You should be full of wonder at the goodness of our Father God. Are you not filled with joy to know that your home, your family, your country, which you love much, are the raw material which you must sanctify. St. Jose Escriva, The Forge, 689
Earlier this year, Fr. Zarse stepped into one of our School of Faith Sessions and reiterated to the teachers that he wants us to be excellent. Excellent in all areas. But then said, that Jesus needs to be in everything.
I was thinking about this as we prepare for conferences. Of course, we want to invite Jesus into these but it is still tempting to just focus on the data. It is nice to have conferences earlier in the quarter rather than at the end (Oct. 20 ish) when we can find areas to grow both academically and in virtue.
We are data people. Just this week the teachers spent an entire day talking about data on our students in our monthly CARE meetings. Each grade level team met with the resource team, armed with MAP scores, observations, progress reports and more. As a team, we brainstormed on what we could do to enhance learning.
As parents we want to know what percentage the students have or if there are missing assignments. All this is important, but where is Jesus? I think it is just as important as grades to talk about where the students are in growing in virtue. The students have heard me say multiple times on the intercom that a great athlete doesn’t just make one good play. They repeatedly make good plays. One good action does not make a virtuous person.
On the other side, it is hard for parents to hear things that they weren’t expecting. I have a good friend that sees everything as a project. It is just something that we need to learn about, figure out what to do with it and put in the work to make it different. Life would be pretty boring if we didn’t have to overcome anything.
Recently, my son ran into a string of bad luck – needed a new AC for his house and the new car they bought 60 days ago was totaled. My mom heart wanted to bail him out. But then I remember what I learned from going through similar trials. Was it hard, sure. But, we made it and so will he.
What we learn from striving to improve is valuable practice for all the future things we will face. Thanks for trusting your students with us and know that we are here to help in the projects of this school year.
Growing in virtue with infinite grace,
Kathy Rhodes