Photo courtesy of Luisa Arumi Ortiz
A Lynch School of Education and Human Development class of 12 Catholic educators and Boston College graduate students ventured to El Paso, Tex., and Juarez, Mexico, in February for an encounter with the sub-layers of the religious, social, political, ideological, and economic factors of immigration, and to experience life on the southern border鈥攁 journey that has altered the trajectory of their lives and work. 听
Led by Melodie Wyttenbach, executive director of BC鈥檚 Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education, and Roche Center graduate assistant Mike Warner, a M.Div. candidate, the contingent spent a five-day immersion鈥攖he crucial element of an el encuentro, or encounter鈥攕andwiched between on-campus meetings that each featured relevant guest speakers.
During their trip to El Paso, the group stayed at the Missionary Society of St. Columban鈥檚 Mission Center; met with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, and Jesuit Refugee Service; served meals to more than 550 migrants at Sacred Heart Jesuit Parish; and discussed the realities of educating culturally diverse communities with local school administrators, teachers, and parents. In Juarez, they visited shelters and met with religious and lay ministers who have been grappling with the challenges of immigration for decades.
Melodie Wyttenbach
鈥淭his course provides students with the opportunity to examine the contexts and realities of global and United States immigration through the lens of Catholic teaching and tradition,鈥� said Wyttenbach. 鈥淯sing Catholic social ethics and the multiple, rich and varied experiences of el encuentro, the class challenges students to critically evaluate their understanding of immigration in light of their roles as educators and administrators in Catholic schools.鈥�
The genesis of the class stems from 鈥�Catholic Schools in an Increasingly Hispanic Church,鈥� a report co-published in 2017 by School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Hosffman Ospino and Patricia Weitzel-O鈥橬eill, then the Roche Center executive director, based on the first National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families. Its core question centered on how Catholic schools should respond to demographic changes and the challenge of educating the next generation of American Catholics.
Emanating from that query, the Lynch School launched the one-credit course titled El Encuentro: Immigration and the Catholic Educator鈥檚 Response in 2020, designed for elementary and secondary Catholic school educators, as well as for graduate students in theology and education.
Students explore topics such as the history of global and U.S. immigration; the political, economic, and social causes of immigration and the role and response of Catholic schools; the journey of the migrant; ways to make the classroom, pedagogy, and school more culturally responsive; and how to personally address the question of being called to live a life of service as a faith response to justice.