Caring for Teachers and Students
Discipline in the Lasallian School
Joseph Desimone, FSC
Presented to the Deans of Students
District of San Francisco
on the occasion of the
Christian Brothers Retreat and Conference Center
Mont La Salle, Napa, California
December 7, 1990
Edited for Publication: November, 1994
We will focus today on the beginnings of the
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It is from that starting point, I
believe, that we will grasp many important cues about the origin and the meaning behind
our modern term Lasallian Education.
To develop a complete understanding of the guidance De La Salle provided his early
teachers, I will refer to a number of texts, but most of my material comes from The
Conduct of Schools. We will approach our task from two perspectives: first, we will
look at what De La Salle is saying to the early teachers about how they are to manage,
organize and operate their classroom; and then we will study the process De La Salle used
to develop these guidelines that he shared with the teachers. We stand to gain insight
into the Lasallian school by focusing on the process De La Salle used to develop The
Conduct. And we will begin to see ways that we too might help to guide our
present-day teachers in their daily work with the students. We will also see just how
timeless the guidelines are that are contained in The Conduct of Schools.
Before we go much further, I would like to offer the following note. You will probably
recognize most of the material we discuss in our brief review of The Conduct. In
many cases, you have already intuitively arrived at many of these conclusions yourself. De
La Salle's approach, and his insights into the real lives of the children in his schools
have resulted in the development of a text that remarkably mirrors our own times, and our
own work as educational ministers. De La Salle, and the early Brothers' words ring true to
our own experiences with today's teachers and students. This brings us back to our point
about studying the process De La Salle used to establish The Conduct of Schools.
The preface of The Conduct of School neatly summarizes the process De La Salle and the
early teachers used to develop this vital text:
This Conduct was prepared and put in order only after a
great number of conferences with the oldest and most capable teachers among the Brothers
of the Institute and after several years of experience. Nothing has been added that has
not been thoroughly deliberated and well tested and of which the advantages and
disadvantages have not been weighed and, insofar as possible, both the good and bad
consequences have not been foreseen.
The Conduct of Schools is not solely the work of De La Salle. Quite the contrary, The
Conduct of Schools is De La Salle's combination of the best educational pedagogy of
the 1690's, coupled with the experience of the first Brothers in the classroom. Then,
"only after many conferences with the oldest and most capable teachers"
they began to codify what was to become their educational handbook. It virtually grew
out of the living experience of the early Lasallian teachers. This process establishes a
precedent for how we should proceed when we develop disciplinary guidelines within our own
schools and how we should work with our own teachers.
The Conduct of Schools from the French: conduire, to care:
The word conduct comes from the French conduire, meaning to conduct, to
manage, to lead, to guide, to direct. All of these are similar to our English word:
manage. But, conduire also means to care. This dimension of conduire has to
do with spiritual direction ‹ guiding somebody along the path to salvation; the sense
we have in the Meditations. It is the pastoral sense of conduire, of
managing, of guiding, of caring ‹ of bringing a person forward out of care ‹
that is the key to The Conduct of Schools. The teacher was to do all things with
the eyes of faith.
The Conduct of Schools combines the best in educational pedagogy of the seventeenth
and eighteenth century France with this new spirituality of educational ministry. De La
Salle, priest and Doctor of Philosophy, had a very keen insight into incarnational
spirituality. He evidenced this by insight into the person of Jesus, found in Scripture,
through prayer, meditation, and through the daily contact with each student. De La Salle's
commitment to this incarnate spirituality found expression at every level of the Christian
School. It permeates all of his writings, especially the meditations he prepared for the
teachers' annual retreat and the meditations for Sundays and feast days. And, it is this
incarnational spirituality we participate in as we begin our prayer each day ‹ Let
us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God, not, Let us pray to God.
Notice what we are really saying, "let us remember we are in the presence of
God." God is with us here. This is God's place. It is in God's place that the
teacher acts as God's ambassador. That spirituality is an essential filter for what that
teachers are doing with, and for the students.
Parish Schools vs. The Conduct of Schools:
The Parish School was one of the major pedagogical resources De La Salle drew upon
for the methodology in developing The Conduct. It was written by Jacques De
Bettencourt, a parish priest and contemporary of De La Salle. It was based on eighteen
years of experience De Bettencourt had in the elementary parish classroom. (We are
indebted to the work done by Brother Dominic Everett, FSC on the comparison between The
Parish School and The Conduct of Schools.) By comparing these two teacher
guides, we will begin to understand how De La Salle distinguished his educational system
from the common parish-based schools of the late 17th century. De La Salle, who draws from
the best in contemporary pedagogy, does not hesitate to make significant modifications to
these pedagogies when necessary to suit the needs of the teachers and students in the
newly emerging Christian Schools.
The Parish School was a single publication, written by an individual, and it seems
to be based upon his own experiences. The Conduct of Schools was a collaborative
effort. As a part of a larger system of texts that included hymnals, reading texts, wall
charts, religion texts, mathematics books, etc., it was one of many books De La Salle
wrote for the Brothers, to train them, to teach them, and help them with the organization
of the school, and their work with students. The Conduct of Schools was based on
shared experiences. It was a shared, collaborative effort. As such, it was written together
and by association. De La Salle's commitment to collaborating WITH THE TEACHERS comes
through quite clearly. For De La Salle, the Christian School was the result of a shared
educational ministry, not as much a common ministry where everyone was doing something
similar, but instead it is a ministry where every person (including the parent and the
student) are dynamically linked to accomplish the aims and goals of the Christian School.
The Parish School was based upon logical development of the curriculum. One who
develops such systems logically is locked into the perspective that they know how best to
teach all kids. De La Salle, on the other hand, encouraged the Brothers to experiment, and
then he authored The Conduct, based on what they found to be most effective. The
Conduct of Schools promoted curriculum and learning experiences that were developed
experientially.
De La Salle was one of the first people to elevate the position of the elementary teacher
to a ministry within the Church; to a vocation; that these teachers were being called by
God. Teaching in the Christian School was not simply a task to be relegated to persons who
had no other way to make a living. This is a critical departure between what was common in
17th century France and the system of education De La Salle established. Classroom
teachers were quite often persons who, having no other usable skills, turned to teaching.
They were poor, untrained in social skills, had poor health and sanitary habits, and most
were barely skilled in the subjects they taught nor capable in their classroom management
techniques. This is not too far away from the first teachers who joined De La Salle in his
new endeavor. We know De La Salle found the first teachers quite repugnant, and more than
once he refers to them as being of a lower social class than his own personal valet.
The Parish School was based on the theories of contemporary educational pedagogy,
while the Lasallian school was based on understanding the children who come to learn.
Instead of projecting their needs, or ignoring them altogether, De La Salle was concerned
with understanding what motivates people and especially what motivates children to learn.
His work with the teachers, and his writings encouraged the teachers to understand how
they could best guide their disciples. This psychological perspective comes through very
clearly in The Conduct.
The Conduct was based on teaching a living religion, not just teaching religious
principles; it was based on helping children to adapt behavior - models of living. De La
Salle's schools taught life skills - rather than simply intellectual skills. As a result,
the students learned living skills, which included religious practices and attitudes so
that they could live as Christians in their world of late 17th and early 18th century
France.
The curriculum and student body in the Lasallian school were integrated. Students were not
segmented on the basis of their proficiency or course. Any given classroom could consist
of students with varying levels of expertise in a given subject. As a matter of fact,
quite often the more advanced students were called upon to assist the less proficient
students attain mastery of a particular subject. Likewise, the subject matter itself was
taught in an integrated manner; learning a language was not segmented from the learning of
religion; their learning of mathematics went hand in hand with learning religion.
Oftentimes, I think we lose sight of the importance of providing students with an
integrational learning environment and course of studies. We tend to departmentalize: our
math teachers teach math, religion teachers are responsible for teaching religion, and
somebody else within the school is responsible for some other part of the student's life.
De La Salle's system of education strongly supports the view that all learning should be
integrated.
The Parish School was written essentially to direct teachers who were working with
one hundred or so students to a classroom, while The Conduct of Schools was written
to guide teachers who were conducting classes of 50 to 60 students. In The Parish
School, the authority was very divided; the teacher was more like a director in the
classroom. In addition to the teacher, there were a series of aides also operating in some
capacity in the classroom. On the other hand, in the Lasallian school, the authority, and
therefore the role of instruction, was reserved to the teacher. The teacher was ultimately
responsible for guiding the entire experience. Again, I think that has some implications
to us as Deans of Students. Our teachers are most immediately in contact with the
students; he or she should have full authority and responsibility in the classroom to
guide, model, be vigilant with, and care for the students. All the more reason for us to
make sure that each of our teachers is well prepared and full supported in their very
important role as Christian ministers of education.
The Cast of Characters in the Lasallian School:
In the last couple of minutes, we have examined seven distinct characteristics that
distinguish the schools De La Salle developed from schools established on the "Parish
School" model. And we have explained the purpose of The Conduct as going far
beyond simply teaching classroom management techniques. In fact, as we have seen, The
Conduct established an entirely new milieu whereby the role of the teacher takes on
new meaning. Through The Conduct, De La Salle worked with his young teachers,
trying to train them to be effective as ministers of education in the Christian School.
Let's move our discussion now to the cast of characters that comprised the school
community.
Since we are dealing with Lasallian schools, there is no better place to begin than with
the students. Imagine, if you can, what the original students were like that the early
teachers were dealing with - what are your impressions of those people? What kinds of
students were these early teachers dealing with?
Response: Street urchins.
Response: They were poor.
Response: Many had learning disabilities.
Response: Uncivilized, with few social skills.
Response: Streetwise. They probably knew the streets pretty well.
Response: The only ones who were educated, as I understand it, were wealthy or
wealthier.
Br. Joseph: That is a fairly accurate representation of the students who entered
those first classrooms. Let's take the picture one step further. How would you
characterize the teachers that walked into those classrooms, as Brothers, in those early
years? Can anybody take a venture as to their character, their habits, their skills? What
can you tell me about those teachers that walked into the classrooms of the first
Lasallian Schools?
Response: They weren't very well educated themselves.
Br. Joseph: True. Very few of them even had the education that we would equate with
graduating from elementary school. As a matter of fact, probably none of them had the
sophistication that our elementary school student graduates have. So, academically, they
were very poorly skilled.
Many of them probably had skills in writing, but probably these skills were fairly crude.
They might have had basic computational skills, but again, these skills might also be
quite minimal. In many cases, the teachers that flocked to De La Salle in the beginning
were people with almost no skills at all. These early teachers had to be taught how to
teach and how to manage these students.
Response: Would you say that they were closer to understanding the lives of the
students?
Br. Joseph: Evidently, they were much closer to the real living situation of the
students. But, as we will see later, the fact that they understood the real lives of the
students may not have eased the teachers anxiety about maintaining order in the classroom.
Response: They had the same social and personal background.... they were
street-wise.
Br. Joseph: We know that when De La Salle brought the Brothers into his house, he
was repulsed by them and their lack of even the most essential social manners and graces.
He considered them lower in social class than his valet, a point that we mentioned
earlier. We know, for instance, that the food that they ate was so difficult for De La
Salle to digest that he, for two years, practically stopped eating. He says it took him
over two years to get used to the kind of diet that these people were used to.
In light of this profile, it might not seem reasonable to have great hope for what these
teachers could accomplish. But it doesn't seem to daunt De La Salle. What does he tell us
of these teachers? He says, first off, "You are to become models of Christ's love
to the students, models of Christ's love. The child is more likely to imitate what the
child sees than what the child is taught. While I can teach you to teach, I am more
concerned about who you are and the kind of person you are, because it's then that you
will have a greater impact on the students." De La Salle challenged them to
write the word of God daily upon the hearts of the students.
Understandably, these early teachers were very human. They became easily discouraged with
the lack of attention, lack of student progress, and absenteeism. And they probably sought
and needed the comfort of abusive corporal punishment ‹ the rod and the ferule. The
rod, you can imagine what that is. The ferule was a piece of leather of a certain length.
It had an oval head to it with a little pouch at the end to be padded and used on the
student's left hand. (Never the right hand, as De La Salle and the early Brothers were
concerned about the students' ability to write).
Well, the third cast of characters ‹ Let's take a look at the parents; we've already
talked a little bit about the students. The parents were not qualified to teach the
students the truths of their religion. De La Salle believed it was essential for someone
to teach the youngsters the truths of their faith. The parents were not capable of
providing the children supervision on a daily basis, and so the kids were running the
streets. Parents couldn't keep the kids from bad company; they couldn't keep the kids from
a life of crime. We certainly see dysfunctional families in our own point in time, and we
see what happens when kids are left to their own devices.
These are the cast of characters who are at work in The Conduct of Schools. It
represents a workbook, a system of training and support of teachers; it is a part of a
larger system. It provides an opportunity for formation, not just religious formation, but
pedagogical training. It is based on the strengths of the community. It is together and
by association that these Brothers are involved in this effort. The Conduct
reflects the same things that De La Salle is sharing with the Brothers in their annual
retreats. Through all of these experiences, De La Salle was constantly calling the
teachers to understand their work with the students as a ministry, as a vocation, as the
most important work that God could have chosen to call them to accomplish.
De La Salle tries to keep the Brothers constantly aware of this new perspective of
teaching as a vocation, a call from God. He accomplishes it through the parallels he draws
between Jesus and his own disciples. For instance, in the fourteenth meditation, he says:
Be convinced of what St. Paul says, that you plant and
water the seed, but it is God, through Jesus, who makes it grow. That God is the one who
brings your work to fulfillment. So, when you experience some difficulty in the guidance
of your disciples; when there are some who do not profit from your teaching, and you
observe a reckless spirit in them, turn to God in confidence. As Jesus Christ to make the
Spirit come alive in you...
Not in the students, but in you, since he has chosen you to do his work. A very
personal relationship between the teacher and God exists such that the teacher understands
that the teacher is doing God's work.
Jesus Christ, speaking to his apostles, said he gave an
example to them that they might do as he had done. He also wanted his disciples to be with
him at all the conversions he brought about so that they could see how he acted and take
Jesus as the rule and model for all they would do.
The teacher is called to be a model to the student in the same way that Jesus models
behavior for his own disciples.
De La Salle goes so far as to call the students, disciples. As a matter of fact, he
uses the terms student and pupil very seldom. Instead he uses the term disciple
in describing the relationship that exists between the teacher and the student. "They
are to follow you. They are to follow your example."
Earlier we mentioned that De La Salle established a spirituality of instruction. Let's
take a moment to consider what this new spirituality was, and how it affected the
teachers' work with the students. What do you think De La Salle said to these teachers
about their work with their disciples?
Response: He stressed the need to be truthful and authentic with their students.
Br. Joseph: Their sincerity, their authenticity, that they be truthful. The
teachers were not just calling the students to live as Christians; they were to model the
Christian life so the students could follow them.
What kind of disciplinary techniques do you think De La Salle suggested to these early
teachers as a means of living out this authenticity?
Response: I think he had a variety of disciplinary measures, depending on the
student. Some students needed to be stroked a little bit at times; others needed stronger
disciplinary action. Also, he told them to love their students. To build individual
relationships with the students, the kind that they didn't have with their parents. He
wanted the teachers to love them like a mother and discipline them like a father.
What do we mean by a new spirituality of teachers? The few comments mentioned above
suggest that the teachers were called to know and love their students. The teachers were
expected to bring the students to new life in the same way Jesus brought new life to the
disciples and those to whom he came in contact. Their work with the students was no longer
a secular endeavor, but rather a participation in God's saving action for each and every
one of the students.
Knowing the Students:
The Conduct of Schools creates an entire system where this process of knowing the
student can occur. It begins at the very moment he is presented to the school for
admission. The student meets with the Inspector of Schools who, during this initial
interview, determines the student-candidate's skills, personal background, motivation for
learning, family information, and as much other information as possible so that the
student could be placed properly in school. Once the student is placed in a particular
class, the teacher continues this process of information gathering and record keeping to know
the student. The teacher was responsible for doing much more than simply keeping
academic records; he was to maintain a kind of psychological profile on the student. In
this psychological profile, the teacher was expected to speak about whether the student is
motivated, easily distracted in school, excels in one area or excels in many areas, or has
a tendency towards good or bad companions.
The extensive student profile exhibits a concern that the teacher know, and be attentive
towards the student's progress, personality development, maturity, and religious
development. It ensured that all teachers who came into contact with the student would be
able to work with him on an individual, personal basis. One teacher's work with a student
becomes a part of the system wide effort by all teachers who will work with that
student in the future.
Discipline in the Christian School:
Remember, the early teachers were well aware of the contemporary means used to maintain
order in the classroom. No matter how many records teachers kept about their students,
they still had times when they felt like they had lost control. It was natural for the
teachers to want to maintain control of the students in their classrooms. But their
solution was to use tough disciplinary techniques (including corporal punishment) to
manage the classroom and control these kids.
On the other hand, De La Salle, was committed to the ideal that education and Christian
living were the goals of the school... not simply compliance or silence. Towards this end,
De La Salle engages the teachers in what Br. Dominic Everett calls a dynamic dialogue with
the teachers. This DYNAMIC DIALOGUE between the early teachers and De La Salle is what we
have reflected in the second chapter of The Conduct of Schools. The teachers'
experiences in the classroom were the subject of De La Salle's attention. He would then
masterfully remind them of their vocation ‹ the nature of their unique ministry.
Rather than allow them to bow to their base needs and frustrations (which were easily
taken out on the kids...) De La Salle offered them a new vision.
We gain a sharper understanding of De La Salle's new vision of educational management by
looking at the second chapter of The Conduct of Schools. This is the chapter in
which De La Salle and the early teachers described the system that would distinguish De La
Salle's schools from all others of the time.
Let's begin by reviewing the nine means for establishing and maintaining order in the
schools. There are nine principal things that contribute to establishing and
maintaining order in the schools:
° the vigilance of the teachers
° the signals
° the records or registers
° the regulation of holidays
° the rewards
° the punishments
° the appointment of several class officers and their faithfulness to fulfilling their
duties
° the structure, quality, and uniformity of school buildings and suitable furniture.
The Vigilance of the Teachers:
Each of the three sections in this category describes the CARE the teacher is to have
towards students' learning. The teacher is to:
° take care that the students do not mispronounce any words
when reading
° take care that all students follow the same lesson
° take care to enforce silence in school.
Silence was a means whereby the teacher most effectively established and maintained order
in the school, but silence was not merely a matter of management. Through the guidance of
the teacher, the students were to understand that they must keep silent because God
sees them and it is God's Holy Will and not just because the teacher is present. (Conduct,
p. 66)
De La Salle believed that a truly vigilant teacher would forestall any serious
misbehavior. If the teacher is vigilant, then the student will develop good behaviors, and
would avoid temptation. Therefore, discipline becomes a means of preventing disruption and
encouraging learning. It is not far off to say that discipline in the Lasallian tradition
is primarily concerned with prevention rather than punishment.
 
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