(C.D. Stampley Enterprises, Charlotte, NC 2001). Used with permission.

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For teachers

St. John Baptist de la Salle (1651-1719)

Feast day: April 7

St. John Baptist de la Salle’s common sense approach to classroom instruction has been adopted by parochial and public schools around the world. In 1950 {ln:Pope} Pius XII named St. John patron of teachers.

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The teaching method St. John Baptist de la Salle advocated is so well established in parochial, private, and public schools that it is difficult to imagine there ever was a time when some Church authorities in France considered de la Salle a dangerous radical. De la Salle’s common-sense classroom philosophy developed over decades and was based his personal experience teaching children of vastly different social classes and intellectual abilities.

At the heart of de la Salle’s method was a curriculum identified a set of skills that ranged from the simple to the more complex: a student could not pass to a higher grade until he or she had mastered the course work in his current grade. St. John believed it was wrong for a teacher to adhere rigidly to one way of teaching or explaining a subject; if the class is not grasping the material de la Salle insisted that it was the teacher’s obligation to find other approach to make the lessons understandable. Since students do not all learn at the rate, de la Salle would not let his teachers leave the slower learners behind. He insisted that children should be taught to read in their vernacular language first; they could learn to read Latin later. Finally St. John believed teaching by the question-and-answer method was better than lecturing or reading the textbook aloud to the class.

He called his teaching order Brothers of the Christian Schools because Christian doctrine and Christian practice were as important in de la Salle’s curriculum as secular learning. Students and teachers prayed together at set times throughout the day. They attended daily Mass together. They studied the catechism in the classroom. Even lessons in good manners were given a Christian spin: since everyone was a child of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit, everyone, regardless of social class, deserved to be treated with courtesy.

John Baptist de la Salle did not set out to be an educational innovator. He was the eldest child of an aristocratic family from the French province of Champagne. His parents Louis de la Salle and Nicolle de Moet de Brouillet brought him up to be religious and self-disciplined, but also conscious of his rank. By age eleven he was already preparing for a career in the Church. He was ordained a priest in 1678 and settled into the comfortable life as a canon of the Cathedral of Rheims. He said Mass daily, was conscientious about participating the religious functions of the cathedral, but he had no pastoral duties. All that changed when de la Salle met Adrien Nyel, a layman who had opened four schools for poor children in Rouen and now wanted to open such a school in Rheims. Initially de la Salle was little more than a benefactor of the school. Drawing upon his large inheritance and the income he received as a canon de la Salle paid the teachers’ salaries and even rented a house for them.

Nyel and de la Salle had no trouble finding students—the poor children of Rheims flocked to the schools—but finding good instructors was another matter, and Nyel had no talent for training teachers. A priest whom St. John respected told him the best way to train teachers was to have them live with him. The idea made de la Salle cringe. He recalled later that he regarded these teachers as men who ranked lower than his servants. “The very thought of living with them,” de la Salle said, “was unbearable.” Nonetheless he overcame his snobbery, invited the teachers into his home, and by trial and error began formulating a new way to teach children.

In 1684 de la Salle resigned his office as canon and with twelve men formed the Brothers of the Christian Schools. De la Salle told his disciples that they were “ambassadors of the Christ to the young.” And he reminded them if they hoped to teach the faith to others, they would have to be steeped in it themselves.

The number of schools operated by de la Salle’s brothers grew steadily in France throughout the 18th century. In 1789 there were 1000 Brothers of the Christian Schools in 121 communities. The French Revolution suppressed the order, and some of the brothers died on the scaffold, but in the 19th century the order was revived. Today there are about 8000 teaching brothers whose influence extends far beyond their own classrooms.

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Prayer to the saints is a powerful thing.

Now, with Saints for Every Occasion, readers can quickly find help for any challenge they face – no matter how large or small. Author Thomas J. Craughwell profiles 101 patron saints from various continents, cultures and times – from saints who were contemporaries of Christ, to modern patrons like Padre Pio and Faustina Kowalska. Each saint lived heroically in difficult times and circumstances, providing powerful examples of how to turn almost any obstacle into a source of grace. Along with old favorites such as St. Anthony and St. Jude, Craughwell offers patrons for specifically modern concerns, including, for example, saints to watch over astronauts, internet users and environmental activists. Beautifully illustrated and entertainingly told, Saints for Every Occasion features 101 patron saints readers will seek out time and again.

“An excellent resource for home and classroom use.” – Publisher’s Weekly {/tabs}