Carta del P. Tom Roash, S.J., Secretario General del Área de Educación de la Compañía de Jesús, en Roma, al P. Fernando Barredo Heinert, S.J., Superior Provincial del Ecuador.

Dear Fernando:

I have had the opportunity to read the introductory booklet to the FEVIDA program as well as the textbooks for all grades.  I also had a look at the transparencies and viewed the video La Biblia y la Historia de la Salvacion; here are some reflections.

In general, I found that all the materials were clear, well organized and presented in an attractive manner. I was delighted to see Ignatian pedagogy applied to the subject area of religious education in such a detailed and consistent manner.
I was pleasantly surprised at the introduction of a sixth step in the paradigm of Ignatian pedagogy, namely celebration.  It seems appropriate to celebrate what has been learned.  A celebration gives a sense of accomplishment and closure.
The students are introduced to the person of Jesus in a progressive and cumulative way, i.e. each stage of the program builds on what went before.
The program integrates doctrine, prayer, hymns, liturgy and popular piety.
The students are gradually introduced to certain sophisticated theological terms such as Kingdom, Paschal Mystery, Reformation, Ecumenism, etc.
I was impressed by the variety of people who were consulted in the process of developing the FEVIDA program: theologians, scripture scholars, catechists, psychologists and communications professionals.
I was impressed by the different kinds of sources for reading material, e.g. the Bible, The New Catechism, papal encyclicals, statements of the Bishops Conference of Ecuador, etc.
The materials have a strong Jesuit flavor.  I was happy to see St. Ignatius play such a prominent role.  Certainly students in a Jesuit school should know as much as they can about Ignatius.  The students also get to know other Jesuit saints.
The FEVIDA program incorporates the insights of modern pedagogy.  Emphasis is placed on a variety of learning activities, the involvement of the whole person and consideration of the actual life situation of the students.

I would make two recommendations.
First, it seems to me that the FEVIDA program might prove valuable to other Catholic educators.  Perhaps there is a way it could be shared with other religious congregations of men and women, diocesan schools, etc.
Secondly, it might be helpful to evaluate the program after one or two years of use.  This would provide another exercise in using the Ignatian paradigm.  After much reflection on experience, the team developed an action program, which at a certain time calls for evaluation!
I suspect that these two recommendations have already been thought about.

Thank you very much for sharing the FEVIDA program with me. The team who developed it should be congratulated on a job very well done.  They have rendered a great service not only to Jesuit education in Ecuador, but also to Jesuit education and Catholic education in general.

Sincerely,

Tom Roach, SJ