Category:Dominican education
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The entire ethos of the Order of Preachers is based on education.
Background: Dominican Education draws its original inspiration from a Spaniard, Dominic Guzman (1170 - 1221), founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans, who based his ministry and that of his followers on the life and work of Jesus.
Dominic had a well-trained mind as a result of his years studying the liberal arts, philosophy and theology. His mission took him to Toulouse in the south of France, where at every level of society, he met ignorance and confusion of thought, particularly centred around the heresy of Albigensianism, which stressed the inherent evil of anything physical so much that the goodness of creation was almost totally denied. Dominic believed that preaching the truth of the gospel was essential to dispel the confusion that was widespread at the time. As he went joyfully about his task, Dominic attracted a group of helpers, in the first place women, converts from the heresy, then in due course, men. These became the first sisters and friars of his Order. He immediately arranged that the formal study of theology would become part of their daily lives, so that they could carry out their mission with confidence.
Many famous Dominicans throughout the centuries, for example St. Thomas Aquinas, stressed that all truth eventually leads to God who is Truth. For those imbued with Dominic’s spirit then, to study should be simply part of the joy of being fully alive.
The motto of all Dominican schools is VERITAS –TRUTH. The aim is to enable students to reach their full human potential and to lead them to the Truth which is Christ. In pursuit of this aim, Dominican schools strive to develop the thinking and reasoning powers of students and to help them become people of honesty and integrity. A well-balanced curriculum should be maintained, in which religious education is of paramount importance. Individual subjects are valued because of their intrinsic worth as revealing some aspect of Truth.
The Dominican tradition values the importance and uniqueness of each person, encuraging students to realise all facets of their potential: physical, emotional, social, cultural, intellectual, moral and spiritual.
