The KPM (Kentenich Pedagogical Model) as a response to the needs of our time
On October 10, the long-awaited reunion after the pandemic began in Madrid. During these days the “Pedagogical Laboratories” took place, which consist of sharing experiences of the implementation of our KPM, as well as reflecting on central aspects of our charism in the school context. In this case, we focused on the “milestones” in school life.
For the first time, during this encounter, and at the initiative of Mount Tabor Schoenstatt School, an educational congress open to the public was organized on October 14 and 15, with the name “Organic Education, creating connections“. There were presentations, round tables, workshops and additional opportunities for mutual enrichment with other institutions as well as a presentation of the KPM as a response to the needs of our times.
The closing of these meetings took place in Portugal, thanks to the hospitality of the Santa Maria School in Lisbon. From the Fatima Shrine we were able to give thanks for all that was shared, the richness of the bonds that unite the people and institutions that form the network, the great gift that our pedagogy is for the present time, and the palpable presence of the Blessed Mother and Divine Providence in our schools.
Network of Kentenich Schools
As an initiative of the Schoenstatt Fathers, the Pentecost Foundation, whose primary mission is to guarantee the seal of the Kentenich pedagogy in the Schoenstatt schools, was created in 2011. Based on this goal, this network of schools started being formed in 2012, and now includes 13 schools in Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.
Almost all the schools that make up the Network were established with the idea of applying Father Kentenich’s pedagogy in different contexts. Remarkably, in spite of their differences, all of them have certain features and very distinctive practices, which have been a starting point for the development of a common framework.
During these years we have been working collaboratively, searching for these essential elements, also researching at an academic level how Schoenstatt pedagogy fits or can fit in the school context and how it interacts with current didactics and pedagogical theories.
All this, with the objective of defining the Kentenich pedagogical model, which seeks to implement Father Kentenich’s pedagogical principles in the curriculum through a general structure that ensures the essential aspects of Schoenstatt’s thinking and spirituality in each of the schools of the Network.
Pedagogical Laboratories
Since the Network was created, different opportunities for encounter and formation have been created. Undoubtedly, the International Weeks which usually take place in Santiago de Chile, where the Foundation’s headquarters are located, have been especially important.
In the latest sessions, and now that the KPM framework has been established, experiences with the implementation of the model have been presented. These are documented throughout the process, gathering evidence that provides soundness to the proposals, as well as tips of the difficulties and challenges that lie ahead. Professionals from other schools and from the Foundation study these projects and raise questions posed from an external perspective. These are opportunities for mutual learning and, together, they create a very rich database of material on different topics: processes of educational transformation, teacher training, the application of our spirituality in the schools, etc.
During the pandemic, these laboratories were conducted online.
“Organic education, creating connections” Congress
This initiative emerged from the pedagogical reflection team at Mount Tabor Schoenstatt School, Madrid. This school, established in 2006, found in the KPM a way to consolidate its own pedagogical model after a ten-year journey, and saw in the KPM a model of powerful relevance, which addresses and provides answers to the questions that are being raised about education in the world. Precisely this year, Spain is in the process of changes in the educational law, with many challenges but also several opportunities.
For all these reasons, and in keeping with the apostolic nature of the movement, we propose to organize an educational congress open to external educational institutions, schools and universities, with the purpose of making the model known and, at the same time, creating links and joint reflections with experts on important aspects of our pedagogy.
The keynote address: “Five-star pedagogy, an organic model at the service of something new“, presented by Father Victor Perez, director of the Pentecost Foundation, was inserted between other presentations on the passion for education, neuroeducation, and the role of new teachers. The latter was presented by one of the most influential people in the education sector today, the pedagogue Carmen Pellicer.
In addition, three round tables were held on topics of special interest such as the education of autonomy and freedom, the concept of innovation linked to Father’s phrase “with the hand on the pulse of time” and the integral formation of the person beyond the school environment. Workshops were also offered on concrete experiences related to the individual’s environment, his or her attachments and relationship with the world, “living classrooms”, etc.
Professionals from different institutions participated, as well as different members of the Network: Botin Foundation, Arenales, Francisco de Vitoria University, University of Navarra, SM Foundation, Trilema, etc.
Around 150 people attended: teachers, management teams, representatives of some institutions and also some parents and members of the movement who simply wanted to get to know the model. It was an experience of being welcomed and of openness with which we hope to have made an initial positive contribution to the educational community, beyond the school boundaries.
