The Importance of Imagination

Albert Einstein famously said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Lazy students should not adopt this as their rallying cry; although it would serve as a fairly good argument against things like homework and standardized tests. I do not cite it as a way to downplay the importance of gaining factual knowledge and fundamental skills. Students should and must obtain knowledge - how to read, the concept of photosynthesis, the causes of the Civil War. But, students must also be taught how to think, and perhaps the most powerful way to think is to imagine.

Elizabeth amazes me with her creativity. She uses voices for various characters that she dramatizes - Monkey, Meow-meow and Baby Spider all have distinct voices and have very distinct roles within her play. She pretends to be a doctor. She imagines that our back patio is really a playground. She uses anything remotely similar to a phone to make calls to people. At some point, she will gain the "knowledge" that her stuffed monkey doesn't really dance. She will think it silly to use anything but the appropriate name for her beloved "Meow". She will realize that spiders have eight legs while her hand only has five fingers, one of which serves as Baby Spider's head. She will learn addition yet she will lose her high pitched arachnid voice.

As she gets older she will gain knowledge; like almost everyone, though, her imagination will slowly decline.

Imagination is the stuff of great stories. It is the creativity that leads to new recipes. It is the muse of new art. It is the mother of invention. Imagination aids in problem solving. It provides hope. Imagination gives life not only to those who dream it, but also to those who witness the dream.

Imagine how dull the world would be without imagination.

Teachers must do more than merely present knowledge and the steps to certain skills. Teachers must inspire students to rise to higher order thinking skills and to use their knowledge in new, creative and meaningful ways. Teachers must supply the blank canvas on which students can paint, instead of offering the dark outline that must be filled with very specific colors. Teachers must find ways to allow students to play, imagine and create.

St. Ignatius argues that imagination also plays a role in the spiritual life as well. So, as Catholic educators, we must inspire students to use their imaginations in prayer, too. Called imaginative prayer, it involves reading a piece of Sacred Scripture in a way that activates imagination. Putting yourself in the role of one of the figures from the story - Peter, James, Pilate, Simon of Cryene, etc. - and then immersing yourself in the details. What did that scene look like? What feelings / emotions were present? What was said and how were those words delivered? What were the thoughts of your character? As another method, just putting yourself into the context of the story as a member of the crowd or as a witness to the event can also work. Imagining the story in this way, Ignatius argues, can lead to greater insights and a deeper understanding and appreciation for that particular piece of scripture.

As we near the end of Lent and hear the very familiar stories of Jesus's Passion, let us imagine ourselves as a part of the tale. Let us put ourselves in the context of this piece of history. Let us imagine that the whole story could have played out differently if we could actually imagine the love that Jesus has for us. Let us imagine that with God all things really are possible.

Then, let us work to make that which has been imagined a reality.

Imagine. Act. Love. Live.

Begin. It's time.

Time On Task

St. Augustine, in his famous work Confessions, theorizes that the only time that actually exists is the present moment. The past has already occurred and the future has not yet arrived; the only time we have is now. And now that it's not now anymore, there is a new now to take its place. This now, however, will quickly be replaced by yet another now, and another, and another.

To quote Blessed Mother Teresa, "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

To paraphrase her, "We have only right now. Let us be present."

St. Augustine posed this theory of time as a way to encourage others against the temptation of sin. You can resist temptation, somewhat easily, for a single moment. If we make ourselves truly present in the present moment, we free ourselves from all of the memories of past mistakes and the anxieties of future failures. Being good for an entire lifetime, year, month or even day can be somewhat daunting. Being good for a moment is utterly manageable.

Be good now. Don't worry about how good you were yesterday or that you'll have to be good again later. Be good now. Right now. Focus on the present moment and making the most of it. The past means nothing and the future lacks a guarantee. Do good now.

As a dad, I try to take advantage of all of the moments I have with my kids. From the moment I arrive home until they go to bed, I do all that I can to be present to them. Play with them. Read to them. Interact with them. Change diapers. Make food. Clean up. I'll always have work, even if I worked all the time. My daughters will only be 2 and 4 months once. I'll never get back the opportunity to be with them at this age.

Besides, tomorrow lacks a guarantee.

As an educator, a direct correlation exists between students' time-on-task and their academic achievement. The more that a student is engaged, the more they are likely to learn. In schools there are three ways to consider time as it relates to learning: allocated time, engaged time, and academic time (http://feaweb.org/time-on-task-a-teaching-strategy-that-accelerates-learning). Allocated time refers to the amount of time set aside for particular subjects. Given that things like transitions, classroom management procedures and other lulls exist in a classroom, the allocated time is the largest amount of the three. Engaged time categorizes the time that students spend engaged in learning. Finally, academic time signals the amount of learning taking place. It considers both the quality of the active as well as its difficulty. To say that an 8th student engaged in a word search is actively engaged may be true. To say that they are actually learning anything is a stretch. There is little academic value here; furthermore, a word search lacks an appropriate amount of challenge to be classified as academic time. Academic time, therefore, ends up being the smallest time frame within schools. Maximize academic time and you maximize learning.

Every moment has value within a classroom. Every decision must be purposeful. Every action intentional. Every "now" used to its fullest potential.

To circle back to St. Augustine, the more that we are actively engaged in being good during the present moment, the more likely we are to be successful at being good. Your Lenten promise is only a burden when you consider the number of days still left until Easter. The spiritual life is only daunting when you consider the magnitude of eternity. Engage right now. Maximize every moment. Do good now.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. We have only right now.

Right now is the most important moment of our lives.

It's time to begin.

Notice

Catherine crawled today. Moving in inchworm fashion, she has gained mobility. She pushes up on her arms and legs and scoots forward in small increments. Quite effective, she sets her sights on a desired artifact - usually one of Elizabeth's toys - and goes toward it. Slowly. Steadily. Determinedly. Successfully. Suddenly, she seems to notice her other three family members' mobility and yearns to join as well. She has taken an interest in Elizabeth's toys, and now that Catherine can actually move to retrieve them, Elizabeth notices those deemed unworthy of Catherine's grasp. Luckily, for now, Elizabeth also notices that Catherine just wants something to hold and so she will go and offer a surrogate toy to her baby sister.

Elizabeth notices so much. The food eaten by other people. She makes connections between colors, books, toys, shows, words. She notices Catherine's cry (well before I do most of the time) and rushes to her aid. Her world has expanded drastically over the past few weeks.

I've noticed how much I love how rapidly she absorbs information right now. It is a blast experiencing her growth and development. I love being a dad.

Taking note of something, or noticing it, is a very useful skill. Unfortunately, though, it is one that we often fail to notice; it is often overlooked. For example, you typically notice those things for which you have been predisposed in some way to look. It may be temperament, prior experience, a news story, or even your own desire to find / support a particular answer. It is the old adage that seeing the glass as half full or half empty really impacts your outlook on life.

Beauty is everywhere if you have the eyes / disposition to see it. Ugliness is, too, again depending on your vision.

Schools try to teach the skill of noticing in many and various ways - taking notes, noticing patterns, noticing connections, noticing areas of strength and weakness, noticing aspects of understanding and misunderstanding, noticing the appropriate time and place to behave in certain ways, noticing when a classmate may need help or assistance or a friend. These skills must be taught; educators must notice the need to intentionally focus on them. They cannot be overlooked.

From a Catholic perspective, this noticing goes deeper than just academics and obviously extends to the faith life of students. Noticing the presence of Jesus, noticing the importance of discipline, noticing the call to help others, noticing the will that God has for their lives and noticing ways that they can minister to others are also skills that must be intentionally taught. They cannot be overlooked either.

As we near the final full week of Lent and as we continue to prepare for Passion Sunday and Holy Week and Easter Sunday, let us notice those ways in which we need to ask for God's assistance. Let us have the eyes and ears of faith to see and hear Jesus' voice. Let us not be blind to the miracles around us and the joy in the journey, not just the destination.

As he was being arrested, Jesus healed a soldier's ear that had been cut off by one of Jesus's disciples. Yet, we know that the story still ends in Jesus's condemnation, suffering and eventual death. The criminal on the Cross noticed Jesus and was promised paradise for his faith. The centurion at the foot of the Cross also noticed that Jesus was the Christ, albeit after Jesus's death.

Sometimes the answers are right in front of our eyes. Sometimes the answer is there if we use the right eyes to be able to see it. Sometimes we have to look a bit harder, using a strategy or two to find it.

But, if you haven't noticed, the Answer is always searching for you, enticing you, caring for you, loving you and hoping that you will notice Him.

It's not too late; it's time to begin to notice.

Mission Driven

During my time in the University of Notre Dame's ACE Leadership Program, one of the enduring understandings that I gleamed was that everything done within a school should be driven by the school's mission statement. Fr. Ron Nuzzi, the Director of what's now called the Remick Leadership Program, reinforced this concept in making every facet of the program influenced by the ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) Mission Statement:

The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) sustains and strengthens under-resourced Catholic schools through leadership formation, research and professional service to ensure that all children, especially those from low-income families, have the opportunity to experience the gift of an excellent Catholic education.

We had to memorize these words during our first week in the program. Furthermore, even though it could not be found in the program's handbook (it's in the Bible), regular attendance at Mass and evening prayer was expected out of participants. The rigor and length of assignments and course loads forced participants into community, one of the program's pillars. The program places emphasis on Catholic identity (the curriculum includes a study of all Church documents on education), excellence in academics and adherence to a school's mission. Practically every class mentioned the importance of allowing the mission statement to drive the actions, decisions and day-to-day operations of the school.

As a result of my attendance in the program, I became a more committed Catholic. I also started to see my role within Catholic education as much more than a career path; I saw it as my vocation.

Dusting off Incarnation's Mission Statement, therefore, became one of my top priorities in 2010 - 11. In 2011 - 12 Incarnation received re-accrediation and as a result of that process refined that statement. It now includes the word "Catholic" and more precisely defines the school that we aspire to be. I have leaned on it as a way to direct decisions and decide directions. I have strived, and will continue to do so, to be mission driven in all that I do as a Catholic school leader.

Pope Francis I seems to invoke a similar mission driven approach. One of the most striking aspects of what will become his very public past is his commitment to living simply: he rode the bus to work, he cooked for himself, he embraced opportunities to be among common people and connect with them. Even his choice for a papal name, Francis, aligns with this spirit of humility; St. Francis of Assisi lived simply, humbly, compassionately, heroically.

Pope Francis I asked for the crowds in St. Peter's Square to pray for him before praying for them. He addressed the Church with humor, humility, grace and what seemed to me to be a healthy fear of his new vocation.

I am excited for our Church and for Pope Francis I's papacy. He is the first Jesuit to be named Pope. He is the first Pope from the Americas. He is the first pope to take the name Francis. He represents the fastest growing portion of the Catholic Church: Latinos. He is the successor of St. Peter. The 266th successor.

May he drive our Church with the same grace, humility, humor, courage and respect that he has shown within these early hours of his time as Pope.

May he continue to allow Christ to drive him.

May God bless Pope Francis I.

Digging Irrigation Ditches

A very wise Dominican Sister from the Nashville order once told me, "Praying the Psalms is like digging irrigation ditches for when the rains come."

Admittedly, I have a bit of writer's block. This silly Lenten experiment may have run out of steam. Unconditioned for this type of creation maybe I just don't have anything else to say (which many people would have said about 100 posts ago). My pre-Lent 2013 approach was to allow myself the time, circumstance, and grace to be inspired before writing. Now, to a certain extent, I feel as if I'm just putting down my sleep deprived musings in electronic form, with little to no real muse, forethought or even afterthought (there's another blog post to write tomorrow!). It would have been a noble attempt regardless, but as I thought about taking the night off from blogging, exercising, doing school work, or even praying, Sr. Anna Laura Karp's words rose over the horizon: "Praying the Psalms is like digging irrigation ditches for when the rains come."

Just start to write. In fact, just write about digging irrigation ditches.

Now, I do not believe that anything written here is preparing me for when rains will come. Nor do I feel that these words will be so poignant as to help a loyal reader (thanks Zelenka family!) when their fields become saturated. But, I do see writing this blog as a potential way to find inspiration for myself to help me stay faithful to my Lenten promise. I see it as a way to allow God to speak to me and potentially to allow God to speak to you through me.

Dig the ditch; have faith that it will rain. Write;  inspiration will follow.

I have been so busy and tired lately that working out has become, along with blogging, a late night / early morning activity.  I always feel better after a workout. My pre-workout feelings, though, can often keep me from exercising. It is during these times of disinterest that digging ditches can help to maintain a level of fitness so that I can more readily enjoy the moments of plentiful passion. It can also, through those feel good endorphins, change my mood mid-workout. Take the first step. Do the first push-up. Jump the first rope.

Dig.

The same is true of staying current with work. Chipping away, especially during rare lulls or after wrapping up big projects, is so much more successful than procrastinating and eating the entire elephant in one sitting. How often do we give a similar message to students: study just a little bit each night and then you won't have to put in a large amount of studying the night before a test. We wouldn't tell our students this if it wasn't sage advice. We know it's true.

So, dig.

Finally, most importantly, and obviously most apparently, is how this applies to our faith lives. Jesus goes into the desert. We follow Him there. He thirsts. So do we. Our faith is not always the bountiful banquet or abundant harvest. Sometimes its dry. Barren. Deserted. Desolate. It is precisely during these times that we should pray. It is exactly during these times that we need to be digging irrigation ditches to either withstand the deluge or take advantage of the nourishment.

So, dig an irrigation ditch.

You never know when it's going to rain.

The Chicken or the Egg?

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

If God is all powerful, can He make a rock He cannot lift?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a noise?

In a school, specifically a Catholic School, what is more important: high academics or high climate?

In other words, is it better that a school stress academic excellence or climate / school culture / Catholic identity?

I pose this question about academics and climate in the same context as these brain teasers purposefully. Picking one of these school qualities over the other either: creates a high performing school that caters to point counting, GPA's, class rankings, perfect attendance, and potential burnout, academic dishonesty and unhealthy competition between and among students and teachers; or creates a school that participates in many non-academic activities and focuses on things like class parties, celebrations, incentives, rewards, field trips, guest speakers, dress down days, bake sales, school dances, pep rallies and other such "party-school" type events.

Catholic schools that wager on either side over the other do not fulfill their purpose: education and evangelization. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B. states:

The specific purpose of a Catholic education is the formation of boys and girls who will be good citizens of this world, enriching society with the leaven of the Gospel, but who will also be citizens of the world to come.

Catholic schools must be founded and focused on Christ. His humanity elevates all that we do in schools.

Catholic schools must be more than institutions; they must be communities. Archbishop Miller cites a passage from The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School writing:

Elementary schools "should try to create a community school climate that reproduces, as far as possible, the warm and intimate atmosphere of family life. Those responsible for these schools will, therefore, do everything they can to promote a common spirit of trust and spontaneity."

Catholic schools should be places where educators, religious, parents, families and students join together to accomplish the mission of educating the whole child.

Catholic schools should do more than sprinkle in religion classes. They need to make their Catholic education more than the study of theology. They must be Sacramental. They must be intentional. They must focus on the whole person - mind, body, and spirit. They must allow this values infusion to permeate all aspects of the curriculum and seep into every moment of every school day.

Finally, and most importantly, Catholic schools recognize that while advances in technology, pedagogy, instruction, planning or assessment are important facets of their overall education, the teacher is still the heart of the school. Teachers make the delicate balance between high academics and high climate possible. They are models of a balanced lifestyle and challenge their students yet offer enough support, encouragement and correction to meet those lofty standards. Teachers are the ones that make incarnate the spirit of Christ within the walls of their school. They make the faith come alive. They make academic subjects worthwhile. They give life to a school.

They are the answer to the riddle: what came first the Catholic educator or the Catholic school?


*Please visit: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0269.html for more on the marks of a Catholic school. 

*And, please pray for Catholic school teachers!

Tradition

Losing an hour stinks. It throws off sleep schedules, especially those of kids. Especially those of kids between the ages of 2 and 4 months. Especially my kids. According to all of the articles surrounding "springing forward", it doesn't even have all of the benefits of saving energy or boosting the economy, two of the reasons supposedly purported as its genesis.

Bottom line, why do we hold on to this tradition? Let's reclaim the hour and let's not fall back or spring forward anymore. This is one tradition I do not see the point in keeping.

Despite what I'm sure is part of my reputation as a leader, I am not against tradition. As a leader, I am an agent of change and part of invoking change in an organization involves looking at "the way things have always been done" and questioning why. It involves a realistic look at those things that are keeping us from being what and who we need to be. Max DePree states, "We cannot become what we need to be, by remaining what we are." The only thing that does not change is that everything changes.

Even some "traditions" that we hold dear - like daylight savings time changes.

The Church would still be Celebrating the Eucharist with the priest's back to the congregation. It would also still be in Latin. Papal conclaves could extend for months and even years based on factions and splits in nominees for the next Pope. The USA would still be a part of Great Britain. It would still have slavery and segregation and inequality between men and women.

But notice that these changes in what was surely billed as "tradition" did not change the essence of these groups. Fundamentally, the Catholic Church did not change because the priest turned toward the people and celebrated mass in the language of that group. If anything, it took a step closer to becoming what it needs to be, instead of remaining what it was. Forcing the voting Cardinals to choose a successor to St. Peter does not take away from the divine inspiration behind this process. God does not need our human, limited time (in this way, I'm pretty sure He doesn't need us to have daylight savings) to move. America more closely aligns itself to the words of the Founding Fathers as it did away with the traditions of ignorance, bigotry and sexism.

Traditions are intended to be symbolic. They are intended to convey messages, especially those most important to a group of people. The Catholic Church has them. Catholic Schools do as well. Many add so much to the identity of the organization. Many reveal the tenants of the school's mission statement and speak to the core of who and what the organization holds sacred.

But, these enduring traditions will have much more behind them than the argument: "because that's the way we've always done it."

It's time to do away with daylight savings time, and even though I personally won't get it, it's time to get back our lost hour of sleep.

It's time...well, what time is it really, anyways?