My sister is five years older than me, and so as I was going through the end of middle and high school, Mary was already off in college. As like most 13 - 18 year old boys, my body was constantly changing and growing. I would sprout at such a pace and my transformations in between her visits from college were so drastic that she would actually call me a "weed". Unfortunately and even though I'm still holding out for a late spurt, my green thumb didn't last much past 6'. I may not be much of a weed anymore, but I am a seed.
The above video comes from a group called The Digital Age. They are the resurrection of The David Crowder Band, forming after the aforementioned band decided to break up. The song, which appeared on DCB's last album, "Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys])", and the fact that this reborn version of the song is being sung by a reborn version of the band are great illustrations of the mystery of the Resurrection. Our lives, in many different ways, follow this Pascal pattern. We suffer. We die. We rise. As the song says, "Death will lose and we will win / I am a seed / I've been pushed down into the ground, but I will rise up a tree / I am a seed / I won't stay long here in this earth when you rain your love on me / Lord, rain your love on me."
We are seeds. So are our students. Nothing illustrates this better than the beginning of a new school year. Last year is in the earth. Buried. The promise of new life breaks forth from the ground and hopefully by the end of the year our students will rise up as trees. We have new soil with which to work. If we, as educators, have appropriately rejuvenated over the summer, we may also have some new fertilizer, nutrients and/or nurturing techniques to use this year. A new day is dawning. The rains will come, but will only serve to strengthen our young buds. Sprinkle in a little love, from both ourselves and from God, and we should be able to reap an abundant harvest.
St. John Baptist de la Salle says this about teachers, "Be satisfied with what you can do, since God is satisfied with it, but do not spare yourself in what you can do with grace; and believe that, provided you want it, you can do more with the grace of God than you think."
This year, let us do more than we've ever done with students. Let us do more than we can even think possible. Let us not put limits on ourselves or our students. Let us ask for God to rain His love down on us and let us allow Him to amaze us with His creation.
He is the Gardener; we are merely the workers. We are merely seeds...but we (and our students) will rise up into trees.
I have wonderful parents. In light of all of the publicity that the parents of Olympic athletes have received (whether positive or negative) as well as my own journey in parenthood, I realize how amazing Robert and Linda Zelenka were, and - praise God - still are. I realize how much they love me. I realize how pivotal there were in shaping me into the person that I am today. I realize, not for the first time or the last, that I have wonderful parents.
In looking back on my childhood, I am impressed by how my parents were able to teach me how to survive while at the same time never making me feel as if I was alone. Their love and support, tough at times, was constant (and still is!). Yet, they were able to strike the balance between sheltering me and allowing me to scrape a few knees, elbows, hands, heads...They gave me roots and wings.
They encouraged me to take chances, but demanded that I make commitments. The only thing I've ever quit - basketball during my junior year of high school - was followed by my enlisting in our school's wrestling team. Of course, my parents supported me. Flippant, though, they would not allow my decision to be. I remember my dad challenging me, if switching to wrestling really was in my future, to stick with it for the entire season.
They helped get me through the University of Notre Dame while I chased a dream of playing collegiate football as a walk-on. I paid off my final student loan last month, a term that would have been much longer had it not been for my parents' many sacrifices.
My parents' support extends well beyond my athletic career. They supported my decision to major in Notre Dame's Great Books Program, the University's equivalent of an education in the seven classic Liberal Arts. Heck, my mom was practically the inspiration when she guided me to declare a major that would excite me for my time in college, not necessarily prepare me for any particular career after I was done. They accepted me joining a service organization upon graduation (the Alliance for Catholic Education) and they have been interested and involved in my career in education.
They are even okay with me living over 1,000 miles away from their home in Berea, OH, making the trip down to Florida a few times a year to spend time with me and my growing family. Despite the distance in miles, I feel a closeness to them that I hope and pray my own children will one day have with me and Emily. I know of their unconditional, selfless and immense love for me. Thinking about my parents loving me today as much as I love my own daughter is simply amazing. Knowing that they've loved me like this my entire life is humbling.
In a song by Matt Maher called Woke Up in America (see my first INSPIRATION blog for more info on Matt), he sings:
My parents gave me a life full of dreams / yeah, they gave me a heart to endure almost anything.
Perhaps the Zelenkas knew the Mahers, because I couldn't agree more. My parents gave me dreams. They galvanized me to chase after them. They instilled me with faith and taught me how to see with it instead of my eyes.
As the Olympics near their end, we will most likely hear something about the parent(s) of yet another athlete. If nothing else, we'll see some overly sacchrine commercials about how much the mom and/or dad of an Olympian has helped them to compete in London. I'm not in London and I'm not an Olympic athlete, but I have wonderful parents. World class. Olympic.
Sometimes I feel as if God thinks I have unlimited strength. Or patience, or willpower, or discipline, or compassion, or mercy, or humility. For those who know me, it is no secret that this past year was difficult on many different levels - professionally, personally and spiritually.
My second year as a principal was challenging. Changing a building or a textbook, a website or a schedule is easy. Changing a culture, though, is not.
My wife's second pregnancy, while much improved, has taken a toll on me. Her extreme sickness during the first half of the pregnancy taxed me in ways that I didn't think were possible. My schedule for those weeks was grueling. Emotionally, I was a wreck. Spiritually, I was drowning. Issues at school seemed to be coming at a frantic pace. Looking back on it, I'm not quite sure how I was able to make it through (and I'm sure that some would argue whether or not I really did make it through).
After revealing some of these struggles in an April post, a friend texted words from a WWII poster in Great Britain, "Keep calm and carry on." My brother shared with me the story of codfish (who are actually made stronger by fighting with catfish - http://arloasutter.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-we-need-adversaries.html).
And, somehow, it's August 1. I have a million things to complete before our teachers report next Thursday August 9 and at least double that before students report on August 20. I can't sleep. I can't seem to find peace in my prayer life. I haven't consistently exercised since June. Thoughts creep into my head that I'm not strong enough, that there is no way everything will get done. There is no way I'll be able to do all that is expected of me.
Luckily for me, I don't do it alone. Not only has the Lord blessed me with a wonderful "cloud of witnesses" in my family, my colleagues, my friends and my mentors, but He has also given me His grace.
Teaching (and I take liberty to include myself in this profession even though I'm a principal) is the most important profession in the world. Teachers, with each student who passes through their classrooms, are shaping our future. They are responsible for the formation of other humans. They affect eternity. As such, teaching can become incredibly taxing. The weight of lesson plans, angry parents, demanding administrators, energetic students, and assembly period schedules (when you miss your 3rd period English class for the 5th Monday in a row!) can crumble us to our knees. Add to that any sort of personal struggle (the bank closing before you've left the building, a fight with a loved one, a sick child, etc.) and the mountain can seem insurmountable.
But with God's grace, all things are possible. St. John Baptist de La Salle, the patron saint of teachers, urges teachers,
"Be satisfied with what you can do, since God is satisfied with it, but do not spare yourself in what you can do with grace; and believe that, provided you want it, you can do more with the grace of God than you think."
With God's grace, we don't have to be strong enough because He already is- strong enough for both of us, for all of us, for anything.
Keep calm and carry on. It's just another catfish.
In 2010, at the age of 30, I became the principal of Incarnation Catholic School. In addition to starting my tenure as the school's leader, I also became a father within that same calendar year. Within a span of two months, I went through two life changing events.
In the two years since, I have had to rely on my faith in many and various ways. As a new principal of a Catholic School, I have prayed heavily for the strength to remain focused on and committed to our school's mission of inspiring life-long learners, challenging each individual in the school community to become a disciple of Christ and striving to live out our Catholic faith through service. Distractions from this mission abound, especially as the leader of the organization. Complaints, unexpected hiccups, emergencies and the ebb and flow of working with people and for people wear on our ability to stay committed to an idealistic vision.
The fact that we're building a cathedral can get lost when we're digging a ditch. The process itself can be dirty, frustrating and difficult. Staying dedicated to our mission requires staying dedicated to Jesus.
As a new father, I have been confused more frequently than I've been certain. Having a newborn and being entrusted with her care and nurturing and not having any worthwhile experience as to how to successfully do this has caused me to pray for the Lord's strength and direction. Being a father has led me to a deeper appreciation for the love that God, our Heavenly Father, has for me. It has challenged me to love more deeply and unconditionally. It has inspired me to love more. I am currently praying for the strength, wisdom and guidance to be the father of two...
St. Joseph has been the recipient of many of my prayers over the past two years. A statue of Jesus's earthly father is in the back of our church (as the Church of the Incarnation, there is one of Mary, too). Many days I will sneak away from the office, into the vacant church, and kneel before this model of self-sacrifice, humility and hard work. On countless occasions I have prayed to St. Joseph that he help me to lead not only my school community but also my family. I would like to believe that these prayers have not been made in vain.
Moriah Peters, an up and coming Christian music artist who tried out for American Idol (and was told by the judges to go and make some mistakes, kiss some boys, and come back in a few years when she's grown up and more worldly), sings in her song Well Done, "If people walk with me, talk with me, looking for truth / They're gonna find out soon / If they're following me then / They're gonna follow You."
I pray for guidance, Lord. I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for patience, compassion, mercy, and peace. I pray that you lead me, Lord, so that I may lead others - Incarnation Catholic School, my wife, my daughter, my future son / daughter, readers of this blog, anyone with whom I come in contact - to you.
"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your
welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."
-Jeremiah 29:11
I am a believer that everything happens for a reason. This is often a difficult philosophy to embrace, especially when seemingly bad things occur. In many ways, my life is proof of this scriptural passage.
First, I was deathly ill when I was first born. I was baptized in the hospital because I wasn't supposed to make it home. At the time, doctors couldn't even identify my illness. But, I survived.
Many parts of my adolesence, especially being picked on during middle school (but who wasn't?), taught me many lessons about treating all people with respect and dignity.
Much of my athletic career set me up for becoming the first athletic director of Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School - from getting cut from the basketball team, to joining the wrestling team (both in high school), to walking onto the football team at the University of Notre Dame and actually seeing the field. Even my first two years in coaching at St. Petersburg Catholic helped to shape my vision for what athletics should be in middle and high schools http://www.bmchs.com/canesathletics.cfm?subpage=743682.
My wife Emily and I grew up about 15 minutes away from each other in suburbs of Cleveland, OH. She went to an all-girls Catholic high school. I attended one of the three all-boys Catholic schools. We lived in dorms next door to one another in college and even had mutual friends. But, it took joining the Alliance of Catholic Education and randomly being placed in Florida for us to meet and become best friends and husband and wife.
I could go on and on about the connections between and among the many aspects of my life and how I have seen God's hand through them all. I haven't always been able to see It in the moment, but have been able to see Divine Providence at some point afterward.
It's what gives me the courage to believe that God has a plan for me and for all that is happening to me. He has plans for my welfare, for my future hope! It's not always easy, but trusting that God can take ANYTHING and make it work for His good is our challenge as believers. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans (8:28), "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."
In other words, I can see and I truly believe that right where I am in my life - no matter the storm, no matter the curve ball - is exactly where God wants me to be.
I can see and I believe that everything that's happened has led me to this...whatever this may be.
As mentioned in my last blog, Rejuvenation, I mentioned the need for educators to find sources of inspiration during their summer break. As a way not only to rejuvenate myself but also to offer a source of inspiration to others, the focus of my blogs throughout the summer months will be inspiration.
For faithful readers of my blog, you may have noticed the short list of blogs that I myself frequent. Among them is a blog from Christian music artist Matt Maher (pronounced "mar"). Besides the music, the thing that draws me to Matt is that he is Catholic, and in a business where openly professing faith in a particular sect of Christianity - especially Catholicism - could have a detrimental impact on overall sales, his openness is daring. And what's more is that his knowledge of the Catholic faith is impressive. His songs have depth, many are based on Catholic theology and catechism or even Catholic prayers.
As a Catholic educator, his music can give a whole new meaning to praise and worship music.
His latest single, Rise Up, is a song that uses its title as a rallying cry. Since receiving the album on which it is found for Christmas 2011, I have turned to this track multiple times throughout the past 6 months. Teachers must often rise up above their circumstances of being overworked, underpaid, unappreciated and underslept. Catholic schools must rise up above dwindling enrollments, limited resources and the opening of new charter schools touting a free "private" education. Teaching is difficult. Dealing with as many personalities / characters / family backgrounds / intelligence levels / etc. as there are students in a classroom is draining. Trying to lesson plan, grade, discipline, help with extra-curricular activities and communicate and work with families leaves little time or energy to do much of anything else.
Rise up.
Jesus tells us, "In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world" (John 16:33). Take courage. Fill your heart. Life is hard - even Jesus tells us so - but He has conquered it. We're playing for the winning team. No matter the score, no matter how low, discouraged, disheartened, or disillusioned we feel, rise up.
Rise up.
Lambs will roar like lions. Prisoners will break their chains. The poor will find their treasure. Heaven is coming this way.
When life has got you down look at the One who has conquered the world...and rise up.
As a principal, I am well aware of the dangers associated with students sitting idle during their summer break:
According to the authors of a report from the National Summer Learning Association: 'A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year.... It's common for teachers to spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That month of re-teaching eliminates a month that could have been spent on teaching new information and skills.' http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/keeping-kids-off-the-summer-slide.htm
Therefore, I am a strong supporter of summer programs designed to keep students engaged in learning. I would probably even go so far as to be a proponent for "year round" schooling, with smaller but more frequent breaks spread out throughout the entire calendar year, including the summer.
Ideally, students and families would take advantage of the summer not only to relax and rejuvenate, but also to participate in experiential learning through trips to other cities, countries or to places like museums, zoos, or parks and recreational centers. Visits to the library (or downloads onto eReaders) would allow students to read for pleasure (it actually is pleasurable!); therefore, such trips / downloads would be frequent. Students would be encouraged to venture outdoors, or outfitted with creative toys like Legos or art supplies.
Even though I am a proponent of fighting against the summer slide, I (along with just about every educator across the country) embrace the upcoming 8 weeks of summer "vacation". For me it will provide ample opportunity to plan for the upcoming school year - purchasing new text books and supplies, designing class schedules, revamping / refining policies and procedures, cleaning, doing maintenance work, updating computers / technology, and planning professional development opportunities for my faculty and staff. I can't imagine not having a break during which I try to accomplish these things.
But, probably even more importantly, the summer weeks provide me the opportunity to tap back into the wellspring of inspiration to accomplish what is oftentimes an emotionally, intellectually and physically draining job. I'll listen to music. I'll read (for both business and pleasure!). I'll take some time to be with my family. I'll sleep more. I'll exercise more frequently. I'll pray - for my teachers, my students and our school's families. I'll look for sources of inspiration anywhere and everywhere I can find them.
I'll replenish. I'll rest. I'll refresh.
It won't happen by sitting idle for two months. It can't happen by staying in school year round.
Even Jesus went off by himself to pray...to rejuvenate.
Blessings to all for a safe, relaxing, fun and rejuvenating summer!
