Jesuit Education
Originally from a small town about thirty miles outside New York City, I now live on the outskirts of Baltimore at Loyola College in Maryland. It is here that I am studying Speech Language Pathology as well as what it means to receive a liberal arts Jesuit education. Although it is only my second year at school, there are many discoveries I have made about the Jesuits and what they have to teach. They teach a sense of universal lessons and connections that we can carry with us everywhere we go. More importantly, they teach us to develop into the person we believe we should be.
Just like the prestigious teachings of the Jesuits, there are various pieces of literature that provide universal themes through which many connect. Some in particular include the novel The Whale Rider, by Witi Ihimaera, the poem The Game, by Judith Ortiz Cofer and the book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs. There is an importance in teaching such works; similar to the importance of teaching liberal arts classes. Each work, although different, opens the reader’s eyes to something new in the world surrounding him or her; just as each core class here at Loyola does the same. For example, there are a few paragraphs of Jane Jacob’s book that remind me greatly of Loyola College. While talking about the “special land” compared to the “general land” I find that Loyola is very much so “special.” “It can be built on or not; it can be publicly owned or not; it can be physically accessible to people or not. This is beside the point. The point is that people walk around it, or alongside it, but not through it…. It is a geological obstacle… all the special land of a city is an interference with the use of the general land… But looked at in another way, this special land contributes greatly to the use of the general land. It contributes people.” (p. 262-263). As the reader of such a paragraph, it reminded me of Loyola because of its reputation of people living in a bubble. The students that live on campus are surrounded by limestone buildings and cobblestone paths, but don’t think of the poverty stricken areas of Baltimore which surround it on the “general land.” I find that for a majority of people at Loyola, such a statement is true; however there are many faculty and students who are very familiar with the surroundings of campus. They partake in community services such as tutoring or Beans & Bread. This passage from Jane Jacob’s book opened my eyes to realize this is not only an occurrence here at Loyola, but can occur within any other community of people.
I find it enjoyable that the Jesuits, who teach the importance of liberal arts and the education of the whole person, also use universal literature to support their teachings throughout their core curriculum. Like I said, I am only in my second year at Loyola and already discovered how much the Jesuit education impacts my life. I plan to study abroad continue on my path to becoming the person I believe is who I should be through the guidance Loyola’s staff.
Just like the prestigious teachings of the Jesuits, there are various pieces of literature that provide universal themes through which many connect. Some in particular include the novel The Whale Rider, by Witi Ihimaera, the poem The Game, by Judith Ortiz Cofer and the book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs. There is an importance in teaching such works; similar to the importance of teaching liberal arts classes. Each work, although different, opens the reader’s eyes to something new in the world surrounding him or her; just as each core class here at Loyola does the same. For example, there are a few paragraphs of Jane Jacob’s book that remind me greatly of Loyola College. While talking about the “special land” compared to the “general land” I find that Loyola is very much so “special.” “It can be built on or not; it can be publicly owned or not; it can be physically accessible to people or not. This is beside the point. The point is that people walk around it, or alongside it, but not through it…. It is a geological obstacle… all the special land of a city is an interference with the use of the general land… But looked at in another way, this special land contributes greatly to the use of the general land. It contributes people.” (p. 262-263). As the reader of such a paragraph, it reminded me of Loyola because of its reputation of people living in a bubble. The students that live on campus are surrounded by limestone buildings and cobblestone paths, but don’t think of the poverty stricken areas of Baltimore which surround it on the “general land.” I find that for a majority of people at Loyola, such a statement is true; however there are many faculty and students who are very familiar with the surroundings of campus. They partake in community services such as tutoring or Beans & Bread. This passage from Jane Jacob’s book opened my eyes to realize this is not only an occurrence here at Loyola, but can occur within any other community of people.
I find it enjoyable that the Jesuits, who teach the importance of liberal arts and the education of the whole person, also use universal literature to support their teachings throughout their core curriculum. Like I said, I am only in my second year at Loyola and already discovered how much the Jesuit education impacts my life. I plan to study abroad continue on my path to becoming the person I believe is who I should be through the guidance Loyola’s staff.
posted by mapiro at 10:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home