PLAY LIKE A CHRISTIAN EVERY DAY

"Do not push too hard with the work, God will take care of everything, and will give you strength to do all that needs to be done.  The rest is in His hands.  Realize yourself to be entirely in His love and His care and worry about nothing.  In these days you should be carried by Him toward your destination, and do what you do more as play than as work, which does not mean that it is not serious: for the most serious thing in the life of a Christian is play."

~Thomas Merton to Jacques Maritain, June 11, 1963

I wish that I could more easily take the advice given by Thomas Merton to Jacques Maritain to heart. While I don't consider myself overly serious, I do feel as though I can too often get wrapped up in striving so hard to accomplish my goals and the work before me that I miss God's hand in it. I get bogged down with the drudgery and miss the joy. I miss the forest for the trees. I move so quickly that I don't even notice the roses, let alone take time to smell them. I forget that the strength to do His will comes from Him. I fail to realize that I am entirely in His love and His care and I too often worry about so much - summer camps and re-registrations and observations and certificates of liability and Iowa Assessments and calendars for next year and being a dad and a husband and a brother and a son and a friend and a Christian. 

I need to approach my work and my life as play more than work. I need to play. 

It's one of the reasons that I love sports and one of the biggest reasons I became an educator: I love to play. Play has the ability to get people to transcend time, worries, anger, stereotypes and even age. Elizabeth can become instant playmates with just about any child willing to engage her. She can do the same thing for what seems to me hours - move sand, color, play doctor, read books, wash dishes, or pretend that baby spider or meow-meow or Doc 'Stuffins or monkey (pronounced 'mumpy') are dancing or eating or checking heartbeats. Bedtimes get eclipsed, short tempers get lengthened, and my days at school seem to fade away while I play with my daughter...well, actually daughters. Catherine loves watching her big sister and she laughs at sneezes and she fishes for smiles from others. So long as she is included in the playing, Catherine seems content. 

Kids have a magnetic attraction for play. They can find it just about anywhere and they seek it all the time. Kids love to smile, laugh, run, climb, dance. They explore. They get dirty. They draw. They imagine. They create. They love. 

Cultivating these attributes while at the same time managing a classroom / school is a delicate balance. Some students aren't mature enough, especially in a group setting, to both play and learn. So, teachers must walk this fine line gingerly. They must teeter between mischievousness and seriousness. The truly masterful teacher does it seamlessly. Their approach is one of excitement and wonder and that translates into their preparation, instruction and assessment. The rookie teacher, however, strives for too many rounds of jeopardy, word searches or back to back battles and misses the substance of things like objectives, formative assessments and time-on-task. Students may "like" the latter but they appreciate and respect the former.

Kids love adults who haven't lost their sense of play yet who still act like adults. Kids love it when as adults we love what they love but ultimately refuse to lower our standards just to win their favor. All people, regardless of age and at some level, love to play. Think about the last time you played. Or danced. Or laughed. It probably felt pretty good and you probably felt, "Why can't I always feel like this?"

I think that's why Jesus used stories to teach. Elizabeth could listen to one of my stories about her and mumpy and meow-meow and baby spider and Baby-Cath (her name for Catherine) for about as long as she could do any of her beloved playtime activities. Stories are playful and whether we're telling one or listening to one or watching one or reading one, we can get wrapped up in them. Stories are one way to remind us to play.    

Play is energizing. Play is therapeutic. Play is fun. Play is divine. 

Make a pledge to yourself to play today. Pretend you're a race car driver on your way to work (pretend, don't actually drive like one!). Sing to the radio. Dance. Smile more than you usually do. Be silly for no apparent reason. Try a new food, or better yet, a weird concoction or mix of foods that shouldn't go together (and then actually eat it!). Play. 

Play like a Christian today and every day. 

Seriously.  

Assessing Assessments

If you were to grade this blog post, by what criteria would you assess it?

Grammar? Content? Entertainment value? Humor (fail)? Theological insights (another fail)? Number of complex vs. run-on vs. fragment sentences (yet another fail)?

Then, once you settled upon the areas in which you would judge this piece of writing, how would you go about actually marking the paper? If I misspelled one word would I lose 10 points? If I use a fragment instead of a complete sentence, will I be deducted the same amount, more or less than a misspelling? How about if I go off onto multiple tangents, talking about my daughters, and maybe my wife, and perhaps even some obscure reference to a book, movie or song, will I move from a "B" down to a "D"?

Finally, what type of feedback would you give me? Would I get a letter at the top of the page with little to no rationale for how / why I achieved that mark? Would there be check marks at various sentences? If merited, would you offer any positive feedback?

Oops, I forgot to have you consider whether your judgement of this blog would be a formative or summative assessment? In other words, is this my final opportunity to get a good grade on this writing or would your comments be prescriptive, helping me to know how to make improvements?

And, how many total points would this be worth? 100? 250? If it's a project would it count for a greater percentage of my total grade than homework?

Finally finally, can I get extra credit?

As you can see, assessment involves, or at least it should, so much more than a subjective, unreliable, and invalid look at students' progress. Much thought, energy, and purpose needs to go into the assessments given to students. Similarly, assessments need to link back to the objectives that were used as the focus of the instruction / learning being assessed. Appropriate feedback must be given to be both descriptive and prescriptive.

To top it all off, students and families should be made aware of the requirements and the way in which assignments will be assessed prior to beginning it.

Think about how unfair your assessment of this blog will most likely be (maybe just and deserved, but still unfair) because I have no idea how you'll be assessing it. In this way, you could be judging me completely on my ability to write as if Mickey Mouse was writing this blog. You could be judging me on my ability to incorporate as many Tom Hanks movies as possible. Either way, or even if it is actually more relevant to writing a blog on Catholic education, if I don't know before actually doing the work how I'll be judged, I have very little chance of doing well.

Imagine if God assessed us without giving us the criteria by which He's judging us. Imagine if He hadn't sent His only Son, to teach us how we're going to be judged. The greatest Teacher was also the greatest assessor. The criteria is clear, His forgiveness is more than formative, He is fair, He is just, and He grades on a pass / fail scale.

As Catholic educators, let us follow His example and insure that our assessments of our students don't leave us any room to need to be assessed by the great Assessor. Let us assess our assessments and make changes, adjustments and refinements in the same way we expect our students to improve over time.

Let us begin; today, and every day as a Catholic educator, is testing day...for us, not our students.

*Please pray for students across the country who will participate in the Iowa Assessments this week: March 4 - 8. 

Identity

This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting a prospective family with two young students. It's always encouraging to meet families that are interested in our school, and I particularly enjoy when they desire to meet with me as part of their discernment process (I would require it anyways, but it's nice when they take the initiative). I appreciate the chance to ask questions of the family, engage the children and assess how well the family aligns with the mission of our school. In many cases, I am asked many questions about test scores, class sizes, textbooks, teacher credentials and other academically related topics. This particular family surprised me by only asking one question. I was even more taken aback by the content of the question:

How strong is your school's Catholic identity?

Wow.

Hearing this was so refreshing. Responding to their question was incredibly humbling. I feel that I keep my priorities regarding my position as a Catholic school principal in proper order: 1. Catholic, 2. School. However, just like with all aspects of our education, I know that we continually fall short of our mission both to challenge each individual to be disciples of Christ and to strive to live out our Catholic faith through service to each other and the community. I know that we will always have good work to do in all areas, but especially in our school's Catholicity. For, I feel that even if we implement all of the right programs regarding our faith, our new challenge would be to keep our school community from feelings of superiority, righteousness, or even resentment toward those not a part of our school.

I am fairly certain I fumbled through my attempt at an answer and I can only hope and pray that my response met the criteria by which this family was judging our school. I really hope and pray that it does because of how wonderful it would be to have another family that uses this as its measuring stick.

This family revealed their identity to me through this poignantly simple question. I hope that I was able to reveal both mine and our school's and that it wasn't found lacking.

As Catholic schools, our identities should be so much more than strong academic schools. They should be so much more than places for the elite to gather and keep those with weaker minds, emptier pockets and / or troubled pasts in other locations. Our Catholic schools should resemble our Catholic Church - holy, catholic and apostolic. The education provided should be in the Catholic faith and through the Catholic faith.

Our schools should be unabashedly Catholic and we should couple this intense focus on our faith with a passionate desire to educate our children in the best possible way. God has given us both faith and intellects and the synergy that results from their marriage should be the goal of every Catholic school.

Students, as they grow and mature, are developing a sense of self. They become more and more independent and form bits and pieces of their identities as they matriculate from one grade level to the next.

They are becoming who God created them to be.

As Catholic schools, we need to help students identify who that is and then support them in the formation of this identity.

It's time for Catholic schools to identify what God created them to be and then work like mad to make that their identity.

And they'll know we are Catholic schools by our love, by our love.

Yes, it's time to begin.

Just Say No

Pope Benedict XVI is in my prayers today. He'll be in my prayers for quite some time as my heart goes out to him, not in a way that I pity him or feel bad for him, but because I am so impressed by the courage of his recently unprecedented decision to retire from being the Pope.

One of the hardest things to do is say no. Most of us are overcommitted and we rush from one thing to another, taking on one task and responsibility after another. I am definitely guilty of saying yes to too many duties. In many ways, even though I think I do a pretty good job at compartmentalizing, I work too much, too long and too hard. "Too little butter on too much bread," as Bilbo Baggins would say.

So, I am impressed by people who set clear boundaries regarding their commitments and keep to them. I have great admiration, especially for those in positions of authority and/or who have a solid work ethic, who refuse opportunities. I respect those who set and see realistic expectations as to what they can accomplish effectively.

It's been hundreds of years since a Pope retired. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had the conviction to make the decision to retire, though, despite not having anyone in recent history to imitate or use as a model.

He needed humility. It's tough for us to resist power, authority, fame, influence, recognition.

He needed faith. Faith that he is continuing to follow what he believes to be God's will for his life.

It's a lesson that I hope to take to heart. I know my wife, children and even my school would benefit from me being a part of one less committee, program, or group. Stripping things down to what's most important and doing those things well would be quite refreshing. Mirroring the shift coming with the Common Core State Standards, I would be doing less things but doing those that I deem worthy of my time with greater depth, involvement and intentionality.

It's a lesson I hope families and students can learn, too. It is amazing how many activities students participate in after school on a weekly basis. From baseball, to dance, to tutoring, to karate, to piano our students are overextended. Family meals, weekly attendance at mass, spending time at home together talking, reading or getting to bed on time often take a back seat to being uber involved in as many things as possible.

Stay in your lane.

Know your role.

Just say no.

Let us use Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as a model and let us pare down our lives to be able to spend more of them in prayer, reading, writing, reflection and spiritual growth.

Let us take advantage of this momentous occasion in our Church to teach kids to have the courage, conviction, faith and humility to just say no.

Family First

As Catholics, Canon Law states that parents are the primary educators of their children (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223). As Catholic educators within Catholic schools, it is incumbent upon that we partner with parents and families to ensure that the parents' place is maintained and supported in the education of their child(ren) in and through the Catholic faith.

Catholic schools could do more to help engage parents and families. Not only does it uphold Church teaching, but it is also sound educational philosophy. Recently, an article by Bruce Feiler was published in Parade Magazine that dealt with various aspects of the role that parents and families play in the formation of their children.

Most of it makes sense. Children's resilience is strengthened by having an understanding of their family's history. To encourage conversation and draw your family closer together, arrange the seats in your living room in a circle instead of all facing the TV. Siblings between the ages of 3 and 7 fight three to four times each hour! Girls delay the onset of sexual activity if they have had a close relationship with their fathers. Dads can also inspire greater confidence and better social skills in both sons and daughters with whom they have a strong relationship.

Other pieces of the excerpt of Fieler's book, "The Secrets of Happy Families" are much more eye opening and somewhat counter-intuitive: have a vote before discussing an issue in order to make the best decision possible; celebrating the success of a spouse is more valuable for the relationship than supporting him/her during a difficult time; kids should have a role in picking their own punishments (something we do at ICS - see "Discipline to Disciple"); its more beneficial for a child to be given freedom with his/her allowance than to be forced to save, spend and/or offer up in service.

One excerpt is astonishing: children will need to learn 3,000 new words each year from 3rd to 12th grades! This makes our work in transition to the Common Core State Standards and its emphasis on reading and Language Arts.

As parents, we are not only the primary educators, we are also the most important. So, spend time with your kids and family and stay up until 1:23 a.m. to do silly things like write blogs instead of doing it while they are awake.

May God strengthen families and may the model of the Holy Family, which graciously accepted the gift of the Incarnation, inspire greater devotion, dedication and love to each other and to God.

And may God grant me patience tomorrow when I'm sleep deprived because I put, and always will, my family first.

Got Inspiration?

At a recent diocesan event, Fr. Kenneth Malley, Pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lutz, FL asked me how I stay full. How did I find inspiration in order to be full enough to minister to others. I wish I had been wise enough to turn the table on him, but instead I fumbled through a few clichéd answers. In reflecting on his question for the past few weeks, here is a more comprehensive answer:

Scripture:

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. -Hebrews 12:12

I say I will not mention him, I will no longer speak in his name. But then it is as if fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding back, I cannot! -Jeremiah 20:9

For God did not give you a spirit of fear but one of power, love and self-control. -2 Timothy 1:7

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. -Luke 12:48

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! -Luke 12:49

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. -Hebrews 12:1-2

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. -Matthew 5:14

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. -Matthew 21:12

Therefore, my brothers, let us set an example for our kindred. Their lives depend on us, and the defense of the sanctuary, the temple, and the altar rests with us. -Judith 8:24

Songs:

Here are two:

"I couldn't look up, but God looked down."

"I won't waste any more time. My life's Yours, it is not mine. Use me, Lord, no matter what's at stake."

Quotes:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it. Begin it now.

-Goethe

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

-Blessed Mother Teresa

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

-J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Two Towers

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees...

...and let us continue. 

Lore of the Ring

Part 2 of "Conviction"

In limiting the possible places that my lost wedding ring could have been, I had narrowed the area of the park down to three spots:

1. The sandbox(!)
2. The bottom of the slide (I take turns)
3. Underneath the monkey bars

A few other locations crossed my mind - under the swing set where I do pull-ups, under the monkey bars where I also do pull-ups or anywhere within the playground equipment area - but I had done enough tests upon my return home that night that I had figured that my leg had to have reached a certain height / angle in order for the ring to have fallen out of my pocket. My legs really never attained this angle in these locales; therefore, my ring had to have been in one of the big three.

As already mentioned, I awoke early the next morning to scour some of these spots with the aid of a shovel and laundry basket. I would shovel a bit of the sand or playground mulch into a laundry basket in order to spread out the bits and pieces of the load to more easily look for my treasure. Then, assuming that the contents of my shovel were treasureless, I would move that load of earth to another spot and continue my search.

So, if you can imagine the scene, it is barely daybreak and I'm at a playground with a shovel and laundry basket. I'm amazed that the running man actually stayed to help me search with these utensils in my hand and at my feet. But he did and he not only helped me look, he prayed with me.

"You're going to find it," he said as he ran back into the ether.

And, like I said in an earlier blog, I did. But, it wasn't just because this stranger and I prayed about it. It wasn't just because I prayed about it multiple times that morning and early afternoon.

It was because of a metal detector...and the prayers.

Tampa has only one place to rent a metal detector. I called right at 10:30 when it opened. I asked if they had any machines available for rent and if so, if they would be open in about an hour. The owner of the shop explained that he would be at the store until about 12:00 p.m. before going out of town for a few days. I pleaded my case, "I'll have it back by the end of the day!" "How much would it cost to keep it for that long?" "Is there any way that I could pick it up before you leave and put it in some sort of after hours drop-box?" Luckily, the store owner confided that if I could get it before 12:00 that he could meet me back at the store by 3:00 before he headed out to the airport.

"I'll have it back at 3:00!"

After a trip to the local metal detector store and a quick tutorial on how to use it, I was off to the playground. I brought the shovel and basket again to scare off any would be treasure hunters in search of my ring and/or use it to dig and unearth my find.

I wanted to rule out the other two areas prior to diving into the sandbox so I went to work on the bottom of the slide. Getting too close to the equipment caused the detector to chime, but it didn't take me long to figure out where these nuts and bolts were located and that the noises were not betraying the location of my precious.

Next, I went to work on the area under the monkey bars. It was void of any fasteners so it was a pretty easy and unproductive sweep.

My heart sank at the thought of the sandbox. "Save it for last," I game planned. Instead of entering the desert, I headed to the other parts of the playground area that I knew Elizabeth and I had covered the night prior. A nickel and loose screw was all that I could find under and in between the various steps, ledges and rails.

I looked to see if there was anywhere else that I could scour before tackling the sandbox. We didn't chase in the field. We didn't run to the top of the hill. We only stayed on one side of the playground. There had to be somewhere else to check before the sandbox.

Under the swing set. I highly doubted it was there - I didn't swing the night before - but it was a diversion and another place to exhaust before the box.

I grabbed my detector and gave it a quick scan. Immediately I got a beep different than any before. I swung back over the spot that created the noise. I made it again!

I looked around for my shovel and basket, but noticed out of the corner of my eye I noticed my ring. It was half-submerged, half-emerged from the ground. It had been in plain sight the entire time but it took me spending hours of my time and lots of my money to search and secure a metal detector for me to find it.

The same is true of our faith. I could have believed that my ring would be found (and I did) but I would not have found it without actually looking. Our faith is dead without works. My ring was lost without the metal detector. Faith is important and was a necessary component to give me the hope, calm and confidence that my ring would be found. But, I also needed to work to find it.

Our God doesn't just want us to pray. He wants us to take action as well.

Faith and works.

Faith in our works.

Faith that it works.

Faith that He works.

Always and all ways. Forever. Amen.