department Chair, and he currently serves as a Laudato Si Animator, the lone teacher on the California Catholic Conference's Environmental Stewardship Committee, and a member of the Vatican's Laudato Si Action Platform Schools Working Group.
The session was designed to be a conversation about how to engage with the Laudato Si’ Action Platform and UAP4, offering inspiration on how to take first steps in igniting learning communities with this work, and the content and conversation is useful to all educators across the JSN.
Michael’s work aims to support and challenge your school to be an agent of change through the UAP 4 and global launch of the Laudato Si Action Platform, offering practical resources to begin the creative process of reflection, action, evaluation, and celebration.
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WHAT'S YOUR STORY?
On December 14, Cora Antonio, who serves as Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Religious Studies Teacher and Filipino Student Association Moderator at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California, shared her work with Counterstory at an Ignatian Inquiry Virtual Session.
In support of the Universal Apostolic Preferences, how can we as educators “journey with the youth, accompany young people in creation of a hope-filled future?” One way is through the power of story and storytelling using "counterstory" methodology. Counterstory methodology is the narration of experiences of people and communities that are often hidden, suppressed, or re-interpreted by a culturally dominant group. It is a tool for exposing, analyzing, and challenging the dominant narratives of race, class, gender, politics, poverty, pandemics, and so many other core categories that underlie the exercise and maintenance of social power.
Cora shared with her colleagues around the network her work in using this powerful tool with students, and how in doing so, we can actively unmute the voices that have traditionally silenced and create empathy and compassion among this generation building bridges of hope and reconciliation for the future.
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CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME: AN INTEGRAL APPROACH
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Wealthier countries generate the most significant impact on the environment while people in poorer countries suffer the environmental and social consequences. It is well recognised that the planet cannot sustain our current practices. In the introduction (LS, 25), Pope Francis writes, ‘many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry. They have no other financial activities or resources that can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited.
‘For example, changes in climate, to which animals and plants cannot adapt, lead them to migrate; this, in turn, affects the livelihood of the poor, who are then forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children. There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.’
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CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME: AN IGNATIAN PERSPECTIVE
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Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview is a Jesuit school for boys in Sydney, Australia.
In response to the Global Jesuit Network’s Caring for Our Common: An Ignatian Perspective document, Saint Ignatius’ College began developing a strategic plan to engage the whole school community in caring for creation.
The Australian Jesuit Ministries Laudato si’ planning process of review, ecological conversion, engaging everyone and taking action provides the steps for developing the Riverview Caring for Our Common Home Strategic Action Plan. The strategic plan embodies the elements of Ignatian pedagogy: context, experience, reflection, action and evaluation.
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Laudato Si’ challenges the global church to embark on a journey of renewal — a journey that heals our fractured relationships with Creator, Creation and each other. But where do we start? The pilgrim St. Ignatius of Loyola, knew a thing or two about journeys. So the Jesuit Conference has created this resource to help the Ignatian family put Laudato Si’ into action with the tools of Ignatian spirituality. These webpages offer reflections, resources, and examples of ecological action, as you develop your individualized Laudato Si’ Action Plan.
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To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the canonizations of Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier, the General Curia in collaboration with Educate Magis and the Christian Life Community are designing a four-video series that invites young people to imagine who and how they can be in the world entitled, “Who Do you Want to Be?” A Video Series to Light Your Path.
From March to June, a special project for all Jesuit schools and schools of Ignatian congregations will take place. Resources (in English, French and Spanish) will be available from the end of February.
UPCOMING RESOURCES
- A special video with Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus
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Four videos on the theme of sanctity today in a series entitled Who do you want to be?; these will be available on the Educate Magis website
- Lesson plans for teachers
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BUILDING FIELD HOSPITALS: DISCERNING NEW DIRECTIONS TO LEARNING FOR TOMORROW'S JESUIT SCHOOLS
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The primary purpose of theological education has been to shape and mold within young people the contours of faith, a life-long process that can forge important pathways toward meaning and hope — especially during life’s most challenging moments. However, in today’s complex world, it can oftentimes be difficult for young people to find meaning and hope, particularly in organized religion and through the study of theology. Traditional approaches to learning have historically struggled to provide an adequate response to the contemporary needs and interests of its students. Offering students authentic encounters of faith through the lens of their own context has the real potential to deepen their reflection on and experience of themselves, their peers, their world, and ultimately of Jesus Christ
— in and through the process of theological education.
During the Fall semester my sophomore Biblical Studies students at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon read Old Testament accounts of Israel’s oppression in Egypt, God’s liberative justice, and the Israelites’ forty years of wandering in the Sinai Desert as refugees in search of a land they could call their own. To gain a greater sense of the Israelites’ experience centuries ago, my class examined current experiences of migrants and refugees in Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and those at the border between Poland and Belarus. They then situated themselves at the frontlines of one of these contemporary crises by developing comprehensive proposals for sustainable emergency refugee camps, which would be presented to a Regional Director of Jesuit Refugee Services or the United Nations Refugee Agency (above). The project’s prompt — along with a competency-based rubric and resources for supporting students’ collaboration, research, reflection and revision — can be accessed here.
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LEARNING ABOUT IGNATIAN GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP WITH A GLOBAL GROUP
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As part of an ongoing piloting program, in September 2021, Educate Magis announced the opening of two Ignatian Global Citizenship facilitator-led global courses, one was offered for global groups in English and the other for global groups in Spanish.
These facilitator-led global courses are new synchronous global learning experiences for Ignatian educators. A new course modality that gives members of our global community the opportunity to learn together as a global group of learners from schools and countries around the world.
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EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION
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"Changing Course, Transforming Education" — that was the theme of the fourth International Day of Education we celebrated as a global community.
The relevance of changing the course and transforming education is vital for the development of our societies. In our increasingly connected world, sometimes, it is hard to connect and empathize with each other’s realities. Seeing past ourselves and accepting our interdependencies as strengths can help us take our place as agents of change for a more humane world. To stand in solidarity in the mission of justice and reconciliation as we realize our role as Global Citizens, we first need to see the possibility of change.
Global Citizenship Education (GCE) encourages us to revisit our assumptions, be critical of current issues, engage in collective action, and include others in possible solutions. GCE exposes us to new possibilities, allowing us to change the course and transform education.
At least eight high schools within the Jesuit School Network took action in Magis America's "La Silla Roja" annual GCE campaign. Students assumed their responsibility as Global Citizens and realized that #APromise2Education is a promise for opportunities, agency, and the contribution of creating a more inclusive and just world.
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CULTIVATING CULTURAL COMPETENCY WITH CALENDAR, CUISINE, CALLIGRAPHY AND COMPETITION
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Saint Ignatius College Prep (Chicago) ushered in the Lunar Year (February 1, 2022: Year of the Tiger) celebrations with cultural awareness activities. The National Chinese Honor Society and moderator, Dr. Miriam Leung, language arts teacher, hosted Year of the Tiger poster competitions as part of Saint Ignatius’ ongoing cultural engagement. Dr. Leung, invited Ms. Suyu Liu, a Chinese calligraphist and visiting resident artist to deepen the school community’s cultural experience with Asian Culture, in general, and Chinese culture, in particular. Ms. Liu spent the day teaching students on eye-hand coordination and handwriting skills as they scripted symbols with broad, narrow, and filigreed strokes; created backgrounds; wrote their names; and painted tigers. Importantly, she guided students through the noticeable and nuanced aspects of the art intersecting at the nexus of culture and calligraphy. For example, students were instructed to start their first brush strokes at the edge of the paper, not the center, and move in as a subtle sign of humility, honor, and respect. Thus, in embracing the artist’s gentle admonition on this fine aspect of calligraphy, students’ paintbrushes and ink were transformed into pedagogical pathways for a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and custom. Indeed, Ms. Liu helped students infuse the tangible (brush, pen, water, ink, and paper) with the intangible (concentration, emotion, and intention) to synthesize names, images, and paintings rendered in the ancient art form. In keeping with the festive spirit of the New Year, which traditionally includes Dr. Leung provided delicious Chinese cuisine consistent with traditional customs including gifts of red envelopes and oranges as well as special foods such as dumplings and long noodles. Among the many benefits of global citizenry (educational content, cuisine, and cultural enrichment), the Saint Ignatius community was able to learn and celebrate back-to-back new year celebrations--one local (January 1) and the other global (February 1).
Special thanks to Dr. Miriam Leung and Ms. Suyu Liu for enriching students’ global citizenship and cultural awareness through a calligraphic activity that deepened cultural competency, creativity, and our community culture through ancient Asian art.
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VOICES OF THE BORDER: HIGHLIGHTING THE EXPERIENCES OF MIGRANTS CROSSING THE US-MEXICO BORDER
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Voices of the Border emerged from interviews conducted by the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), especially Sister Engracia Robles. It is a book of powerful personal accounts from migrants crossing the US-Mexico border to provide an understanding of their experiences, as well as the consequences of public policy.
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Tag your social media posts with #jesuitschools and share your global journeys in & out of the classroom.
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Programs, Events and Initiatives |
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IGNATIAN SOLIDARITY NETWORK OPPORTUNITIES
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LAUDATO SI' LENT
This Lent, ISN invites you to explore the seven goals of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP), the Vatican framework inviting the global church to journey towards total sustainability during the next seven years.
Whether you are already engaged with the LSAP at your school, parish, in your family, or at your organization, or you’re just learning about it for the first time, we hope that this Lenten experience encourages you on your journey to bring the Laudato Si’ Action Platform to life in your community.
Each week, you will receive an email with a brief explanation of one LSAP goal along with easy, medium, and hard practical suggestions for ways you can implement the goal personally or collectively!
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INSIGHTS FROM PEDRO ARRUPE FOR IMMERSION EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS
DATE
Wednesday, February 23
3:00 - 4:00 pm ET
PRESENTER
Dr. Jimmy Menkhaus
AUDIENCE
Immersion coordinators and chaperones in high schools and colleges/universities
Join ISN with Dr. Jimmy Menkhaus, a teacher at Gilmour Academy in Ohio, for a discussion focusing on three aspects of immersion programs that can be connected to the experiences of Fr. Pedro Arrupe: 1.) the importance of examination of one’s unique narrative as an anchor for justice work, 2.) the reality of overwhelming suffering that can cause one to feel paralyzed in the face of injustice, and 3.) the authenticity of a relationship of solidarity with another person that can develop through service work. After introductory comments by Dr. Menkhaus on these issues and how they connect to his new book Immersion: A Pilgrimage into Service, we will have an open discussion.
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HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS: A LENTEN JOURNEY IN HOLY FRUSTRATION
Walk with writers from across the Ignatian network each day throughout Lent as we strive to turn our frustration into holy frustration in a way that keeps our hearts open and our action oriented to God’s voice and to one another as we seek connection and justice in our world. Featured contributors include Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., Sr. Norma Pimentel, Fr. James Martin, S.J., and many more!
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STATIONS OF THE CROSS, CLIMATE CHANGE & DISPLACEMENT
JRS/USA published a new prayer resource this week, "Station of the Cross - Renew the Earth." You can download a PDF copy of the resource here. This resource focuses on the impacts of climate change on global displacement.
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ADVOCACY DAY 2022
JRS/USA needs your help! Please join JRS/USA on Tuesday, April 5, as they meet virtually with congressional offices and urge policymakers to take action on behalf of refugees. You can RSVP here. Please RSVP by March 18. JRS/USA will be there to help you prepare for this event as we schedule meetings, host a webinar, and provide you with talking points. Please reach out to Josh Utter at joshua.utter@jrsusa.org if you have any questions.
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AVLI LANGUAGE LEARNING INITIATIVE
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Over the past five months, AVLI has been exploring the idea of a fluency-oriented language learning initiative to support our member schools. It’s time to take the next step and we’re looking for leaders to assist in breathing life into the concept. |
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GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: AN IGNATIAN DEFINITION
Global Citizens are those who continuously seek to deepen their awareness of their place and responsibility in an increasingly interconnected world, both locally and globally; those who stand in solidarity with others in the pursuit of a sustainable earth and a more humane world as true companions in the mission of reconciliation and justice.
— Secretariat Global Taskforce, 2019
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The Jesuit Schools Network promotes the educational ministry of the Society of Jesus in service to the Catholic Church by strengthening Jesuit schools for the mission of Jesus Christ. |
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