Augustine as Teacher

"My attitude, as I teach you,

is to remember and keep in mind my duties as a servant.

As a result, I speak not as a master, but a minister;

not to pupils, but to fellow pupils;

not to servants, but fellow servants."

Augustine - Sermon 242, 1

"Do not grow complacent with what you are.

Where you have become pleased with yourself, there you get stuck.

If you say "that's enough," you are finished. 

Always add something more.

Keep on walking.

Always forge ahead."

Augustine - Sermon 169

This past week in class - more wisdom from Augustine and his 21st century scholars:

Fr. Gary McCloskey's offering on Catechesis and Pedagogy was most interesting and practical. For Augustine, the relationship between teacher and students was of great importance, as was the humility of the teacher. One could argue that Augustine was advocating for "student-centered learning" long before it became official educational parlance. Knowing his audience and their ability to understand prompted Augustine to write with appropriate, differing styles. 

Fr. Anthony Banks guided us in the development of documents, constitutions, and other juridical structures of the Augustinian order. We got into a lot of discussions on the constitutional changes that were made in our respective congregations after Vatican II and learned about the various members of the Augustinian family.

S. Mary Juan Camacho, SSND