“The program was designed in response to people who came to us from the Catholic system and said that, although they appreciated very much the efforts that were already in place around the faith and professional formation of Catholic teachers, they were attracted to and interested in what the Jesuits might add to the program,” said Fr. Gordon Rixon, dean of Regis College. “Our strength is the integration of spirituality and theology into the curriculum.”
The Teacher Formation Program was developed over more than two years, said Rixon. The process involved Regis College faculty, representatives from the Catholic education system, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Institute for Catholic Education.
Involved in education for more than 450 years, the Jesuits have integrated the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola into the classroom. Rixon said the Spiritual Exercises cover much of the personal and professional development dynamics essential to being an effective Catholic teacher.
New teachers to the Catholic system are required to complete the first part of a religious education development course, which is based on a curriculum approved by the Institute for Catholic Education and accredited by the Ontario College of Teachers, by the end of their second year of teaching.
Through Regis College’s new program, which was approved in January, teachers can tackle this over two 10-week semesters consisting of a weekly four-hour evening class. Each class has a lecture from the assigned instructor as well as a guest presentation from a member of the Regis College faculty.
“That just enriches our program and makes it really exciting,” said Rixon.
This will be the standard format for the Regis College Teacher Formation Program, which will be offered this spring. The remaining two parts of the program begin in the fall.
“This spring we are offering a session where they are meeting twice a week and some weekends,” said Rixon. “We may continue to do that type of shorter, more intense offering as well.”
This condensed version of the course still covers the same amount of professional and personal development material, and provides the students with the same amount of instructional time, but in fewer weeks by holding classes at least twice a week rather than once.
Rixon also noted that the school intends to offer a version of the course each summer. It will teachers abroad to places significant to the evolution of the Catholic faith, with the first stop being Israel.
“We’re feeding and we’re nourishing and we’re caring for these teachers in a way that just sustains their own love of learning,” said Rixon. “They’ll get all sorts of ideas, they’ll get insight, they’ll see the integration of faith across the curriculum but most importantly we’re just going to nourish their love of learning and their own love of the faith.”
That’s exactly what has Stephen Sedef, a Grade 7 teacher at Precious Blood Elementary School in Toronto, excited about completing the program.
“This course will provide me with the knowledge and confidence to answer questions surrounding the Catholic faith I was not comfortable responding to in the past,” said Sedef, one of five participating in the pilot project.
“I hope to build upon the foundational background that each student already has and help deepen their awareness surrounding the Catholic faith.”
And that is who will truly benefit from this program: students.
“They’ll see their teachers come alive in the faith,” said Rixon. “It’s going to nourish their teachers and just make the appreciation of faith an even more vital part of their own living.”