A Discussion with Léon Sarr, Acting Director at Abbot David Boilat Applied School, Center for Pedagogical Training, Mbour, Senegal
With: Léon Sarr Berkley Center Profile
July 20, 2015
Background: As
part of the Education and Social Justice Project, undergraduate student
Sabrina Khan interviewed Léon Sarr, who serves as the acting director of the Abbot
David Boilat Applied School (l’Ecole
d’Application Abbé David Boilat) at the Center for Pedagogical Training (CFP) in Mbour, Senegal.
In this interview, conducted in July 2015, Sarr discusses his role at the
school and the mission of Catholic education.
Can you introduce
yourself?
I am Léon Sarr, and I am the director of the École d’Application at the CFP. I have been here since October 2008, the year the school opened. I’ve had the privilege of being here when the school only had three classes. Today, we have twelve classes and 662 students.
What are your daily responsibilities?
There are three parts: the administrative part, the pedagogical part, and the social part. In the administrative component, I am the liaison between the school, the CFP, the national secretary, and the diocese of Dakar, which oversees some of our work. In terms of the pedagogical component, we oversee teachers’ plans to see and verify that they conform to standards; we prepare material, advise teachers, visit classes, conduct evaluations, present students for exams, etc. In the social component, because we are human and we make errors from time to time, we must be able to unite different personalities. Sometimes, it’s not always easy. But we try to live as a family. We have social gatherings once a month to do something else besides work.
What is the importance of Catholic education to children?
We have a mission from the church through education. This means that we convey the Catholic values that we would like others to live: charity, hope, forgiveness, or savoir vivre. It’s this tolerance that we transmit. If Catholic values were realized in society, we would not have certain dramas or problems that we do today throughout the world, whether it be in the United States or in Africa. Those problems occur when we do not have Catholic education or do not know Christ well.
In general, what do you think attracts Muslim parents to Catholic schools?
Parents can see the evidence of our quality. Parents see that their children have totally changed. Parents ask our secret or if we have a genie. We do not have a genie; we work hard and motivate our students to work. The students learn how to live together and how to have good manners.
In your opinion, what are the qualities of a good teacher?
You must have patience and love children. You must also always be willing to go farther, especially when you encounter difficulties.
I am Léon Sarr, and I am the director of the École d’Application at the CFP. I have been here since October 2008, the year the school opened. I’ve had the privilege of being here when the school only had three classes. Today, we have twelve classes and 662 students.
What are your daily responsibilities?
There are three parts: the administrative part, the pedagogical part, and the social part. In the administrative component, I am the liaison between the school, the CFP, the national secretary, and the diocese of Dakar, which oversees some of our work. In terms of the pedagogical component, we oversee teachers’ plans to see and verify that they conform to standards; we prepare material, advise teachers, visit classes, conduct evaluations, present students for exams, etc. In the social component, because we are human and we make errors from time to time, we must be able to unite different personalities. Sometimes, it’s not always easy. But we try to live as a family. We have social gatherings once a month to do something else besides work.
What is the importance of Catholic education to children?
We have a mission from the church through education. This means that we convey the Catholic values that we would like others to live: charity, hope, forgiveness, or savoir vivre. It’s this tolerance that we transmit. If Catholic values were realized in society, we would not have certain dramas or problems that we do today throughout the world, whether it be in the United States or in Africa. Those problems occur when we do not have Catholic education or do not know Christ well.
In general, what do you think attracts Muslim parents to Catholic schools?
Parents can see the evidence of our quality. Parents see that their children have totally changed. Parents ask our secret or if we have a genie. We do not have a genie; we work hard and motivate our students to work. The students learn how to live together and how to have good manners.
In your opinion, what are the qualities of a good teacher?
You must have patience and love children. You must also always be willing to go farther, especially when you encounter difficulties.
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