The Ignatian Educator

The Ignatian Educator will explore the modern-day landscape of Catholic education through the events, themes and spiritual lessons that defined the life of St. Ignatius Loyola—from his collision with the cannonball to his companions in Rome.

This blog will consider the nature, mission and future of Catholic education at all levels. Just as St. Ignatius was intimately involved in the world, this blog will likewise consider the cultural and sociological factors that influence today’s students.

December 2013

  • Dec 23 2013 - 4:00pm
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    Over the past week, I've discussed a few essays (one by Fr. Raymond Schroth, S.J., in America, another by Samuel Goldman in First Things) which have lamented the decline in the humanities. Those essays were long commentaries on reports that echoed the same concerns. Among a few differences in outlook, pretty much all the authors  and reports agree on one thing: the humanities are important in forming us as human beings. 

  • Dec 20 2013 - 10:06am
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    The ghost of Socrates strikes again. Fr. Raymond Schroth, S.J., wrote about the humanities in the most recent issue of America, an article that I highlighted last week in this space. Fr. Schroth was responding to The Heart of the Matter, a report issued by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.  

  • Dec 18 2013 - 11:58pm
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    One of my favorite encyclicals, both for its content and eloquence, is John Paul II's Redemptor Hominis. It is a masterful overview of the meaning of Christ and (re)reading it is a wonderful way to enter into the celebration of Christmas. Here is a favorite passage:

  • Dec 17 2013 - 2:24pm
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    "Jerry Brown: Latin Scholar and One-Time Almost Priest." This is the headline for an Atlantic article that summarizes the highlights from an interview that Brown, governor of California, gave to The Atlantic. Readers might not know about Brown's Jesuit past. The article notes:

  • Dec 17 2013 - 10:23am
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    With whom do we journey?

    Matthew tells us of the wise men; Luke writes of the shepherds. For both groups, news of Jesus' birth comes to them in community. The Holy Family is a community. Christ arrives gazed upon by a mother and father; he doesn't materialize distant and isolated, like a futuristic superhero. 

  • Dec 16 2013 - 9:24pm
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    Who says education doesn't pay well? Apparently, you just have to find the right role and school.

    According to an article in yesterday's New York Times,

    Forty-two presidents of private colleges were paid more than a million dollars in 2011, up from 36 for the previous two years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education's...

  • Dec 13 2013 - 12:05pm
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    In the latest issue of America, in an essay titled "Saving the Humanities," Raymond Schroth, S.J., responds to "The Heart of the Matter," a report recently issued by the Commission on the Humanities & Social Sciences for the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

  • Dec 12 2013 - 10:53pm
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    In Porta Fidei (The Door of Faith), Pope Benedict XVI's reflection announcing the recently ended Year of Faith, he mentioned those who, "while not claiming to have the gift of faith, are nevertheless sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world." According to Benedict,

  • Dec 11 2013 - 11:15pm
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    Steve Jobs ended his 2005 Stanford commencement speech by urging his audience, "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." For Jobs, remaining hungry and foolish was the path to authenticity. It was the way to live a life that, in his words, didn't rely on the results of another's thinking. 

    His closing words came to mind recently as I ruminated on the way that men and women in the New Testament approach Jesus. Except I thought of a variation on the Jobs theme: "Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Stay...

  • Dec 10 2013 - 1:06pm
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    Yesterday's reading marking the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception was the same reading we hear on the Solemnity of the Annunciation. It's of the dramatic moment where the angel Gabriel comes to Mary to tell her that she will bear Jesus. 

    Of all the things we might say about this famous and challenging reading, I am always most struck by Mary's first response: "How can this be?"

    In a word, "Huh?"

  • Dec 9 2013 - 10:29am
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    December brings concerns about the commercialism of Christmas, along with invocations to return to the day’s “true meaning.” Usually this means a rejection of consumerism in favor of faith. It’s about Christ, people say, not Macy's. Instead of stressing over what to buy, seek to grow closer to God.

  • Dec 6 2013 - 11:08am
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    Dana Gioia's outstanding essay on the condition of Catholic literature, published in the latest issue of First Things, is now available to non-subscribers.

  • Dec 5 2013 - 9:24am
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    The editors of the New York Times Book Review have released their list of the 10 best books of 2013, which includes 5 selections for both fiction and non-fiction. I'm happy to see two of my favorite authors on the list, Chimamanda Adichie and Donna Tartt. At nytimes.com the editors provide a short description of each book and why they chose it, but here is the basic list:

    ...

  • Dec 4 2013 - 11:18pm
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    Over the last few weeks, I've been speaking with a number of parents about the school where I work (Xavier College Preparatory in Palm Desert, CA) and about the qualities that attract families. Education is filled with competing theories and methods and approaches, and it can be difficult to decipher what will ultimately be of value. In my conversations, therefore, I wanted to know what parents deemed to be essential for good education. Not education in the abstract, but education as...

  • Dec 3 2013 - 10:27am
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    In the middle of my third year in law school, when I was starting to stress over the bar exam and all the things that still had to get done before I could start my career, I read words from Cardinal John Henry Newman that rattled the panes of my soul.   

    The words are from his sermon "The Ventures of Faith." In it, Cardinal Newman said: