ST. LOUIS U. HIGH'S
PROFILE OF THE GRADUATE AT GRADUATION
INTRODUCTION
This profile is based upon a document by the Jesuit Secondary Educational Association. It has been chosen as the basis of the St. Louis University High School self-study because of its comprehensive scope and its value orientation.
The statement is one of hopes and ideals. It is not intended to be a description of the "product" manufactured at St. Louis U. High. Education at St. Louis U. High is not such a manipulative enterprise, nor can education succeed merely through engineering and programming. We are principally dependent upon the grace and help of God.
In describing the graduate, under five general categories, we chose those qualities which seem most desirable not only for this threshold period, but those which seem most desirable for his adult life. These five general categories sum up the many aspects or areas of life most in accord with a full adult living of the Christian life. Whether one conceives of the desirable qualities of a graduate of St. Louis U. High under the rubric of a "Man for Others" or as a "Vatican II person," as an Insignis, or simply as a fully mature Christian, the qualities summed up under the five categories below appear to be the kind of qualities--granted that they are not fully developed in late adolescence--which cumulatively point in the direction of the kind of person who can live an adult Christian life in the late Twentieth century.
These categories are (I) Open to Growth, (II) Intellectually Competent, (III) Religious, (IV) Loving, and (V) Committed to Doing Justice. Some specified elements under these categories in the profile could have been placed under other of the five categories. Obviously, all of the characteristics described are in dynamic interaction; the division into the five categories simply provides a helpful way to analyze and describe the graduate. Some overlapping is evident because in fact many of these qualities are mutually interrelated and intertwined.
In presenting this profile, it must also be recognized that the influences of the school on a student's growth is limited. Other influences, frequently out of the control of the school such as family, friends, the youth culture and the general social environment in which one lives, will hinder or foster the student's growth. But in so far as the school can intentionally bring its resources to bear on fostering the student's growth in the direction of the profile, it should do so.
(I) OPEN TO GROWTH
The St. Louis U. High School student at the time of graduation has matured as a person - emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially, religiously - to a level that reflects some intentional responsibility for his growth (as opposed to a passive, drifting, laissez faire attitude about his growth). The graduate is at least beginning to reach out in his development, seeking opportunities to stretch his mind, imagination, feelings, and religious consciousness.
Although still very much in the process of developing, the graduate already:
1. is beginning to understand his obligation to himself actively to pursue his own growth as a person in mind and body; is developing a desire for integrity and excellence in multiple facets of his life.
2. in his search for growth he is also learning how to accept himself, both is talents and his limitations; his participation in various levels of the school community has assisted this self acceptance significantly.
3. is more conscious of his feelings and how they move him, and is freer and more authentic in expressing them; at the same time he is beginning to confront his responsibilities to himself and to others to manage his compulsive or impulsive drives.
4. is open to a variety of aesthetic experiences, and continues to develop the range of his imaginative sensibilities.
5. is becoming more flexible and open to other points of view; he recognizes how much he learns from a careful listening to his peers and significant others.
6. is developing a habit of reflection on his experience.
7. is beginning to seek new experiences, even those which involve some risk or the possibility of failure.
8. is exploring career and future life style choices within a Christian value framework.
9. is beginning to open himself to broader, adult issues.
10. sees learning as an ongoing process.
11. accepts responsibility for own learning.
12. is aware of delicacy and sacredness of life.
13. sees life as moving toward commitment.
14. reflects on how he might use his leisure time constructively.
15. recognizes the need to attend to his physical health.
(II) INTELLECTUALLY COMPETENT
By graduation the St. Louis U. High School student will exhibit an appropriate mastery of the fundamental tools of learning and will be well on his way to honing his emerging intellectual skills for more advanced levels of learning. He is beginning to see the need for intellectual integrity in other areas of concern such as the quest for religious truth and for social justice.
By graduation, the student already:
A. Skills and Attitudes
16. is developing mastery of logical skills and critical thinking.
17. is developing a style that is more precise and natural in thought and expression both written and oral.
18. is developing a curiosity to explore ideas and issues.
19. is becoming more capable of applying what he has learned to new situations, and can adjust to a variety of learning formats.
20. is developing an organized approach to learning tasks and can present a convincing argument in a research report.
21. is taking pride and ownership in his work and beginning to enjoy intellectual and imaginative pursuits.
22. is growing in awareness of own ethnocentric attitudes.
23. is growing in awareness of others' ethnocentric attitudes.
24. is able to structure own time.
B.Basic Knowledge
25. has begun to develop a general knowledge of central ideas, methodologies, and the conceptual geographies of a variety of intellectual disciplines of knowledge.
26. has begun to relate current events to some of their historical antecedents; is growing in appreciation of his cultural heritage.
27. is growing in awareness of the global nature of many current social problems surrounding human rights, energy, ecology, food, population, terrorism and arms limitations, and their impact on various human communities.
28. has begun to understand some of the public policy implications of the uses of science, technology, and capital.
29. is beginning to confront some of the moral ambiguities imbedded in values promoted by Western culture.
30. is beginning to understand his rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the United States, as well as to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the United States' form and practice of government.
31. has begun to develop a repertory of images of man as presented in literature, biography and history, fine arts; these exemplars in their power to move him to laughter or to tears are shaping in him a more compassionate and hopeful appreciation of the human community in its variety and potential.
32. is beginning to enjoy learning more about his world through the lenses of humanities, religion, science, social studies, and foreign language.
33. is beginning to develop a critical consciousness by which he can better evaluate the issues facing contemporary man and the various approaches to these issues.
(III) RELIGIOUS
By graduation the St. Louis U. High School student will have a basic knowledge of the major doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church. He will also have examined his own religious feelings and beliefs with a view to choosing his fundamental orientation toward God and his relationship with a religious tradition and or community. What is said here, respectful of the conscience and religious background of the individual, applies to the non-Catholic graduate of St. Louis U. High School. The level of theological understanding of the St. Louis U. High School graduate will naturally be limited by his level of religious and human development.
More specifically, the St. Louis U. High School student at graduation:
34. has read the Gospels and encountered the person of Christ as he is presented in the New Testament.
35. has a basic understanding of the Church's teaching about Jesus and his redeeming mission. as well as the sacramental expression of that mission in and through the Church.
36. has had some exposure to non-Christian and non-Catholic religious traditions.
37. is becoming more aware of his own responsibility to explore and validate his faith and of the choices which that validation implies.
38. has had some personal experience of God, either in private prayer, while on a retreat, in liturgical prayer, or in some other moving experience; he is learning how to express himself in various methods of prayer.
39. is beginning to form a conscience by which he evaluates his moral choices, and can work his way through moral issues with increasing clarity.
40. has begun to appreciate how a living community and the Eucharist complement each other.
41. is learning through his own failures of his need for healing by and reconciliation with friends, family, Church , and the Lord.
42.is at the beginning stages of understanding the relationship between faith in Jesus and being a "man for others." Has some familiarity with Church teaching on social justice.
43. has had some satisfying experiences of serving others in need and has come to a sympathetic appreciation of their need for respect and justice, and love.
44. is exposed to enthusiastic living models of Christianity.
(IV) LOVING
By the time of graduation, the St. Louis U. High School student is well on his way to establishing his own identity. He is also on the threshold of being able to move beyond self interest or self centeredness in his relationships with significant others. In other words he is beginning to be able to risk some deeper levels of relationship in which he can disclose himself and accept the mystery of another person and cherish that person. Nonetheless, his attempts at loving are still awkward and relatively superficial; he is clearly beyond childhood, but not yet arrived at the confidence and freedom of a mature person.
More specifically, the St. Louis U. High School graduate:
45. is learning to trust the fidelity of some friends, members of his family,and some adults of the school community.
46. has experienced moments when God's love for him as a person began to be felt, however vaguely, in the gifts of life, faith, forgiveness, talents, hope.
47. is coming to accept and love himself as he is with his assets and limitations; has a more mature and considerate sense of humor.
48. has begun to come to grips with personal prejudices and stereotypes; communicates more easily with others, especially with peers of other races, religions, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds.
49. has experienced the support of various levels of community in the school including school liturgical celebrations, and has learned to extend himself in building up the school community.
50. feels more at ease and mature with persons of the opposite sex than in early adolescence.
51. is beginning to integrate sexuality into his whole personality.
52.has begun to appreciate deeper personal friendships, but is also learning that not all relationships are profound and long lasting.
53.through service of others, he is beginning to appreciate the satisfaction of giving of himself for other people and thereby finding his life enriched.
54.is more capable of putting himself in another person's place and understanding what he is feeling.
55.is more in touch with his own feelings and capable of expressing them to close friends.
56. is more sensitive to the beauty of the created universe and is more caring about life and his natural environment.
(V) COMMITTED TO DOING JUSTICE
The St. Louis U. High School student at graduation has achieved considerable knowledge of the many needs of local and wider communities and is preparing himself for the day when he will take a place in these communities as a competent, concerned and responsible member. The graduate recognizes within self the potential for doing injustice and has begun to see injustices in some of the surrounding social structures. He has begun to acquire the skills and motivation necessary to live this commitment. Although this attribute will come of fruition in mature adulthood, some characteristics will have begun to manifest themselves earlier.
By graduation the St. Louis U. High student:
57. is more aware of selfish attitudes and tendencies in himself which lead him to treat others unjustly, and consciously seeks to be more understanding, accepting, and generous with others.
58. is beginning to see however vaguely that his Christian faith implies a commitment to a just society.
59. is beginning to understand the structural roots of injustice in social institutions, attitudes, and customs.
60. has been exposed to the needs of some disadvantaged segments of the community through community service programs and has gained some empathetic understanding for their conditions of living.
61. is developing both a sense of compassion for the victims of injustice and a concern for those social changes which will assist them in gaining their rights and increased human dignity.
62. has reflected on his experience of working with and for others in service programs, thereby coming to know himself better, and also growing in his awareness of alternatives in public policy which govern the service provided for various segments of the community.
63. has begun to reflect on public service aspects of the career he might choose to pursue.
64. is beginning to understand some of the broader demands of community building in his community.
65. is beginning to grasp that many social issues expand beyond the local community and in fact are national or global in scope. In this way he is beginning to see the importance of voter influence on public policy in local, regional, national and international arenas.
66. is just beginning to understand the complexity of many social issues and the need for critical reading of diverse sources of information about them.
67. is just beginning to realize that the values of a consumer society are sometimes in conflict with the demands of a just society, and indeed with the Gospel.
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