ignatius loyola

CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT

BY GREAT THINKERS

- Saint Ignatius Loyola

(1491 – 1556)

Born                 :      24, December 1491

Died                  :      July 31, 1556 (aged 64-65)

Venerated in     :      Catholic Church Anglican Communion

Beatified           :      July 27, 1609 by Pope Paul V

Cananized         :      March 12, 1622 by Pope Gregory XV

Feast day          :      July 31

Attributes         :      Eucharist, Chasuble, book, cross

Patronage         :      Dioceses of san Sebastian and Bilbao, Biscay & Guipuzcoa, Basque country, society of Jesus, soldiers, educators and education.

INTRODUCTION

            Ignatius of Loyola was a man devoted to the service of God and humanity. He did many things in his life which were unique in many respects. He made the restoration of piety among Catholics in his care. He everywhere opened schools for the education of youth in piety and letters. He founded at Rome the German college, refuges for women of evil life and for young girls who were in danger, houses for orphans and many other pious works.

THE EARLY LIFE OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

            Inigo de Loyola was born in 1491 in Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern Spain. He was the youngest of thirteen children. While Loyola was of about thirty years of age, he was wounded in a battle. While he was recovering he decided to abandon his profession of a solider and decided to devote the remaining part of his life to religion. He was a devout roman catholic. He believed that he could serve god by working through the catholic church. When he recovered from his wounds, he spent enough time on meditations, penance and prayers. Then he applied himself to the study of liberal arts and theology.

THE FOUNDING OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

            At the age of 33 he decided to study for the priesthood. However, he was ignorant of Latin, a necessary preliminary to university studies in those days. So he started back to school studying Latin grammar with young boys in a school in Barcelona. At the university of Paris he began school again, studying Latin grammar and Literature, philosophy, and theology. It was also in Paris that he began sharing a room with Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, Along with a few others they decided to form the society of Jesus in the year 1540.

THE ‘SCHOOL MASTERS OF EUROPE’

            All educational institutions emerge in one way or another from a long tradition, since education always entails conveying past experience to succeeding generations, for the Jesuits this ancestry goes back to St. Ignatius of Loyola.

            Within a century of the founding of the society in 1540, its members were being hailed as the ‘School Masters of Europe’. In a widely used book titled ‘doctrines of great educationists’, Robert R. Rusk selected for treatment 13 people who had been successful in influencing western educational tradition : Plato, Quintillion, Eliot, Ignatius, Comenius, Milton, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Herbert, Froebel, Montessori and Dewey. Look at the company in which Ignatius is placed.

DEATH OF ST. IGNATIUS

            Ignatius helped establish Jesuit schools and universities all over Europe and the world. In the summer of 1556 his health grew worse. On July 31, 1556 Ignatius rendered his soul into the hands of God. Ignatius’ feast day is celebrated by the universal church on July 31, the day he died.

THE ORDER OF STUDIES

            The Jesuits thought that without proper catholic education the stability of the catholic religion was not secure. Therefore, they paid particular attention on the rules of their organization. Loyola included education in its regulations. But this was not considered adequate. So after Loyola’ death some reforms were introduced, but the same could not meet all the expectations. So in the fourth part of this organization. “The order of studies” was included. This order is also known as ‘ratio studiorum’.

THE ‘RATIO STUDIORUM’

            The ‘ratio studiorum’ or ‘plan of studies’ was published after much deliberation and exchange of experience among the schools of the society in 1586. It was hand book to assist teachers and administrators in the daily running of the school. it contained a series of rules or practical directions regarding such matters as the government of the schools, formation and distribution of teachers, the curriculum and method of teaching.

THE AIM OF EDUCATION

            The main purpose of catholic education was to propagate the catholic faith. The aim of Jesuit education was to promote the development of character according to catholic ideals and to generate a feeling for propagation of catholic religion and to strengthen it further.

SUBJECTS OF STUDIES AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS

            In the Jesuit educational system, primary education was to be imparted at home. The dearth of teachers was the principal reason for having primary education at home. After having taught simple reading and writing at home. A child was admitted to a school for further education. Two types of schools existed in the system of Jesuit education : one was called ‘Lower college’ and the other was known the ‘upper college’.

LOWER COLLEGE

            The duration of education at the lower college was of six years. In the first three classes, a student was required to learn Greek at least for three years. In the fourth class he was given instruction both in Greek and Latin literature. For this a student was required to study famous writings of Greek literary men and historians. The fifth class has studies for two years duration and there was special provision for the studies of prosody and poetical works.

UPPER COLLEGE

            In the upper college special provision existed for the study of religion and philosophy. The duration for the study of philosophy was of three years. During these years a student was to study philosophy, logic, ethics and psychology.

            After completion of the studies of philosophy a student was granted the degree of M.A. For the study of religion, after obtaining an M.A. degree, a student was required to teach for five or six years in the lower college. Only then he was allowed to prosecute his studies further. In the study of religion the course was of four years. For this study one was required to study Hebrew in addition to Latin and was required to make a critical study of old books on religion and history of Christianity. For studying for four years in this manner, a student could carry on higher research work on some religious topic for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Divinity (D.D). This was the Jesuit system of higher education.

METHOD OF EDUCATION

            In the educational system in the lower college rote memorization and recapitulation were the principal methods. Everyday, before starting a new lesson the portion already taught on the previous day was recapitulated at first. Then whatever was taught on a particular day was recapitulated before the class was dispersed. In fact, ‘recapitulation’ was regarded as ‘the mother of education’.

            For the rote memorization and ‘recapitulation’, the class was split into two groups. Each student of a group was given a serial number. A student of a particular serial number was to recapitulate. If he committed any error, the student of the other group with the same serial number was required to correct the error. The students were motivated through rewards and titles.       

            In the Jesuit education, special attention was paid to the ability and efficiency of the teacher. In order to teach in a lower college, it was necessary to study philosophy in an upper college. Normally instruction was imparted through lectures. After giving the meaning of the lesson, the teacher would interpret the same. Then, the views of some other writers were presented before the students. After this, the teacher used to offer his own criticism. The moral to be drawn from the lesson was also pointed out at the end.

JESUIT EDUCATION AS EMBODIED IN PART IV OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIETY

            Ganss (1969) pointed out the salient features of Jesuit education as embodied in part IV of the constitution of the society as:

• The end of the society and its studies is to aid their followers to knowledge and love of god and to the salvation of their souls.
• On the part of the students they would strive to attain excellence in mastering their field of study.
• The society hopes by means of education to introduce capable leaders into a social order, in numbers large enough to leaven it effectively for good.
• Formation imparted in Jesuit schools must be both intellectual and moral providing reasoned out basis for moral living.
• Teachers should be personally interested in the intellectual and spiritual progress of the students.
• Jesuit educational institution should transmit the cultural heritage of the past.
• Jesuit schools should adapt their procedures to circumstances of time, places and persons.

CHARACTERISTICS OF JESUIT EDUCATION

            Education intuitions are never static. It innovates and changes in course of time. Under various influences. Jesuit educational institutions also followed this age old dictum. Result was the ‘characteristics of Jesuit education’ of 1986 at the 400^th anniversary of ‘ratio studiorum’.

I. Salient features

v  Jesuit education insists in the total formation of each individual within the human society. Jesuit education insists on the individual care and concern of each person. It emphasizes activity on the part of the students and encourages life long openness to growth.

v  Jesuit education is value based. It encourages a realistic knowledge, love and acceptance of the self. It provides a realistic knowledge of the world in which we live.

v  Jesuit education is preparation for active life commitment. It is committed to the service of faith that does justice. It seeks to form man and woman for others, manifesting a particular concern for the poor.

v  Jesuit education pursues excellence in its work of formation. Jesuit education relies on a spirit administration, the Jesuit community, governing bodies, parents, former students and benefactors.

v  Jesuit education takes place with in a structure that promotes comity. It is a system of schools with a common visions and goals. It assists providing the professional training that is needed especially for the teachers.