Patron saint of teachers

On April 7, the Christian world will celebrate the feast day of St. John Baptist de la Salle who was proclaimed as Patron Saint of Teachers of Youth by Pope Pius X11 67 years ago. De La Salle was the founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools more  popularly known as the La Salle Brothers. He passed away April 7, 1719.

 St. La Salle opened his first school for the poor in Reims, France in 1679; and the congregation was finally approved by Pope Benedict X11 in 1725. De La Salle was not only a saint; but, he was also an educational pioneer and the father of the modern classroom education.

Educational innovator

During the 17th century, education in Europe was attainable only by the youth from rich families who could afford private tutors. All subjects were taught in Latin which limited the distribution of textbooks and other learning materials. There were no programs to train teachers. Very few were able to go to universities.

De La Salle realized that this tutorial education limited access to education to the nobility and the very rich. This system perpetuated an entrenched privileged elite class and did not provide opportunities for advancement by bright but poor children. He also realized that the tutorial style of education would always limit the opportunity for education by the masses. He, therefore, developed the simultaneous approach to education versus the one-on-one tutorial approach. He also used trained teachers to teach small groups within larger groups. These groups became the first “classroom style” of education which has remained the basic form of instruction worldwide even three hundred years after he invented the classroom.

He also started teaching in the French vernacular instead of Latin and created a network of quality schools throughout France. One of his pioneering innovation was the professionalization of the teaching profession. He started the first normal school for training teachers. He even wrote a training manual for his teachers – The conduct of Christian Schools- that included insights to the task of classroom teaching such as rules and techniques for classroom teaching including regulations for maintaining discipline, steps for teaching reading, student assessment and discipline, and integrating religious instruction with secular subjects.

His concern for educating the poor was manifested by holding schools on Sundays to allow working youths to attend schools. He even opened a school for ”incorrigible delinquents” which today are called reformatory schools.

St. La Salle realized that teacher training was necessary to ensure success in education. He continued training his teachers throughout their careers. He said: “ Teachers who are not actively involved in the learning process themselves, force their students to drink from stagnant water.”

St. John Baptist de la Salle was not only the Patron Saint of Catholic teachers but also serves as the inspiration for all teachers.

De La Salle Brothers

It was a time when almost all of the people were extremely poor; and, most children had no hope for the future. St. John Baptist de la Salle felt that the poor were so “far from salvation” especially their children who he felt were “ often left to themselves and badly brought up.” At that time, he was the first son of wealthy parents, was ordained a priest and named Canon of the Reims Cathedral.

He decided to abandon his family home, moved in and formed a community with his teachers, and, renounced his wealth and position as Canon. The community would later become known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Although he was ordained a priest, he decided that his community of teachers would remain solely dedicated to teaching.

At the beginning, his community met with opposition from the Church hierarchy and authorities. It was a new form of religious life – a community of consecrated laymen that would conduct gratuitous schools “together and by association.” It was the first religious congregation devoted solely to teaching. It was a daring and innovative organization in an era then dominated by traditional congregations of monks and friars.

The education establishment also opposed his innovative “classroom method” of teaching; and, his insistence on providing education to the poor regardless of whether they could pay. But, St. John Baptist de la Salle persisted. He and his community opened a network of quality schools, founded the first training colleges for teachers, reformatory schools for delinquents, technical schools, and secondary schools for languages, arts and sciences.

In 1682, the community took the name as the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools or in Latin “ Fratres Scholarum Christiarum (FSC); and, in 1684 they opened their first regular novitiate. Today, there are around 5,000 Brothers and 75,000 lay colleagues in almost 600 educational institutions teaching around one million students in 84 countries. In the Philippines, there are currently 16 Lasallian educational institutions including De La Salle University, the leading private university in the country.

Today, the La Salle Brothers continue the mission of St. John Baptist de la Salle by providing young people with access to a human and Christian education that enables them to participate in the transformation of society. The Lasallian symbol remains the five -pointed  Signum Fidei Star – the sign of faith “that has led countless Brothers and members of the Lasallian family in doing the Lasallian Mission all over the world”.

Tomorrow, Friday, April 7 there will be a Mass, 12 noon, at the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at De La Salle University (Taft Ave.) to celebrate the 298^th Feast Day of St. John Baptist de la Salle.

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