AKMA has an interesting post about the emergent church I mentioned a few days ago. It is, to be more accurate, about theological education. He plays with the idea of home schooling as a model for theological education. He is not the first to wrestle with alternative visions of theological education, that is a given, but the home schooling piece may be somewhat original. To add fuel to the debate, I thought I would share another Jesuit tidbit that I think is appropriate.
Jesuit schools charged no tuition.Not much of this is all that radical these days. I am not entirely aware of how radical it was four hundred years ago. But I think it is an interesting outline of pedagogy. Posted by tripp at December 1, 2004 06:32 AMThey admitted students from every social class and religion.
They emphasized the humanities and the "humane letters."
They linked these "humane letters" to other studies a swell, including Aristotelian philosophy and Thomistic theology.
They followed an order of learning, with students progressing from class to class and on level of curriculum to another.
They cultivated both rigorous thinking, or ideas, and skills.
They included a religious dimension that went beyond rote to foster values, ethics, and a spiritual life - as well as assistance to others.
They provided more specialized religious outlets, for example, through the Marian Congregations of the day.
They had an international magnitude, with shools linked throughout Europe, sharing learning but attentive to the demands of local clture and circumstances.
Finally, they tried to influence students by example - not just by word - and stressed the importance of knowing and caring for each and every student.
- from For That I Came, Virtues and Ideals of Jesuit Education William J O'Brien, ed.
I like Item #1: They charged no tuition.
Posted by: Reverend Ref at December 1, 2004 07:02 PM