Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the patron saint of educators, offers us a manual of virtues that will be precious for those who work in schools, but not only for them. The "twelve virtues of a good teacher" are rules of life for anyone who is involved, in any way, in the education of children.
One does not risk exaggeration in saying that Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle changed, and radically, the way of schooling: the man initiated a true pedagogical revolution in the France of the Sun King. For example, he proposed giving preference to teaching in the mother tongue in free schools for poor children, setting aside Latin, which was insisted upon in vain and would not have been of great use to the children of shepherds and peasants.
But this was not his greatest insight. Aware of the poor didactic quality of the teaching offered in popular schools, the saint instituted a training course for teachers, open to all who wished to enroll. In fact, he had invented the first teacher training school: a breakthrough that truly changed the world of education.
Jean-Baptiste de La Salle left behind many pedagogical texts, from which a list of the "twelve virtues of a good teacher" was posthumously drawn: printed in 1785, it immediately enjoyed wide circulation due to the goodness of its teachings.
So what are these twelve virtues? Let us analyze them together.
1. GRAVITY
Today, we would define it as the ability to know how to assert oneself, with an authoritative demeanor, but without excess. It is evident that in the 18th century, the problem of the teacher who fails to maintain discipline because they are not very authoritative did not exist; on the contrary, the saint's advice goes in the opposite direction, recommending avoiding "fits of rage," "threatening looks," "an imperious tone, insulting words, or words dictated by irony." In total, the good teacher "will avoid making himself feared, for he seeks to attract the confidence of his pupils in order to better know their virtues, cultivate them, and perfect them": a goal difficult to achieve if the teacher terrifies everyone as soon as he enters the classroom.
2. SILENCE
This obviously does not mean muteness, but "a wise discretion in the use of speech: discretion by which the teacher remains silent when he must not speak and speaks when he must not remain silent." It is much more effective to offer a few incisive concepts in the right way than to ramble on for hours with meaningless digressions, which only confuse the children.
3. HUMILITY
Let's put it this way: the classrooms of a country school are not exactly the best place for someone who wants to flaunt their culture superbly. The good teacher "does not rejoice in his natural gifts nor in the education he may have acquired; he does not despise his colleagues or their work," and he has no preference for his pupils, rejoicing in the success of promising students and abandoning others to their fate. Humility also impacts the working method: the good teacher will avoid clumsiness and "will seek uniformity in teaching methods, avoiding particular interpretations, in consideration […] of the difficulties in which he would place the teacher who might eventually succeed him."
4. PRUDENCE
This virtue "requires that one know perfectly both the matter one is dealing with and the necessary means to bring it to a successful conclusion." On one hand, the teacher must be able to offer irreproachable teaching, meaning that "he must recall exactly to memory the notions that might escape him and discredit him before his pupils": in other words, blunders are not allowed. On the other hand, he must ensure he carries out his work with the best means at his disposal, avoiding speaking "in terms too lofty that the pupils do not understand or, on the contrary, in a sloppy manner."
5. WISDOM
Preparing a lesson, it goes without saying, does not simply mean reviewing the notions that will be presented in class. A good teacher is one who has thoroughly studied the subject he must address and knows how to answer his pupils' questions: "Wisdom will guide him in deepening the school subjects he must teach, and not only that, but also their profound meaning; otherwise, he will give his pupils empty words, or notions without foundation and without logical connection."
6. PATIENCE
Obviously, it has been at least since the 18th century that "the well-behaved children of the past are gone, Madam." With resignation, the pedagogue advises his teachers to "not be bothered by the coarse manners, bad jokes, and rudeness of the pupils and their parents."
But it is not only rampant impoliteness that tests the patience of school workers. The virtuous teacher is ready to "repeat often and insistently the same warnings, always with kindness and affection, in order to inculcate them in the memory of the pupils," despite the fatigue one can feel from returning fifty times to the same subject. Not everyone learns at the same speed, but one must not give up: "through instructions, warnings, repetitions, one arrives, sooner or later, at the goal one has set."
7. DISCRETION
According to the pedagogue, there is a limit to appropriate confidentiality: the prudent teacher will avoid any attitude that could lead children "to form rash judgments likely to diminish the respect and reputation that the teacher needs to positively influence his pupils and deserve their esteem."
8. GENTLENESS
He does not do good work, this teacher who "always appears displeased with his pupils, for whatever reason, or in a bad mood, icy, who opens his mouth only to utter mortifying, unpleasant, threatening, or even insulting words." It is a useless and deleterious behavior; on the contrary, the teacher will strive to address his pupils with "affection, gentleness, benevolence, captivating and persuasive manners; he will avoid harsh, intransigent orders, he will even soften their harshness."
9. ZEAL
Never rest on one's laurels, it must be said: teaching is a constantly evolving profession. In order to always give the best, the good teacher "will not limit himself to the already prepared lessons" that are written in the textbook, but will evaluate from time to time the class and the opportunity to "propose with inventiveness" some small variation on the theme, which "not being expected, usually makes more of an impression than a proposition with method, to which pupils are sometimes accustomed."
10. VIGILANCE
Both to avoid accidents and to prevent bad behavior, the teacher must always have full control of what the pupils are doing. "But always with prudence, so as not to give the impression of spying on them," and without falling into paranoia: "vigilance must not be anxious, distrustful, suspicious, based on unfounded conjectures," especially because it is useless to have a class of pupils who go straight because they are breathless with fear.
11. CHRISTIAN PIETY
A recommendation that may seem strange to those who think of the daily practice of those who teach in public schools; but in the Christian schools founded by the saint, the teacher was both instructor and catechist. And it is certain that the educator who "recites or allows prayers to be recited hastily" and without enthusiasm, and "neglects or performs distractedly certain devotional practices, such as taking holy water, making the sign of the cross," does not do a good job of catechesis: faith is not taught through carelessness.
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12. GENEROSITY
What is the worth of the work of an individual who opens a world of infinite opportunities to a child, accompanying them on this wonderful journey to adulthood? That of the teacher is a work of immeasurable value: "and although he procures for his neighbor benefits of infinite importance, he does so with perfect disinterest, far from drawing personal profit from it." Teaching is a mission: "excellent, very laborious and, by nature, not always rewarding in the eyes of men, because little appreciated." But the good teacher cares little for worldly honors: "his true concern is that his pupils reap abundant fruits, so that he can say, like Saint Paul: 'For my part, I will gladly work, I will spend myself for your souls'."
This article was originally published in Italian by Aleteia (Article link).