Page 16 - Gonzaga at 60
P. 16
16
GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
60 Years in the Making
Looking around Gonzaga today one feels that the school is at ease with itself; it has a strong sense
of idenity and with this there is an equally strong sense that there are social obligaions going
with a Gonzagan educaion; it has a irst rate teaching staf, very strong sporing and cultural
aciviies, a superb building with matching faciliies, situated in gracious parkland on the edge
of the city – a veritable educaional paradise for which there are so many applicants for every
place. Was it always thus?
Many reasons have been given for the foundaion of Gonzaga in 1950 but the most likely
seems to have been the perceived need on the south side for another Catholic School or just
Belvedere on the south side some said. It was small and perhaps a litle precious as it atempted
to forge a disincive educaional philosophy. It thought of itself as diferent: it was not to take
the Department of Educaion examinaions and so did not follow the Department’s courses and
was Free to create and follow its own curriculum. The only public examinaion taken was the
Naional University matriculaion in 5th year and a mere ive lowly passes in that examinaion
opened all university doors. The 6th year was devoted to a broad pre-university course with no
inal examinaion. The school’s liberal philosophy shunned a narrow uilitarian view of educaion
geared to the passing of examinaions. It saw the purpose of educaion in the educaional acivity
itself which developed skills and aitudes that had value in themselves independent of their
uility. It was predominately a literary educaion that enshrined the skills of wriing and speaking
at the heart of the curriculum.
Excellent though Gonzaga’s educaional philosophy was, it was narrow. It gave limited scope
to science and iniiaion into science is a central element of a liberal educaion; neither music
nor art found a prominent place, much less the technical and pracical subjects. It overstated the
intellectual and cogniive and underesimated the aestheic, the scieniic, the pracical and the
technical. It viewed the person as a knower and hardly at all as a doer and a maker.
THE EARLY YEARS
The school was blessed in its irst Prefect of Studies, Fr William White, who being totally
devoid of ego himself was ideally suitable to manage those who were not similarly beret. Indeed,
I believe that the success of those early years was due far more to Fr White than is usually
acknowledged. He had a unique relaionship with staf, parents and students. With the staf,
his support, encouragement and enthusiasm brought the best out of talented people, enabling
the creaive ones to blossom and the average to atain above their ability. His relaionships with
pupils was characterized not merely by keen discipline but much more so by his extraordinary
First Prefect of Studies, concern for each and every one of the boys and his no less extraordinary knowledge of them and
Fr William White of their family backgrounds.
GONZAGA AT SIXTY: A WORK IN PROGRESS
60 Years in the Making
Looking around Gonzaga today one feels that the school is at ease with itself; it has a strong sense
of idenity and with this there is an equally strong sense that there are social obligaions going
with a Gonzagan educaion; it has a irst rate teaching staf, very strong sporing and cultural
aciviies, a superb building with matching faciliies, situated in gracious parkland on the edge
of the city – a veritable educaional paradise for which there are so many applicants for every
place. Was it always thus?
Many reasons have been given for the foundaion of Gonzaga in 1950 but the most likely
seems to have been the perceived need on the south side for another Catholic School or just
Belvedere on the south side some said. It was small and perhaps a litle precious as it atempted
to forge a disincive educaional philosophy. It thought of itself as diferent: it was not to take
the Department of Educaion examinaions and so did not follow the Department’s courses and
was Free to create and follow its own curriculum. The only public examinaion taken was the
Naional University matriculaion in 5th year and a mere ive lowly passes in that examinaion
opened all university doors. The 6th year was devoted to a broad pre-university course with no
inal examinaion. The school’s liberal philosophy shunned a narrow uilitarian view of educaion
geared to the passing of examinaions. It saw the purpose of educaion in the educaional acivity
itself which developed skills and aitudes that had value in themselves independent of their
uility. It was predominately a literary educaion that enshrined the skills of wriing and speaking
at the heart of the curriculum.
Excellent though Gonzaga’s educaional philosophy was, it was narrow. It gave limited scope
to science and iniiaion into science is a central element of a liberal educaion; neither music
nor art found a prominent place, much less the technical and pracical subjects. It overstated the
intellectual and cogniive and underesimated the aestheic, the scieniic, the pracical and the
technical. It viewed the person as a knower and hardly at all as a doer and a maker.
THE EARLY YEARS
The school was blessed in its irst Prefect of Studies, Fr William White, who being totally
devoid of ego himself was ideally suitable to manage those who were not similarly beret. Indeed,
I believe that the success of those early years was due far more to Fr White than is usually
acknowledged. He had a unique relaionship with staf, parents and students. With the staf,
his support, encouragement and enthusiasm brought the best out of talented people, enabling
the creaive ones to blossom and the average to atain above their ability. His relaionships with
pupils was characterized not merely by keen discipline but much more so by his extraordinary
First Prefect of Studies, concern for each and every one of the boys and his no less extraordinary knowledge of them and
Fr William White of their family backgrounds.
