Ignatian Educators

Religious Studies Teachers Callaghan and Gambone Aid Mission And Ministry Efforts

Religious Studies teacher Mike Gambone remembers attending the Ignatian Family Teach-In in Washington, DC and being fascinated by the presentations offered by other schools.

“Schools were doing incredible programming for students with regards to mission and we were very excited to bring the ideas back,” Gambone says. “We learned that many of those schools had more resources than ours in the area of Mission and Ministry so anything we wanted to add would need to be supported.”

Gambone and fellow teacher Dino Pinto P ’25 developed a proposal to more formally utilize members of the Religious Studies Department to assist the Office of Mission and Ministry in creating more opportunities to impact the prayer/liturgical life of our students and also commit more resources to social justice initiatives with our neighbors. This plan was well received by School President John Marinacci P’27 and Department Chairs Pete Callaghan and Sheri San Chirico and the plan was enacted. READ FULL ARTICLE

Model Prep Teachers Continue to Adapt to Changing Learning Styles

Dr. Nunes and Mr. Fabry Building “Thinking Classrooms”

Walk into his Jesuit Hall classroom during that period and you will probably not find him standing at the board and lecturing. Unless he is presenting a new concept, you will most likely see him moving around the classroom as his students, put into random groups, stand in front of a white board and work on problems together. Fabry interjects when needed but mostly observes the work being done.

“It’s a great way to offer a low-stakes assessment,” he says. “Most students naturally want to collaborate and this encourages them to learn together. They need to know the proper terminology so they can communicate and then help each other as needed.”

This change came about over the summer. Fabry read the book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, given to him by Kevin Gregorio, Director of Learning Services. “It gave me a lot to think about,” says Fabry. “This practice is based upon research so I decided to take the risk and it has been a major net improvement.” READ FULL ARTICLE

Merging Disciplines, Master Teachers Rupertus and Conners

Help Open Students’ Eyes to Different Worlds

“It was a lot of work and our students stepped up,” Conners said of the class. “I think they appreciated the atmosphere, the unique nature of the course. For most of the life of the course, we were together for 80 minutes every day and that really helped to create a community.”

The course took on different aspects of American history and examined literature (novels, short stories, essays) and primary-source documents connected to each topic or era. For example, the examination of the women’s movement would include the reading of the Declaration of Sentiments from the Seneca Falls Convention plus literary works such as The Awakening and “The Yellow Wallpaper.” READ FULL ARTICLE

 

Caring for the Individual

One of the most well-known tenets of Jesuit education is cura personalis, a Latin term synonymous with care for and development of the whole person. All of the teachers at the Prep display this in their interactions with students on a daily basis. While many are wonderful examples of Ignatian educators, here we highlight three special teachers who live cura personalis in their classrooms each day.

Caroline Becker P’27 

Religious Studies

For Caroline Becker, the classroom dynamic should be a space of mutual respect and camaraderie. “I believe that for authentic learning to happen, risk taking is essential,” she says. “My goal is to build a healthy relationship filled with trust so our students will be willing to take those risks when needed.”

Becker came to education in her 40s as a second career and she thinks that may have played a part in her classroom style. “Maybe being a little older has allowed me to have a more intuitive nature about human relations,” she says. “I think that our work is more than merely a vehicle to exchange information. Learning should be a full-body experience that impacts how you see the world and the decisions you make.” READ FULL ARTICLE

“Choice-Based” Art Education Uses Teachers as Guides

When students gather in Kat Lee’s art studio on the fifth floor of Jesuit Hall, they get right to work on projects they have developed. Usually, the medium and subject is up to them, after some consultation with Lee, who is often working alongside them, modeling how to be an artist, how to use the studio to its fullest potential.

Lee and her colleague Jenna Robinson, Chair of Fine and Performing Arts at the Prep, are “choice-based art educators,” allowing students the opportunity to explore their creative ideas.

“We start, of course, by teaching the craft and hold them accountable with high expectations,” Lee says. “After that, however, we allow them the flexibility and creativity to get there themselves, to find their way.”

Robinson says that it is important to ensure that the student artists have the groundwork. “We teach all of the necessary skills at the beginning so they have that knowledge,” she says. “In the fashion of true Jesuit education, we also reflect as we go to ensure that they are really learning the lessons.”

The art teachers facilitate project-based classes. “It is very student-centered,” Robinson says. “Their voice, their agency, is at the center of everything.” READ FULL ARTICLE