The ideal Ateneo teacher is a PROFESSIONAL.
The Jesuit lay-partner is competent in his/her teaching field: the teacher is knowledgeable in his/her subject matter, is updated in the latest developments in his/her field of discipline, and is able to communicate such knowledge in a clear, simple and interesting manner to his/her young students.
The ideal Ateneo teacher is an ANIMATOR.
An animator loves teaching; an animator loves young people. Such a teacher inspires the students to strive for excellence in all their endeavors – academics, athletics, extra and co-curricular activities. Moreover, such a teacher inculcates in the students a love for, and develop a capacity to discern the true and the good, thus inspiring the young to live a truly virtuous and moral life.
An animator is approachable and available to his/her students, even outside class time, and even about concerns outside his/her subject matter. Furthermore, the teacher possesses the virtue of cura personalis, a personal care for each and every student.
The most important aspect of a teacher as an animator is his being a model to the students by living out the values and virtues he/she teaches.
The ideal teacher is a MISSIONARY.
A Jesuit lay-partner views teaching not as a profession or merely a means of employment but as a mission and a vocation. He/She need not necessarily be a Christian, but the ideal lay-partner must share and believe in the Ignatian and Ateneo de Zamboanga University vision, that is, to form “men and women for others” – Filipinos who will put their talents and skills for the service of the nation, Filipinos who will be agents of social justice and national development, Filipinos who will always strive for the magis – the more, all for the greater glory of God.
