“The Vocation of Teaching”
Following the successful Lasallian higher education colloquy last year, Christian Brothers Conference will once again host a higher education colloquy, themed “The Vocation of Teaching,” in conjunction with the Huether Lasallian Conference. Both events will take place November 21-23 in Baltimore, Maryland. All faculty, staff and administrators in Lasallian colleges and universities, and those with a unique interest in this work are invited to apply to participate in the colloquy.
More than establishing schools or designing a curriculum, Saint John Baptist de La Salle contributed to our understanding of the unique role of teachers and how best to prepare them to serve in this sacred role. To be a teacher, according to De La Salle, was a calling from God, a vocation. As De La Salle affirmed, “You must not doubt that it is a great gift of God, this grace he has given you to be entrusted with the instruction of children, to announce the Gospel to them and to bring them up in the spirit of religion.” Indeed, teaching requires far more than content expertise and pedagogical skill. In addition to what a teacher knows and does, it matters who they are and the profound impact they play in the lives of those entrusted to their care.
The 2024 colloquy will explore the vocation of teaching beginning with how it is understood in the Lasallian tradition and how it can be more widely appropriated throughout Catholic education. It will address key foundational questions, including:
- If teaching is a vocation from God, how ought we to understand teacher recruitment and formation?
- Understood through a vocational lens, what is the relationship between spirituality and teaching?
- The educational ministries of the Lasallian family include primary and secondary schools and higher education; how do see the vocation of teaching in those different areas?
This year’s colloquy chairs are Dr. Carol Ann Gittens from Saint Mary’s College of Moraga in California and Dr. Michael Hahn from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona.
Date: November 21-23, 2024. However, we please ask you to consider arriving on Wednesday, November 20, for a colloquy opening reception.
Location: Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor
Cost: There is no cost for the colloquy. Those who are invited to the colloquy will receive a complimentary Huether registration. However, ministries or individuals are responsible for travel and lodging. The hotel’s current rate is $152 per night, inclusive of tax, via our Nix Conference and Meeting Management registrar.