Saint Jean Baptiste de LaSalle
| John Baptist De La Salle (Jean Baptiste de La Salle) | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of De La Salle taken from a painting by Giovanni Gagliardi | |
| Patron Saint of Teachers | |
| Born | April 30, 1651, Reims, France |
| Died | April 7, 1719, Saint-Yon, Rouen, France |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | February 19, 1888 |
| Canonized | May 24, 1900 |
| Major shrine | Sanctuary of John Baptist de La Salle, Casa Generalizia, Rome, Italy. |
| Feast | Church: April 7, Lasallian Institutions: May 15 |
| Attributes | stretched right arm with finger pointing up, instructing two children standing near him, books |
| Patronage | Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian educational institutions, educators, school principals, teachers |
Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (born April 30, 1651 in Reims; died April 7, 1719 in Saint-Yon, Rouen) was a French priest and educational reformer, who dedicated more than 40 years of his life to the education of the children of the poor. In the process, he standardized educational practices throughout France, wrote inspirational meditations on the ministry of teaching (along with catechisms, politeness texts, and other resources for teachers and students), and became the catalyst and resource for many other religious congregations dedicated to education that were founded in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
He was founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, an international educational movement, whose order is commonly known as the Christian Brothers. La Salle was ordained to the priesthood in 1678, beatified in 1888, and canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1900. He was proclaimed Patron of Christian Teachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
Life
- The family of de la Salle traces its origin to Johan Salla, who, in the early part of the ninth century, was Commander-in-chief of the Royal forces of Alfonso the Chaste. It was not, however, until about 1350 that the younger branch of this family, from which our saint is descended, removed to France and settled in Champagne. John Baptist was the eldest child of Louis de la Salle and Nicolle de Moet de Brouillet. His parents were very solicitous in the care they bestowed upon their child, especially in regard to is moral and intellectual development. After due preparation, he was sent to the College des Bons Enfants, where he pursed the higher studies and, on 10 July, 1669, he took the degree of Master of Arts. Canon Pierre Dozet, chancellor of the University of Reims, was the presiding officer at the academic sessions, and in the discharge of his function had opportunity to study the character of his young cousin, de la Salle, with the result that he determined on resigning his canonry in his favour. Louis de la Salle, however, cherished the hope that John Baptist would select the profession of law, and thereby maintain the family tradition. But young de la Salle insisted that he was called to serve the Church, and accordingly he received the tonsure 11 March, 1662, and was solemnly installed as a canon of the metropolitan See of Reims, 7 January, 1667.**
Brought up in a wealthy family and having received a good education, when he just 16 years old, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle was appointed a canon of Reims Cathedral. He was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 27. Two years later he received a doctorate in theology. He would later leave his position as canon priest at Reims and found a religious community devoted to teaching, distributing his fortune to the poor during a particularly harsh winter.
During his work as a priest, he increasingly became involved with helping out the common people. One way in which this desire to help the common man manifested itself was his involvement with a group of poor and relatively uneducated men, who wished to help with the teaching of poor boys. This involvement began when, in March of 1679, he met Adrien Nyel, a committed educator of the poor who provided them with many services. This man quickly convinced La Salle to help him with his mission. His involvement increased until he eventually became the leader of the project. Las Salle was impressed by the deplorable conditions in which these impoverished people lived. To him, they seemed "far from salvation."
La Salle became involved in education little by little, without ever consciously setting out to do so. What began as a charitable effort to help Nyel organize a group of marginally competent teachers in La Salle's hometown gradually became his life's work. In his own words, one decision led to another until he found himself doing something that he had never anticipated.
La Salle wrote:
| “ | ...God, who guides all things with wisdom and serenity, whose way it is not to force the inclinations of persons, willed to commit me entirely to the development of the schools. He did this in an imperceptible way and over a long period of time so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning. | ” |
He renounced both his wealth and his position of canon at the local church. He thought that not having these material possessions would make him better able to connect with his students. He soon abandoned his family home and moved in with the teachers. This educational venture led to the founding in 1680 of a new order, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the De La Salle Christian Brothers, and, especially in the United States, the Christian Brothers. His schools stressed practical skills and religious instruction rather than classical education. La Salle also pioneered teacher training colleges. His books on piety and on teaching methods were widely read.
- The various educational reforms which de la Salle introduced prove that he legislated wisely. The courses of study for elementary free schools, technical schools, and colleges are evidences of his broad culture and wide grasp of educational problems. Hence, if the needs of a certain locality called for special branches, or if the times and conditions demanded certain advanced studies, de la Salle was not slow in responding nor in giving these subjects a place commensurate in importance with their educational value. De la Salle, furthermore, displayed his genius in giving is institute a distinctive character, that of a teaching body, consecrated to the work of popular education. Thus he became the author of a system of psychologic pedagogy which included the essential principles adopted by later workers in the field of educational reforms, notably by Pestalozzi, Fröbel, Herbart, and others. In making the vernacular the basis of all instruction, de la Salle appealed to the intelligence of the child, prepared the way for the study of national literature, and opened up to the grown man those avenues of real knowledge and delight that had hitherto been closed against the eager multitude. With true scientific insight he perceived the absurdity of retaining Latin texts to teach the art of reading. For this change he gave the following reasons:
The teaching of the art of reading, in primary and elementary schools, through the vernacular, is of greater and wider utility than by Latin texts. The vernacular is more easily taught to children, who already possess some knowledge of it, than the Latin of which they are wholly ignorant. It requires considerably less time to learn the art of reading through the vernacular than through a foreign tongue. The boys and girls attending the primary and elementary schools, can spend only a few years under instruction. Now, if thy are taught reading from a Latin text, they generally leave school without being able to read the vernacular, and with only an imperfect knowledge of how to read the Latin. Hence, they will soon forget the little they have learned, and, perhaps, even how to read the vernacular. Reading is one of he most efficacious means of acquiring knowledge. With due care in the selection of books, children who can read in the vernacular could spread the Christian doctrine in the family circle, and, on evenings, read some useful or instructive books to the assembled household; whereas, if they could read the Latin only, without understanding it, they would be deprived of many valuable benefits resulting from the intelligent reading of a good book. It is impossible for children in primary and elementary schools to master the reading of Latin texts, because they are not acquainted with its subject matter. It is, therefore, the part of wisdom to train children thoroughly to the intelligent reading of works written in the vernacular. Thus, having mastered the art of reading in the vernacular, a few months would suffice to make them read the Latin fluently, whereas, if the traditional method were followed, it would require at least several years [Annales de l'Institut, I (1883), pp. 140, 141]. This fact proves that de la Salle was a profound thinker, a genius in the work of popular education. He embraced all classes, all conditions of society. By making the free schools popular, he grasped the growing needs of society in his own day and for all times. No phase of the educational problem escaped his penetrating vision. As de la Salle is especially identified with the "Simultaneous Method" of teaching, an explanation of the method and its history will prove of interest to the educator. By the "Simultaneous Method" the pupils are graded according to their capacity, putting those of equal attainments in the same class, giving them the same text-books, and requiring them to follow the same lesson under one and the same teacher. This method has best stood the test of time and experience, and is that which the Brothers of the Christian Schools employ in all grades of instruction even at the present day. Like all fruitful ideas, the "Simultaneous Method" is not the exclusive property of any one man. Others besides de la Salle discerned its value, and even partially applied its essential principles,long before the founder of the Christian Schools made it live in his institute. It had no place in the university system of the Middle Ages. The plan adopted n those time was that which prevails to a great extent in the universities of our own day, namely, listening to lectures, taking notes thereon, and holding disputations upon the subject-matter. The Jesuits organized each class in subdivisions; each division being headed by an advanced pupil called a decurion, to whom the boys recited their lessons at stated times, while the teacher corrected exercises or heard the lessons of particular pupils. The whole class afterwards received explanations form the teacher. St. Peter Fourier (1565-1640) saw in Christian education the remedy for many of the disorders existing among the poor and labouring class. He was far-seeing, and anticipated more than one of our modern educational improvements. Indeed, he was one of the first to apply some of the principles of the "Simultaneous Method". In his constitutions he prescribes that, as far as it can possibly be carried out, all the pupils of the same mistress shall have each the same book, in order to learn and read therein the same lesson; so that, whilst one is reading hers in an audible and intelligible voice before the mistress, all the others, hearing her and following this lesson in their books at the same time, may earn it sooner, more readily, and more perfectly. Herein the principle of the "Simultaneous Method" is for the first time, clearly stated. Yet, when he enters into the details of practice he seems to lose sight of the principle which he lays down. In the very next paragraph of the Constitutions, it is provided that the mistress shall call up two pupils at a time, and place them one at each side of her desk. The more advanced pupil shall read her lesson; the other shall listen to her, shall correct all the faults she may make, in the use of words, in pronunciation, or in the observance of pauses. This is the individual method. For the smaller pupils he recommends that four or six at a time come to her desk, and to make use of some graded cards, containing letters and syllables. (Sommaire des Constitutions des Religieuses de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame, 1649, 3rd part.)
This new order met with a great deal of resistance from local authorities, as well as from other, more established educational institutions. The Roman Catholic Church initially rejected the creation of a new order, and the other schools resented the methods that he used: new forms of teaching, and free education for all.
- La Salle used many methods of teaching that were unheard of in seventeenth-century France. He grouped students together, generally by their ability, in order to help them learn better. He also promoted well-educated teachers, something that was not very common in his day. Another of his controversial methods was teaching in the vernacular. Most schools, especially religious ones, were taught almost entirely in Latin. He also integrated religious studies with more traditional subjects.
In the management of Christian schools, de la Salle states concisely the following practical rules for teaching methodically:
1. The teacher determines the relative intelligence of every pupil in his class. 2. He adapts his language and explanations to the capacity of his class, and is careful never to neglect the duller pupils. 3. He makes sure that the pupils know the meaning of the words they employ. 4. He advances from the simple to the complex, from the easy to the difficult. 5. He makes it a special point to insist greatly on the elementary part of each subject; not to advance until the pupils are well grounded on what goes before . . . 9. To state but few principles at a time, but to explain them well . . . 10. To speak much to the eyes of the pupils, making sue of the blackboard . . . 11. To prepare every lesson carefully. 12. To place no faulty models or standards before the pupils; always to speak to them in a sensible manner, expressing one's self in correct language, good English, and with clearness and precision. 13. To employ none but exact definitions and well-founded divisions . . . 18. To assert nothing without being positively certain of its truth, especially as regards facts, definitions, or principles. 19. To make frequent use of the system of question and answer. (Chap. V, art. ii, pp. 31-33) It is true that de la Salle, in establishing his institute, had in mind principally the primary and elementary school, which was the real raison d'etre for the existence of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He was the organizer of the public instruction of his time, and no master of pedagogical science will deny him that distinction. But, if the primary and elementary school was the principal masterwork of de la Salle, there was yet another field of labour which likewise reveals his creative genius.
After a lifetime of care for the poor, John Baptiste de La Salle died at the age of 67 on Good Friday, April 7, 1719, at Saint Yon, near the French town of Rouen. On February 19, 1888, La Salle was beatified. He was officially canonized as a saint on May 24, 1900. On May 15, 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed him to be the Patron Saint of all Teachers.
Legacy
According to St. John Baptist de La Salle, teachers are the "ambassadors of Christ" and "ministers of grace." He believed that teachers have a providential and privileged relationship with their students.
La Salle was a pedagogical thinker of note and is among the founders of a distinctively modern pedagogy. In 1685, La Salle founded what is generally considered the first normal school—that is, a school whose purpose is to train teachers—in Reims. Currently, about 6,000 Christian Brothers and 75,000 lay and religious colleagues worldwide serve as teachers, counselors, and guides to 900,000 students in over 1,000 educational institutions in 84 countries, carrying out the work of the founder into the twenty-first century. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on May 24, 1900 and his feast is celebrated in the Catholic Church calendar on April 7, and at La Sallian institutions on May 15. He was proclaimed as the Patron Saint of Teachers in 1950 by Pope Pius XII.
The network of schools that he created, now known as Lasallian Schools, still exists today, in many countries around the world. The schools are primarily high schools and universities. After prayer; students at these schools still often say, "St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts, forever." The lines "St. John Baptist de La Salle" and "live Jesus in our hearts", are said by the prayer leader, and "pray for us," and "forever" are recited by the students.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Courtois, Gaston. Saint John Baptiste de La Salle, Long Publishing Co., 1959. ASIN B0007H7MOI
- Martinez, Luis Varela. Sacred Scripture in the Spirituality of Saint John Baptiste de La Salle, Lasallian Publications, 2000. ISBN 978-0944808238
- Salm, Luke. The Work is Yours: The Life of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, Christian Brothers Conference, 1996. ISBN 978-1884904080
- Wurth, Othmar. John Baptiste de La Salle and Special Education, Lasallian Publications, 1980. ISBN 978-0944808023
External links
- La Salle website
- St. John Baptist de la Salle. Catholic Encyclopedia.
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