The Ateneo de Manila High School

The Ateneo de Manila High School is a Filipino school which seeks to prepare its students not only to live as responsible and productive members of Filipino society but to make a critical difference in the currents and ideas that can direct the growth of Filipino life. Faced with the challenges of a developing nation in a world open to diverse cultural influences, the student must be prepared to appreciate the richness of his cultural heritage and be challenged to contribute to its enrichment.

The Ateneo de Manila is also a college preparatory school and as such it prepares students academically for the university.

Since the world in which we live in is in constant change, the academic preparation of an Atenean must stress both the acquisition of high-quality intellectual skills as well the intellectual flexibility which can adjust to and create change.

The Ateneo believes that a training in liberal education is the means to achieve this purpose. An Atenean is exposed to the rich literary heritage of different cultures, developing habits of orderly thought, critical reflection, imaginative, clear, and persuasive communication together with the rigorous mental discipline of mathematics and the sciences.

Above all, the Atenean needs an understanding of his world from the perspective of his Catholic faith and its teachings.

As a Jesuit School, the Ateneo is guided by the Jesuit philosophy of education. The Ateneo's distinctive quality is its Jesuit or Ignatian identity. As a Jesuit or Ignatian-inspired school, its thrust is the formation of its students into "well-honed instruments in the hands of God." Central to this thrust of formation is "cura personalis," the personal care and concern for the individual person. Such care and concern are exercised primarily for the students, as well as for other the other members of the Ateneo High School community. "Cura personalis" aims to lead a person to a realistic knowledge of self, realizing one's strengths and also accepting one's weaknesses and shortcomings. Ultimately, though, this knowledge leads to a freedom of self, a freedom to commit. In Ignatian tradition it is to commit to Christ - "to see Christ more clearly, to love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly."

Goal of An Ateneo Education

The general goal of an Ateneo High School education is, as mentioned earlier, the formation of a young man into a "well-honed instrument in the hands of God." Through "cura personalis," it aims for the total formation of its students, a formation that begins with the students' life and developmental growth. The aim of this total formation is expressed in the following text of the Ateneo High School's Profile of the Graduate at Graduation.

Profile Of The Graduate At Graduation

The Ateneo de Manila High School, inspired by the Ignatian tradition and guided by Ignatian pedagogy, aims to mold young men into future leaders who will serve the Filipino society and contribute to the global community.

Upon the student's graduation from the High School, he will have been formed into a young man who

• is CHRIST-CENTERED;

• is intellectually and academically COMPETENT;

• has a well-formed CONSCIENCE, with the courage to defend what is right and to right what is wrong;

• has COMPASSION for others, especially the poor and disadvantaged -- a compassion that leads him to a life of service and work for justice and peace; and

• will live out his COMMITMENT to his mission in life; to God and to society.

per intercessionem Sanctae Virginis Mariae