THE ADRIEN NYEL PROJECT – IGNITING A ZEAL FOR TEACHING - DENA

THE ADRIEN NYEL PROJECT – IGNITING A ZEAL FOR TEACHING

by Br. Ernest Miller, FSC, founding director of The Adrien Nyel Project

Formulated over the past year, The Adrien Nyel Project is a multifaceted endeavor of The Brothers of the Christian Schools, situated within the Office for Mission & Ministry of the District of Eastern North America (DENA). The Project recognizes the necessity for inspired, qualified teachers and other educators in Catholic schools, including in our Lasallian network, who have a deep-seated mission-related commitment, not merely a professional sensibility. Promoting the vocation of the teacher, together with critical mission education and formation, is a significant dimension of our charism and our responsibility to the Church and the world.

Three foundation stones solidify the project:

The Founding Charismatic Event—the Spirit-driven encounter of Nyel, a lay schoolmaster, and John Baptist de La Salle, a priest, at the Convent of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus in March 1679, in Reims, France.

At the time of this providential meeting, society’s appreciation for the teaching profession and vocation was not highly regarded. Indeed, it was viewed with disdain by most people. Talented young people were not encouraged to pursue this career path. There was a constant challenge of trying to find people with the right temperament and motivation to take on the important task of teaching and learning. And there was the ever-present problem of teachers leaving the profession after only a year or two. The challenge in attracting and retaining teachers remains great. Generally, undergraduate teacher education programs are experiencing lower enrollments, especially of male students.

Br. Ernest Miller, FSC, Director of the Adrien Nyel Project

We hope to help teachers deepen their zeal for inspiring students.

The Vocation of the Teacher—an essential instrument of God’s plan for salvation (wholeness). Lasallian Spirituality Today states, “A vocation is a calling and a disposition to follow a particular path of life. When we speak of the Lasallian vocation, we speak of the calling to be part of a circle of lifelong educators and lifelong learners who see learning and teaching as a holy endeavor that is deeply relational, centered on teaching the minds, touching the hearts, and transforming the lives of those entrusted to their care.”

Lasallian Spirituality Today highlights key questions for which the Adrien Nyel Project aims to create a dynamic space for discernment and response:

How can our deep gift meet the world’s deep need today?”
“What do today’s educators need to better understand, appreciate, and engage their Lasallian heritage and spirituality?”

The Adrien Nyel Project will begin to prosper these itineraries:

Education and Formation for Mission

This itinerary aims to provide accompaniment and resources to support new teachers and young teachers on their vocational journey to interiorize the spiritual foundations of Catholic education and the constitutive elements of Lasallian identity. Education and formation for mission involves a multifaceted, lifelong, intentional pursuit of coming to know, understand, and practice the essential and dynamic dimensions of what it means to be associated in the Lasallian charism.

Activities include facilitating mission orientation for new teachers at local ministries, a mid-year retreat, staff/faculty retreats, and other forms of accompaniment and support at the request of a local school.

To exercise Lasallian association, the retreat endeavors to provide time for new teachers and young teachers to reflect on the pedagogical and spiritual principles of Lasallian education and evangelization. This gathering will invite them to be attentive to the movement of the Holy Spirit and to consider how God is calling them both in their personal lives and in their ministry.

The Adrien Nyel Project will enhance and expand our programs to train Lasallian teachers.

Teaching is a vocation and a ministry, not simply a job.

Higher Education Partnership and Support

This itinerary aims to explore and encourage opportunities to partner with La Salle University and Manhattan College in efforts to support Catholic education—including our DENA schools and centers of education. At present, La Salle University is developing a three-credit certification program for Catholic elementary school teachers that includes a Lasallian Catholic identity component.

We plan to convene the La Salle and Manhattan Education Department leaders, together with their counterparts from the other four US Lasallian colleges and universities, to foster cross-institutional communication and collaboration

We will examine the potential creation of a new certificate program in Lasallian education and evangelization.

The Lasallian Institute for the Formation of Teachers (LIFT)

At the direction of the Brothers Visitors of the Midwest District and DENA, this initiative is designed for undergraduate male students discerning an education career. Participants will earn credits in education and theology and experience various schools and other centers in solidarity with marginalized persons and communities.

Since the 46th General Chapter of the Brothers’ international Institute calls us to “renew our engagement in the pastoral ministry of evangelization by providing Brothers and Partners with theological and catechetical formation and resources,” the Adrien Nyel director will serve as the convener of the annual Brother Luke Salm, FSC Religious Education Workshop. The director will also serve on the Advisory Board of the Community at the Crossing, an ecumenical community, based at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan. It is a full-time residential program, and a part-time non-residential program open to twenty-one to thirty-year-olds.