Cura Personalis

Cura Personalis is a Jesuit core value, one that particularly stood out me. It means care for the whole person. In Jesuit traditions, looking after the whole person includes makig sure those around us are physically, mentally, and spiritually well. Each person has different strengths, challenges, and needs. They also have different backgrounds and interests. Cura personalis calls Jesuits to respect others simply because they are human and to attend to each part of that person, not just their faith. This value can be applied far beyond the Jesuit faith and it particularly fitting for schools.

At its core cura personalis is personalized attention, which is crucial to schools that offered individualized instruction and for teachers who want to connect with their students. Students learn best when their physical and social-emotional emotional needs have already been met. While these needs are often adressed at home with things like eating a good breakfast, schools are impacted by these needs as well. Therefore, they need to be prepared to step in with resources for families or extra snacks for students who may need it. Schools can help meet student needs in a number of ways, and most offer programs to support families and individual students. These may include anything from providing food to families to offering counseling at school and many things in between. It’s good to be familiar with your school’s resources as a parent or teacher before you need to them, so you know what is available to you.

Beyond these needs, educators and students benefit greatly from a school culture that promotes care of the whole person because it encourages teachers to get to know their students better. When teachers engage with students’ interests it makes the students feel more accepted and it helps the teachers know how to relate curriculum to those students and make them want to learn. It also creates a community where staff and students both know that school is not the most important part of life. Extracurricular activities are valued. Individual interests are celebrated. Being healthy is more important than being at school. When staff and students are encouraged to take care of themselves and to nurture their interests, they build better self-concepts and are more driven to do their best work when they are at school.

Cura personalis is an honorable value in individual people, but it is crucial to schools. It’s important to remember that schools serve people first and foremost. With the standardized curriculums and tests that are prevalent now, it can be easy to turn education into an impersonal checklist of things to learn, activities to do, and tests to take. However, schools function best when learning is personal.