Run

My daughter Elizabeth began walking, without the aid of a toy stroller, outstretched hand, or furniture of knee height right before Christmas 2011. In the three plus months since, she has taken to running. I'm a worried parent anyways; her first steps were, for me, coupled with nervousness and anxiety. What was even more nerve racking was that right after she took her first steps, we went on a two week trip up North to visit family for the Holidays. Stints in three different houses, none of which were baby proofed, luckily ended with neither Elizabeth nor myself any worse for the wear.

Fast forward to the end of February and Elizabeth can run. In being so able, my worries have also increased and accelerated. Elizabeth runs when she's excited (which is frequent). She runs when she's outside (which given the beautiful weather as of late has been often). She runs when she has something that she shouldn't (which is also quite often!).

She runs, and in being so able, she falls. She trips. She slips. She collapses. She takes turns too fast for her little feet and legs. She veers toward walls and doorways. Edges of tables and chairs jump out at her. And sometimes, she falls for absolutely no (apparent) reason. She gets bumps, bruises and just this past week, bloodied lips (thanks to a face plant on the sidewalk!). As she's learning how to run, she is simultaneously learning how to fall, how to put her hands out, how concrete is a lot harder than grass, how she needs to step over lips in doorways or subtle changes in the height of her walking surface. She's learning how to avoid obstacles, maintain her balance and when to slow down and take a seat.

As her parent, I have been learning how to both let her run and let her fall. I have been learning how to support her. When does she still need a hand to hold? When does she need picked up and held after a stumble and when should I give her some verbal encouragement? When do I ignore her tears? When do I help her get back up, dust her off and give her a pat on the tush?

I am learning how to surround her without smothering, how to support her without suffocating, how to simultaneously give her roots and wings.

I'm learning how to let her learn.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews (12: 1 - 2), alludes to how such support can be liberating:

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.

We aren't able to "run" in any facet of our lives as we otherwise could without support. We aren't able to persevere in that "run" without support. With a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, we can do great things.

We can run.

Hopefully, my (and Emily's) parenting is allowing Elizabeth to run today and in years to come.

Hopefully, our Catholic schools are places where such support is also apparent, allowing students to run, too. Catholic schools should be places where students, teachers, parents, and administration feel so supported that they run. Catholic schools should foster a community of Christian support for all of its members to be their best selves. A strong community equals a strong school. Strong schools equal strong Catholics. Strong Catholics equal a strong Church.

What does a cloud of witnesses look like? Teachers reaching out to students and combining high standards with even higher support. Teachers treating students, colleagues and parents with respect. Teachers getting to know each student as an individual and taking an interest in their respective interests. Teachers making difficult phone calls before they become impossible conferences. Teachers basing instruction on assessment evidence and sound educational practices. Teachers modeling their teaching after Christ. Teachers teaching about Christ. Teachers being Christ.

A cloud of witnesses also looks like parents believing that their child(ren) are imperfect and being okay with this fact. Parents taking an interest in their child(ren)'s homework without actually doing it for him/her/them. Parents attending parent-teacher conferences, Back to School Nights, and Home and School functions. Parents setting up conferences out of concern instead of out of a chance to attack. Parents putting the safety of all of the school's students first and not just their own child(ren). Parents taking their child(ren) to Mass on Sundays and praying together as a family at mealtimes, bedtimes and any times.

A cloud of witnesses is a group of students who are committed to learning. It is a group of students that respect their parents, teachers, and peers; a group of students who do what is right. A cloud of witnesses is a group of students who hold each other accountable and stand up for others when they are getting picked on or even bullied. It is a cloud that takes pride in their school and understands their two-fold purpose for attending: salvation and education. It is a group who are open to being disciplined so as to become disciples of Christ. Students praying together and for each other.

Finally, this cloud involves administrators who are fair, consistent, visible, good stewards, accountable, firm, understanding, and committed to ensuring that this support is fostered and maintained by all of the various aspects of the school.

Of course, other members of the "cloud" exist - pastors, parishioners, school board members, staff, alumni, former employees. Basically, anyone with any connection to the school makes up this cloud. The bigger the cloud, the greater the support. The greater the support, the better the school...

Together everyone accomplishes more. "What we dream alone remains a dream, but what we dream with others can become a reality" (Edward Schillebeeckx). Individuals win games, but teams win championships.

With support and with a focus on Christ we can persevere in running the race, no matter what it entails, that lies before us.
We could move mountains. We could walk on water. We could run on water. We could do anything.

Because with a cloud of witnesses surrounding us we have roots, wings...and running shoes.

Empty

"On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb."
-John 20:1

On the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday / the beginning of Lent, my wife Emily started to show signs of being sick with our second child. About 5 weeks pregnant at that point, both she and I had hoped that it would not be a sign that this pregnancy would mirror our first. Emily was sick until about week twenty with Elizabeth.

I had high hopes for my Lenten journey (as I always do). I would pray more. I would reach out to those I love more and do a better job at staying connected via phone, email and other long distance communications. As such, I had high hopes for Easter (as I always do). Because of my sacrifices and discipline, I would enjoy the Resurrection of Jesus Christ with that much more faith. Little did I know that my Lenten journey would be one of the toughest and most arduous of my life.

Enter hyperemesis gravidarum: extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that may lead to dehydration. Symptoms: Severe, persistent nausea during pregnancy, often leads to weight loss; lightheadedness or fainting. It did lead to dehydration. Twice. The nausea, despite medications and monitoring, persists...constantly. Emily's weight loss has been severe; luckily her drop has leveled off. Two hospital visits, one with a two night stay. Home health care to change IV's and the pump for her medication. And despite all of this, perpetual vomitting.

Before going any further, let me clearly state my love and admiration for my wife. While I have and will continue to relate my struggles through this first trimester, I know that what I am enduring pales in comparison to the torture she has suffered. In no way am I saying that my plight has been worse than hers or more challenging than heroic single moms, dads, or any family members of anyone with an illness. But, it has been difficult.

Normally, trying to balance leading a school, being a husband and the father of a 17 month old, trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, keeping up with friends and family, working around the house and actually relaxing every now and never and keeps me pretty busy. All of this was hard enough when I had my wife to share the load - true partners in our journey through life. Take her out of the equation, almost completely, and my journey throughout Lent took on a lonely, trying, exhausting and taxing spin.

Fortunately, things for Emily have seemed to turn a corner. Furthermore, the amount of love and support shown to us by both friends and family has been truly humbling. I am always amazed by how giving people can be and I have been touched multiple times by multiple people over the past month and a half. In case I never get around to it, and by the volume of things on which I'm behind this seems likely, thank you to all that have helped. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Having gone through an unexpectedly difficult Lent, I expected that Easter Sunday would bring some sort of immediate hope/peace/calm/change. It didn't. Much like Easter bringing the fulfillment of other Lenten sacrifices in years past, I thought that my "suffering" during Lent this year would turn into the same joy I had experienced on Easter Sundays before. While I did have a great day, I still feel empty.

Some connections:

First, how often do we look for Jesus in empty tombs? How often do we go to the wrong places expecting to encounter Christ? Whether it's in other people, or disciplined sacrifices, or the nightly news, or music, or TV, or anything, we most likely come up empty. St. Augustine explained this phenonemon well saying, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee." We can go to just about anywhere looking for Jesus. No matter how deep a particular Earthly fulfillment is, the encounter will still leave us unfulfilled. This is both good and bad. It causes us to still search. But, it can also cause us to give up the search and/or become complacent with something that is less than the Christ (which is everything). Easter Sunday has come and gone. The eggs no longer contain jellybeans. The plates are bare. The Churches are closed. Stores are already focusing on summer - swimsuits, suntan lotion and shades.

The passion we hopefully experienced during Lent shouldn't fade just because Easter Sunday has come and gone.

Even if Emily had somehow miraculously recovered today, my commitment to her shouldn't wane because all in my life is back to normal (whatever that is).

Lent is over, but our crosses remain. What Easter should do is change our perspective. Life is hard, but Jesus conquered both life and death. "In the world you will have trouble," He tells us, "but take courage, I have conquered the world" (John 16:33). Maybe instead of hoping to find Jesus someplace that we haven't been yet, we should look for Him in our current circumstances. We should look for Him standing right beside us because that's exactly where He is.

Second, how often do we look for the same in our Catholic Schools? We would like the best and brightest students. We would hope for the parents that always support us. We would desire that the problems inherent in all schools not be allowed out of the hallways of our public school counterparts, and if they happen into our Catholic institutions, we would quickly and gladly like to put them back where they belong. Instead, let us accept the fact that if our schools were perfect, we wouldn't have jobs.

If we were perfect, we would have never needed a Savior.

Jesus never said it would be easy. He said that it would be worth it.

The tomb, like our hearts, is empty. Our hope, though, need not be.

Death will lose and we will win. Today. Tomorrow. In six more months. At the end of our lives. For now and always...

Happy Easter.

Agents of Change

In a post almost one year ago to the day, I wrote about my big brother, Joe. Today's entry features my brother once again.

Joe is a football player. Yes, that's right. He plays football for a living. Professionally. He has for over 10 years. He holds the record for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the most consecutive starts. He's a long snapper. And, before you think just how easy of a job that is, I challenge you to try it. Quarterbacks who complete over 50% of their passes are considered pretty good. Likewise, other positions are "graded" based on a percentage of accuracy. A long snapper, though, must be perfect. All the time. Unlike the kicker who is known whether or not he shanks a punt or dog legs a field goal, the long snapper is only known when he fails to meet perfection. Fortunately for my brother, he is Mr. Anonymous in the NFL (okay, not really...he is such a goofball that he actually has an underground following and is often featured in commercials and other TV spots in the hometown markets of the teams he has played for).

So, what place does my brother serve in a blog about Catholic education? Truly?

Joe does a lot of public speaking. Many Church groups, schools, foundations, and other organizations tap into his charisma and invite him to speak. In a few weeks, a group of School Administrators in Ohio will host my brother for a conference at which he will be the keynote speaker. Seriously. So, Joe asks me what playing football has to do with being a school administrator. My thought exactly. But, he's my brother so I gave it some thought. A lot of thought, actually.

Here is my brainstorm:

As a long snapper, my brother is the person responsible for some sort of change to take place on a football field. If he is snapping for a punt, the offense will be changing to defense. If it's a field goal or extra point, the same transition will take place. In a sense, he's the catalyst for the offense to, barring a fake that goes for a first down or a penalty, switch over to the defense. Joe enacts change on a football field. The punt starts with him, the field goal is initiated by his bent over spiral. These changes, in many ways, can win or lose games depending on their success or failure.

Teachers are agents of change. Principals are, too. Education itself is built upon the moving foundation that everything changes. The student comes to us and is changed because of our efforts. The greater the change, unless wholly unsuccessful causing the student to severely regress, the better.

As Catholic educators, this change goes even deeper. Teachers must catalyze a spiritual transformation in addition to the intellectual one (the physical change is pretty much a given although we do have an impact on it as well - PE classes, cafeteria menus, recess times, how many sugary sweets we allow into our classrooms!). Again, the spiritual life is based on the idea of growth. It is based on the principle of people changing - changing their hearts, their minds, their behaviors, their lives.

This should make sense. Our Model, our Inspiration, our Teacher, Jesus Christ, was the Ultimate Agent of Change. He says, "I have come to set the world on fire and how I wish it were already blazing!" (Luke 12:49). He gave us a New Testament, a new law, a new code, a new discipline. He gives us new life. As schools that are based on Him, we would do well to follow His great Example of embracing and enacting.

My brother can't hold onto the ball. He must release it, he must do all that he can within his power to ensure the proper trajectory and flight and then let the ball go. Holding on too long can have an adverse effect. He's an agent of change on the field. It's what he does.

As Catholic educators, it's what we do, too. We're agents of change. Like Joe, our margin of error, because we're dealing with changing lives, is non-existent.

And maybe that should change our view of Catholic education.

And long snappers.       

Re-Accreditation Re-Creation

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

-Mother Theresa

In January of 2011, the Administration, Faculty, Staff, students, parents and community of Incarnation Catholic School embarked on a 13 month journey to design a plan for our school’s improvement as a part of this re-accreditation by the Florida Catholic Conference.

During this time, we have looked at who we are, who we have been and who we would like to be.

We have refocused our attention on our Mission Statement, written during our last Accreditation visit in 2005 and refined for this current one.

We have analyzed our strengths and weaknesses, inviting teachers, parents and students to offer a realistic assessment of our school.

We have studied test scores, enrollment and demographic trends. We have scoured the pages of the latest and most reliable educational research for the most successful and valid educational strategies and philosophies.

We have synthesized all of this information and worked to create a document for Incarnation’s plan for school improvement.

At the same time, we have progressed as a school. Objectives in lesson plans have become more specific, student-centered, and measurable. Appropriate scaffolding up to higher order thinking skills has been incorporated into teachers’ planning. Time-on-task, student engagement and maintaining instructional time have become areas of focus and importance. All community members have been challenged to more wholeheartedly follow Christ, ensuring that He remains the Reason for this school that bears the Name of His Incarnation.

All of this work for the past 13 months has led us here, to this night, the beginning of our Accreditation visit.

But in many ways our journey is just beginning. If possible, I encourage the ICS community to consider the past 13 months as time of preparation. Much like budgeting, planning, and packing for a vacation or the stages of pregnancy prior to giving birth to a new life, our work over the past year has brought us to this moment.

The moment where we point our sails in a new direction. The moment where we courageously push off and ask for God to do whatever He needs to do to draw us closer to Him.

The moment where we start to become the School that we were created to be.

To coincide with our teachers’ good work with planning, instruction and assessment, our plan for school improvement challenges students to enhance their learning to learn skills – those study habits and routines that will help students take ownership of their learning. Furthermore, students will be taught how to assess their own work, being able to judge for themselves their level of understanding and how or why certain aspects of a lesson need further explanation, attention or remediation.

Along these same lines, students will be challenged to solve problems through critical thinking and other higher order skills. Interdisciplinary units; common, school-wide philosophies and vocabularies; and a greater emphasis on deeper levels of understanding will become hallmarks of all instruction and learning.

And if Christ is at the center of our school, our School Improvement Plan strives to bring students into the school’s heart, allowing students to encounter the living Jesus by taking more ownership of and having more involvement in the faith life of our school.

Incarnation Catholic School has undergone many changes over the past seven years. There is a new principal and administration. Teachers have come and gone. Our student population has evolved. We have a Pavilion, covered walkways, elevated sidewalks, renovated bathrooms and many other improvements throughout our classrooms.

God willing, over the next seven years we will experience a season of recreation and revitalization at Incarnation Catholic School enabling us to accomplish all that we have set forth in our Accreditation report. Our goals are lofty yet realistic. Our efforts will be constant and tireless. Our faith has been, is now, and will continue to be firm in Jesus Christ.

  

Our time is now. Let us begin.

Eat Your Vegetables

Recently, I came across a news story in which the US Congress named pizza as a vegetable. Now, I like pizza, and it can be relatively healthy depending on the crust type, sauce and toppings. But, no matter how much tomato paste or sauce, a vegetable it is not.

I suppose the thought behind such a ruling is that the tomato sauce under the cheese has enough actual tomatoes to qualify as a bona fide vegetable. And, with a one year old who is starting to have a more discriminating palate, I understand the concept behind strategically and covertly placing vegetables in food (we have to do the same thing to Elizabeth with meat!). To suppose that getting kids to eat real vegetables is impossible is defeatist. To suppose that encouraging the consumption of pizza as a replacement for vegetables is immoral.

Making a pizza and passing it off as a vegetable is undoubtedly cheaper and unhealthier than securing and preparing fresh and unprocessed vegetables.

This is yet another example of our country's woeful treatment of its children. It is another example of big business dictating what's best for us. It's another example of our country's stubbornness to change to meet the best interest of its children.

For example, research proves that a long summer break makes it harder for students to retain knowledge. Yet, summer breaks remain and will most likely never be replaced with year round (interspersed with more frequent, albeit smaller breaks) school. We know that recess and physical activity is good to combat childhood obesity and is a good stress relief, especially for our sedentary and technologically dependent society. Still, many schools are cutting such programs because of a lack of funds. The arts can inspire, enliven, improve behavior, and increase math scores. Sadly, many schools have eliminated the fine and performing arts classes and clubs.

Bankers who needed government bailouts live in excess. We pay millions of dollars to professional athletes and hundreds to see them play insignificant (with all due respect to the Patriots and Giants) games. News stories are sensationalized to attract the largest viewing audience. Potential political candidates raise and spend millions of dollars trying to sway votes. Once elected they pass legislation to call pizza a vegetable.

We waste millions of dollars but can't seem to find the money to do what's best for our kids.

America is a great country, the greatest in the world. But, in order to remain this way and not get left behind by other countries who have somehow managed to give health care to all citizens and educate students to be some of the top thinkers and innovators in the world, we must do more than lower our standards for our children's health and overall well-being. Doing something as simple as involving children in the production and preparation of vegetables and other healthy foods can make them more interested in trying them (ICS Garden). But, school gardens cost money. Taking the time to teach children about their health benefits and ways in which they can be prepared takes effort.

Money, time, effort. We sacrifice these things for so many less important things. We must be willing to sacrifice them for the sake of our children.

If not, we may as well save Congress some time and taxpayers some dollars by declaring Jolly Ranchers candy a fruit.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Sir Isaac Newton, in a quote about his many accomplishments, humbly stated, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Newton understood that his intelligence and all of his many discoveries depended on others' abilities, talents and knowledge of his teachers, predecessors, colleagues and rivals. Newton unarguably possessed innate intelligence and would have undoubtedly risen to some level of excellency on his own. But, because of those who had gone before him, taught him, challenged him, and supported him, Newton wasn't just excellent.

He was legendary.

He is legendary.

In many ways, all of us can "see further" because of the giants upon whose shoulders we stand. In many ways, for many of us grandparents serve as those giants. While parents do the grunt work and most of our formation, grandparents give us a sense of stability. Grandparents give us a sense of history. Grandparents give us a sense of belonging. They are living proof that all will be okay- all of our many trials and catastrophes of today will pass into memories of tomorrow. They may have been the first people in our families to go to college, come to this great country, speak English, start a business or convert to Catholicism. Maybe they worked multiple jobs to send our parents to school. Maybe they served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam or the first Gulf War. Maybe they unabashedly hang on to their cultural traditions, their native language and their sense of style. When we stand on their shoulders, we get a better sense of who we are because it gives us a better sense of who we were. We can see further because of them.

We may thank grandparents for the large checks that come in the mail on birthdays and Christmas. We may appreciate them for their stories of how things used to be. We may laugh at their eccentricities or joke at how set they are in their ways. Chances are good, though, that we don't necessarily recognize them for the gift of faith. Not only are they responsible for igniting some sort of faith within our parents, they are ultimately responsible for the spark in our own hearts, too. Whether they are believers who pray a Rosary after every daily Mass, or non-Church goers who believe that, just like hospitals are only for those who are sick, churchers are only for sinners, some aspect of the grace present in our lives was made manifest by their faithfulness.

Our Catholic Church and our Catholic Schools can definitely see further because of their faithfulness. Baltimore Catechists and instructed by the good sisters and nuns, priests and brothers of the golden age of Catholicism in this country, their belief and faith in not only the Church but also its educational system has helped to sustain us through scandals, economic hardships and other reasons cited for dwindling Church attendance and Catholic School enrollment. They gave our Parishes the traditions of our Carnivals, Festivals, Fish Fry's, Shrines, Collections. They may have even been responsible for helping to build its actual walls. They went to our schools when there were 50 students from various grade levels in the same classroom taught by the same saintly sister. Many of them had brothers, sisters and cousins who entered the priesthood and religious life.

Just like in our human families, our grandparents supply our Churches and Schools with history, tradition, foundation and stability. They remind us that these institutions have been through much worse than our current situations and that they will, because of our faithfulness, remain long after we are gone. They are the giants supplying the shoulders allowing us to see further than they did.

They are our models. They are our inspiration for someday helping others to see further than we can right now.

They are our past. They are hope for our future.

They are legendary.

They are giants. They are grandparents.          

Become Who You Were Born To Be

In one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", Elrond (the King of the Elves) tells Aragorn (the rightful albeit reluctant King of Gondor) to "Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be." It is the moment in the trilogy in which Aragorn finally starts to accept his bloodline, his heritage, his position as King. It is the moment where he becomes that which and who he was created to be.

The Gospel reading from this upcoming Sunday, the first Sunday but the beginning of the second week of Ordinary Time, follows a similar theme (John 1: 35 - 42). Jesus meets Andrew and his brother Simon for the first time. After one look at Simon he changes not only his name (Peter) but also his role in the world. Putting aside the fisherman, Peter is to become the Rock upon which Jesus will build His Church. While Peter's path to fulfilling his potential after this moment is anything but rock-solid, in this moment Jesus changes Peter's course. It is the moment that Peter starts to become who he was born to be.

Tomorrow marks the end of the Church's Vocation Awareness Week, a week to focus on and pray for an increase to priestly and religious vocations within the Catholic Church. Incarnation Catholic School had a priest, Fr. David Toups, come to speak to our students about vocations. We prayed the Prayer for Vocations as a school community every day during morning prayer. At Mass on Wednesday another class was given the Vocations Cross, beginning their week-long focus on praying for an increase in vocations (this, by the way, is a weekly practice with the Cross rotating among the different classes of the school).

But, every week in a Catholic School should be Vocation Awareness Week. Our goal should be threefold: to evangelize, to catechize and to educate. In accomplishing this mission, we should be able to ignite the faith and cultivate the intellect in such a way that young people give serious thought and consideration to a priestly or religious vocation. If Catholic Schools are doing what they are supposed to do, priests, brothers, deacons, sisters and nuns should naturally result because of our efforts.

Vocations should be a natural result because our goal should encompass helping all students to become who they were created to be. The truth is, everyone has a vocation. Not everyone is called to priestly or religious life; but everyone is called. Jesus is giving all of us a new name and a new role. He is calling out to us. He is giving each of us a vocation.

Vocation, from the Latin vocare, meaning "to call".

Are we listening? Do we even know how to listen? Do we recognize His voice? Can we hear it above the incessant noise of the world? Do we have the courage to answer His call? Especially if the call is to the priesthood or religious life?

If Catholic Schools are doing things right, the answer to the questions above should be an irrevocable and resounding yes. Our students should know that God's vocation for them is beyond their hearts' greatest desire. They should believe that following this vocation will give them greater fulfillment than they could ever imagine.

They should be taught to listen for God's call. Make vocation, in the broad and general sense, yet intimately connected to priesthood and religious life, a constant refrain.

They should be taught how to listen. Teach them scripture and examples of others- Mary, Joseph, Peter, Paul, Moses, Noah, Samuel-  responding to God's call. Teach them how to pray and that prayer must not always be us barking at God. Teach them that praying also needs to entail sitting in God's presence listening. Teach them that listening means unplugging and does not require a controller or earbud.

They should be encouraged to boldly go where and do what God is asking of them. This is counter-cultural. It may not bring fame. It may not bring fortune. It may not be easy. It may not make sense to others. It will, however, bring fulfillment to themselves, to others, and to establishing the Kingdom of God.

Be blessed.

Be bold.

Be who God created you to be.

Become who you were born to be.