Sixteen educators in Japan – from four Jesuit high schools and Sophia University – were recently introduced to Ignatian discernment in the context of education. For some participants, the workshop on Ignatian leadership was the first Ignatian seminar they had ever attended.
Held at the Jesuit Retreat House in Kamakura from August 3 to 7, the workshop began with the basics, including an entire discussion on the Ignatian worldview that is essential for any talk on discernment. Titled “Leadership by discernment”, the workshop devoted three days to individual discernment and the rest of the time to communal discernment.
The workshop was based on two previous Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence (IGNITE) leadership workshops offered for participants across Asia Pacific, but had been customised for colleagues in Japan. The participants were from Eiko Gakuen High School (Kamakura), Roko Gakuin High School (Kobe), Hiroshima Gakuin High School, Sophia Fukuoka High School and Sophia University (Tokyo).
Fr Johnny Go SJ, Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) Education Secretary, had initially been concerned about language since not all the participants considered themselves proficient in English. However, when the participants were encouraged to speak in Nihongo (Japanese), the discussions in the plenary and small group discussions became vigorous. This was thanks largely to the competent and hardworking team of interpreters.
A highlight of the workshop was the first hand experience of the adapted communal discernment process for schools. It gave the participants the opportunity to compare the process of discerning in common with the usual decision-making process used in their schools. They also brainstormed initial steps that they could take to introduce elements of communal discernment at work.
The insights and questions that emerged from the discussions proved valuable in helping the attendees understand Ignatian discernment in a way that can be applied realistically in their schools. A consensus that surfaced in one plenary discussion is the need for their colleagues to be guided in deepening their self-awareness in order to engage in Ignatian discernment.
Paul Isaka, who is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education Commission, said the workshop “was a great opportunity for all of us to learn about and experience individual and communal discernment. I’d like to keep thinking how I could apply this to my job as a teacher and assistant principal.”
The workshop ended with a Eucharistic Celebration presided by Fr Go followed by a simple closing ceremony during which each participant received a certificate of completion from the Jesuit Education Center of the Sophia School Corporation and IGNITE of the Jesuit Asia Pacific Conference.