ENHANCING CAPACITY FOR GEN ALPHA – “TOGETHER FOR MISSION”

Would you like to be a Gen Alpha kid today?  In 2022, these 12-year-olds will be in Year 7 at school. As their tech-rich world hurtles them forward, perhaps we will not even know the jobs they will enter, or the career pursued by them in 2027. The Lasallian “Together for Mission” (TFM) program aims to upskill and expand the knowledge-base needed in our Lasallian workplaces.

The residential in-service program, initiated in pre-COVID November 2019, is designed to be run over two years, in four blocks. So far, Brisbane and Sydney have been the sites. TFM aims to provide an intensive Lasallian professional development experience which is home-grown for this District. It caters for and welcomes frontline workers, leaders, Principals, managers, Board members, Coordinators, front-of-house people.

The format is a Sunday to Thursday one-week program for each block. This allows for four full days of learning and community.

PROGRAM CONTENT

Reflective and practical, it offers input, sharing of experience, critical reflection on research and practice, as well as preparation of a workplace project.  Under the umbrella of “Enhancing Capacity” there are four focal areas dealt with: Young People, Our Story, Education and Wellbeing, and Values and Spirituality. The context is youth culture and research, the current and traditional Lasallian pedagogies and educational change, technology and work-readiness.

Through these areas, the participants are fully focused on their young people, with their strengths and their vulnerabilities, in schools, and within the various services of “yourtown” -  youth 5-18 in schools or very marginalized youth on “yourtown”’s brief.

As Br. John Cantwell, lead designer says about the second block recently completed:

“A significant thread was ‘Raising the Status of the Profession’, arising from the Issues paper discussed recently by the Federal and State Ministers for Education. We recognised that ‘raising the status of the profession’ was also a significant issue for John Baptist de La Salle, who encouraged his followers to see their work as God’s”.

PRESENTERS

John reported that recent presenters included  John Foley, former Principal of St Michael’s College Adelaide and presently Manager of Workplace Culture and Innovation at Catholic Education South Australia; Maddy Forde, former LMS colleague and currently Campus Pastoral Associate (Students) at ACU, together with LMS Sebastian Duhau, Young Lasallian Coordinator, Julie Alibrandi, LMC Executive Officer and Merv McCormack,  former Executive Director LMS. Philippe Dulawan and John Cantwell also led some sessions.

PARTICIPANT EVALUATIONS 2022

A brief selection of participant responses summarizing benefits for Self, and one’s Organization are:

• Being introduced to new concepts and business practices to help you be more efficient and effective in your role;
• A valuable resource of ideas, best practices, insights and contacts that are essential in order to grow;
• A good culture… TFM ignites the flame;
• How (one)… can best access and understand their own personal professional values, strengths and aspirations. This knowledge is firmly anchored in the Lasallian vision and mission;
• Good for the individual’s soul;
• Getting new ideas and challenging some of my practices;
• A fabulous journey of self-reflection, Lasallian values/charism;
• The importance of influencing the culture of the school for the next generation;
• An immersive and engaging group experience that facilitates learning and growth as a teacher, human, Lasallian;
• Being able to openly and honestly share perspectives, hopes and plans.

CREDENTIALS

The program is run under the auspices of the Gerard Rummery Institute, which presently functions as the formation committee of the Lasallian Mission Council. Successful graduates of the program receive certification from the GRI. In addition, on satisfactory completion of the program requirements, they receive (non-academic) digital certification from BBI-TAITE (The Australian Institute of Theological Education). Participants are also able to complete the TFM program while enrolled in one or two specifically designed BBI-TAITE Masters-level units: The Foundations of Lasallian Ministry and The Practice of Lasallian Ministry.

For more information contact Br John Cantwell johncantwell@delasalle.org.au