Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.March 14, 2012

Here is a fantastic new program called Jesuit Commons: Higher Education at the Margins (JCHEM).  With this new initiative, Jesuit colleges and universities strive to bring Jesuit education to people who are severely underserved: for example, those living in refugee camps. In this video, Mary McFarland, the program's international director, and some of the refugee students, who speak about their hopes and desires.  The value of this creative new program can be seen in the expression of the woman who smiles and talks about "my dream."  More information about the program can be found in JCHEM's website hereAMDG.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
JR Cosgrove
12 years 1 month ago
One of the major transitions in education is going on as we speak.  Traditional education is on its way out.  It is obviously due to the internet that was not avaialble to but a few essentially just 16-17 years ago.  I have a friend who is getting his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Tennessee and has been there only 2-3 times.  He sat in lectures at his computer in his home and work in New Jersey and could ask questions via a skype like service.  There are hundreds of universities offering similar type degrees up to the Ph. D.


Children all over the country are being home schooled and attending classes over the internet.  The following wikipedia article list hundreds of them.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_virtual_schools


But probably the most talked about system is a series of videos developed by Salman Khan and his Khanacademy.  It started out modestly as a way to tutor his niece in simple math and has since expanded to over 3000 videos that are being translated into several languages. A big proponent is Bill Gates.  It is mostly math now and ranges from basic arithmetic to differential equations, but has added many of the hard sciences.  It also has several videos on economics and finance.  My business requires a knowledge of some areas of biology and I found Sal's videos more informative than most of the text books I have.   Browse his site.


http://www.khanacademy.org/



And one of my favorite sources of education is the Teaching Company now called The Great Courses and many of them are truly great.  One has access to some of the best teachers in the US including some by Jesuits on a very wide range of academic topics.  Go to their web site, look around and find a course you want that is on sale, download it and in about an hour you will be watching or listening to great lectures.  I just downloaded the History of Impressionism a couple days ago and another on the Great Cathedrals and each is fantastic.  Now I am prepared to go to Paris, Chartres and other parts of France to see some of the greatest art and architecture in the world.


http://www.thegreatcourses.com/greatcourses.aspx


So the Jesuit program should be in good company as the education industry takes on the job of educating the world.  Good luck to all their endeavors.
Craig McKee
12 years 1 month ago
Rumors around town are saying that the SJ's have purchased land here in Hong Kong for a Jesuit university up north in Sha Tin. I hope they are accurate cuz CHINA needs a Jesuit university (in addition to Loyola/Chicago's Beijing campus).
William Atkinson
12 years 1 month ago
rIGHT ON, AND IN NICK OF TIME; NOW IF ALL JESUIT uNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES WOULD FOLLOW THRU ALL ADVANCED EDUCATION WORLD WIDE WOULD BE BLESSED WITH IGNATIAN EDUCATION.

The latest from america

Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor on Sept. 22, 2023. (OSV news photo/Irakli Gedenidze, Reuters)
Christians who have lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for 2,000 years are being driven out by Azerbaijan. Will world leaders act?
Kevin ClarkeApril 25, 2024
The problem is not that TikTok users feel disappointed about the potential loss of an entertaining social platform; it is that many young people see a ban on TikTok as the end of, or at least a major disruption to, their social life. 
Brigid McCabeApril 25, 2024
The actor Jeremy Strong sitting at a desk reading a book by candlelight in a theatrical production of the play Enemy of the People
Two new Broadway productions cast these two towering figures in sharp relief.
Rob Weinert-KendtApril 25, 2024
AI priest “Father Justin,” a chatbot used to answer questions about the Catholic faith, has been renamed “Justin” and swapped out his virtual clerics for a button-down shirt after facing backlash from online users just one day after launching.