The Growing Season
Gardening mirrors educating in that both are labors of love.
Kevin DeCusatis
The month of August is coming to an end, I’ve begun writing numerous lists of what needs to be done before the school year begins next week. As my third year of teaching approaches, there is one particularly daunting task that awaits me: moving my many plants back into their home, my classroom.
I have always felt a connection with plants, and one of my fondest memories of childhood is cutting back the hostas with my mom at the beginning of fall. Anyone that knows me is well acquainted with my love of plants and desire to have as many as can fit in my house and classroom. I consistently post pictures of my garden’s progress on social media, and whenever I get a new houseplant from a Farmers Market, IKEA, or a school event, I take a survey of my classes to see what we should name the plants: Ruth for my golden pothos, Naomi for a hydrangea, Cain & Abel for plants in twin pots.
Plants and gardening are so attractive to me because they give me a sense of immense satisfaction. I can see the progress almost immediately. My seedlings can double in size in a week’s time and their fruit can emerge in a blink of an eye. It’s apparent to me why I gravitate toward gardening so much – it mirrors ministry.
In order for both students and plants to thrive, I need to give them my attention and provide an environment conducive to growth. Integral to this is having a healthy and realistic set of expectations; if I don’t, they’ll eventually spoil. As an educator, I have very high expectations of the quality of work my students will provide me; however, it would be unrealistic to expect this at the beginning of the year. I first need to give them all the tools to succeed, and then I can expect that they will work to their potential. The same happens when I have a plant that has outgrown its pot and I have to use a bigger, wider pot. While it looks so overwhelmed by the new soil and pot, it eventually settles in and begins to grow – robustly and quickly. It is a learned skill to know when to push to the next level: are my students ready for the next level of inquiry? will my plant acclimate to its new home? Along the way, I need to take stock to see what they need – does my plant need extra water this week due to excessive heat? Does my student need extra support crafting an argument for a paper because she is struggling with a new concept?
Gardening also mirrors educating in that both are labors of love. In my classroom, I spend much time checking in with my students about their lives; students have often commented that my classroom has a good “vibe.” Many even cite things that happen in my class as their favorite moments of their year: our ritual of singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” before every class during Advent; our thank you card writing exercise during Thanksgiving; opening class with a song or video clip of their choice. The raison d’etre for these activities is for me to get to know my students better and create an atmosphere in which they feel comfortable leaning into who they really are and who they want to become. I approach gardening in a similar way. I “listen” to my plants: if their leaves look droopy, I add water; if they look cramped, I try to a new pot; if they haven’t grown, I try different levels of sun. In order for me to be so skilled at this, I need to take the time to know my plants; this is not automatic knowledge.
Both students and plants are living and organic. They need to be nurtured to grow; they’re complex with varying needs. I approach my classroom and garden with the same amount of care and attention, knowing that they are both on a path of growth where hopefully they will eventually flower and bring forth their gifts. I take delight in accompanying them both on their journeys.
Author Barbara Anne RadtkePosted on August 29, 2018 Categories Catholic high school students, Catholic High School teachers, student well-being, vocationTags Kevin Decusatis, mutual respect1 Comment on The Growing Season
THAT IS Being Catholic
What if every member of the school community looked at the goodness of their work as living out the school’s Catholic Identity?
by Julie Dienno-Demarest
We are called to evangelize through witness (living out our faith) and sharing (explicitly spreading the Good News). So often our instinct is to examine what else we can do. We focus on the call to conversion and re-evangelizing our colleagues through Faculty Faith Formation. We also have a tremendous opportunity to engage in the “new evangelization” to colleagues who have become distant from the faith by simply naming the ways in which we are already living God’s love in our life, work, and ministry.
Yet there are familiar ways by which evangelization happens: by the way we live God’s love in our daily life; by the love, example, and support people give each other…in the care we show to those most in need; and in the ways we go about our work. (Go and Make Disciples, 35)
Too often, the Catholic Identity of our schools is (mis)understood too narrowly by those who work with us. Our non-Catholic faculty and staff tend to see Catholic Identity as coming from the concrete experiences of morning prayer, retreats, liturgies, and catechesis from the Campus Ministry and the Theology Departments. While those encounters are certainly essential, too many adults in the building compartmentalize our Catholicity as existing solely within these sources.
In reality, as professional religious educators, we know that this is simply not the case. In reality, so many of our colleagues have been drawn to our schools because we live out this Catholic Identity in our way of being with one another and our students. Put another way, our colleagues have an implicit knowledge of our schools’ Catholicity; we need to do a better job of explicitly naming what we implicitly know as true.
A caring school community is being Catholic (Acts 2:42). Placing a student’s well-being ahead of academic expectations is being Catholic (Jn 15:12). Coaches who prioritize sportsmanship and the well-being of their athletes above winning is being Catholic (Prov 24:17-18; Phil 2:3). Teaching with mutual respect is being Catholic (CCC 1930).
What would happen if we respectfully invited our colleagues to recognize that their natural way of being in and contributions to our schools is being Catholic? How might affirming that all goodness comes from God (James 1:17, CCC 843) foster a shared sense of accomplishing Catholic Identity? Imagine if every faculty meeting began with a few minutes of specifically affirming the goodness and excellence that we see in the work of our colleagues and explicitly connecting those actions with the Catholicity of the school.
It is the responsibility of every member of the faculty and staff to support the vision and mission of the school. Supporting the school’s vision and mission isn’t asking faculty and staff to be all things to all people, but it does require that we support one another as one body (1 Cor 12:20). For example, what if our invitation to support Campus Ministry was rephrased as: “Would you rather assist student retreats by being personally present or by enthusiastically substituting for those colleagues who will be personally present”?
Author Barbara Anne RadtkePosted on June 18, 2018 June 18, 2018 Categories Catholic high school campus ministry, Catholic high school culture, Catholic high school students, Catholic High School teachers, teachersTags Catholic identity, Catholic Schools, Julie Dienno-Demarest, mutual respect, new evangelization, values3 Comments on THAT IS Being Catholic
How do we make room for dissonance and dissent within a school . . .
Student Leadership: Meaning What We Say
If you look at the mission statement of almost every Catholic school, you’ll see that somewhere the word leadership is mentioned. Most schools aim to inspire leadership among their students, or they say they do. This year I’ve been prompted time and again to reflect upon what we mean when we say we want our students to be leaders. It’s not enough to put it in the mission statement. It’s not enough to tell the students they are leaders. It’s not enough to teach them the skills that lend themselves to leadership. It’s not enough if we’re not willing to listen and respect them when they try to lead.
This year, more than other years I’ve taught, has been marked by a number of students with strong moral convictions hoping to make our school a better place. I love that about them. I have the privilege of working with our student government officers. They have been at the forefront of the attempts to make change at our school. However, many of their attempts to voice their opinions and make real change have been met with indifference and resistance from the administrative body at our school. From trying to start a support group for LGBTQ students, to participating in the student walkouts across the nation, to organizing a fundraiser for cancer research, the students were denied an opportunity to lead. I think it’s fair to say that students hear their fair share of the word “no” throughout their time in school and many times the reasons behind that “no” are solid. However, in a number of cases this year it wasn’t just that students were told no, it’s that they were denied any sort of real meaningful dialogue about issues that meant a lot to them.
“We say we care about community here, but we don’t. I’ve been awarded for my leadership skills and it’s a lie….They only want me to be a leader when my opinion matches theirs.” These were the remarks of a student just days away from graduating. It broke my heart to see her so disappointed and disillusioned when I’d watched her work so hard for causes she really believed in all year. She had been elected by her peers and had been given awards for her leadership by administration, but was not being treated like one. It made me think about the leadership awards and societies that we nominate students for. Are we nominating people who show true leadership amongst their peers, or people who are polite and follow the rules?
How do we make room for dissonance and dissent within a school that promotes one unified student body? How do I teach students to meet a response of “no” with respectful resolve to try again? In many ways this is an issue that extends beyond our schools and into society. As an educator I feel called to listen and to help, but feel like my hands are tied by an administrative body that does not practice what it preaches. I’m not sure that I’ve found a way to navigate this issue yet, but it seems to me like we all need to get more serious about promoting leadership within our school communities or stop using the word if we aren’t prepared to support it.
Author Barbara Anne RadtkePosted on May 20, 2018 Categories culture, studentsTags education for leadership, leadership, student- administration tensions, teacher- administration tension, valuesLeave a comment on Student Leadership
Bullying is a topic that has been weighing heavily on my heart.
by Erin DaCosta
Bullying is a topic that has been weighing heavily on my heart. The thought of one of my students being hurt, either physically or emotionally, is heartbreaking. I want my students to feel safe each and every day.
What happens if you know bullying is occurring, but you never witness it firsthand? What happens if you overhear an incident, but no student is willing to discuss what happened? What happens if the fear of being a “snitch” is so heightened that a student is not willing to disclose what is happening to them?
These are the questions I’ve been struggling with. Students have come to me this year to discuss issues of bullying they have witnessed in their community. They are worried about their peers, and they want to help. Yet they sometimes do not want to share what happened. Students are willing to say, “It’s bullying,” but they are not willing to share more specific details. Students have also shared their own experiences of bullying, but often refuse to name other students as the perpetrators, out of fear of being a “snitch” and ultimately becoming more outcast as a result.
Students have come to me in tears, sharing details of their days. They have written in their journals about incidents of bullying. I have overheard conversations that seem alarming. All of these incidents are reported to the Guidance Department, and guidance does their best to resolve these issues, but students are not willing to talk authentically about what is going on their community. They are fearful, and confused. And more often than not, the bullied find themselves on the other side of the fence days, weeks, or months later, and they are so relieved to be out of the spotlight that they don’t dare stand up for the bully’s latest victim.
I want to help these students. I truly do. But more often than not, I feel as if I have failed them. Educators can offer a listening ear, and pass these issues on to appropriate authorities. But is this enough?
Every time a student shares an incident of bullying with me, my mind inevitably flashes to Episode 13 of the Netflix series Thirteen Reasons Why. This series follows high school student, Hannah Baker’s, suicide, and each episode highlights one of thirteen cassette tapes she recorded before taking her life. Each of the cassettes are addressed to one person who played a role in her death, and in each she explains why their actions (or lack thereof) contributed to her decision to end her own life.
In episode thirteen, we learn that Hannah Baker’s thirteenth tape is for her guidance counselor, Mr. Porter. Over the course of the episode, Hannah shares that Mr. Porter’s lack of action left her feeling hopeless. In her eyes, he didn’t do enough. This episode haunts me. Am I Mr. Porter to my students? Do I do enough to help them feel supported and loved, particularly in instances of bullying?
How do we, as educators, show that we care so deeply about students, particularly when they are being bullied? How do we show them that we are so much more than Mr. Porter? How do we build a community of trust, where students can name their bullies without fear of retaliation?
Sadly, I have no answers, only the fear that what we’re currently doing is not enough.
Author Barbara Anne RadtkePosted on April 22, 2018 Categories culture, student well-being, teachersTags bullying, ErinDaCosta, high school bullies, responses to bullying, snitch, Thirteen Reasons Why3 Comments on Bullying
Honoring Ourselves: A Different Kind of Discipline
An honor code makes a strong claim about the dignity of our students.
When I was a student, even the best-mannered kid lived in fear of receiving an all-too-common reprimand – Justice Under God, or more affectionately known as JUG. A student would receive JUG’s for a variety of reasons ranging from being out of uniform to being disrespectful to a teacher or another student to arriving late to school or class – basically anything that didn’t jive with the rules. This form of discipline is prescriptivist and very “letter of the law.” After living and learning in an environment such as this for four years, my relationship with rules and laws was rife with angst and disdain. Given an option between a good and bad choice, it seemed that I was expected to make the bad one. I emerged from high school with a moral decision making process that first looked at the results of my actions rather than whether the actions themselves were just.
My perspective on discipline has since shifted in a very healthy and life giving way as a result of two experiences. The first is taking a course with Hosffman Ospino in which we learned about Don Bosco and his philosophy on discipline. While he would not advocate a free pass for anyone, Don Bosco worked tirelessly to institute a system of discipline in which bad, incorrect, or harmful choices were met with love and conversation in place of vengeance and lex talionis. If you were late to school or stole something from the bread line or cheated off of a classmate or disrespected a peer/teacher, it was not assumed that you were acting in spite or defiance; rather it was assumed that there was something more insidious happening in your life and you needed to process it. This course has been monumental in how I approach discipline because it demonstrated to me that discipline can be founded in love and not fear.
The second experience that cemented my philosophy on discipline is my work at a school with an Honor Code. I currently teach at an all girl school academy where there are no detentions, no demerits, no infractions, and no JUG’s. Instead, we have an Honor Code. Our Honor Code, which emerged mid-century, is a product of dialogue between students and faculty members. The Honor Code presumes an intense level of trust between the student and adult. I cannot tell you the number of times I have given a student a test to take in the library by herself or when I’ve left my classroom to make copies while assessments are out. It’s an unspoken bond that our students will live by their Honor so we can afford them such luxuries. In fact, whenever asked what is their favorite thing about school, it is guaranteed that more than a handful will rattle off the Honor Code, or some iteration of it.
The Honor Code Where I Teach
The Honor code strives to create an open environment in which we gift responsible freedom to our students so that they can implement and live out Christian values in their lives. It aims to develop the whole person and roots itself in integrity and respect for all. It prioritizes accountability for one’s actions (staff and students like), and it requires that you develop the skill of self-discipline. As a result, each member of the community cultivates a self-awareness, especially in regard to how their actions affect the community.
While I am a personal advocate for an Honor Code, there are some shortcomings. In my estimation, I would say that the Honor Code is effective about 85% of the time. For the most part, our students treat teachers with the utmost respect, greet each other with kind words, and actively love each other and the members of the community. At the same time, though, kids still make racially charged remarks and commit microaggressions against our few students of color; bullying is rampant in the middle school; the use of alcohol, tobaccos products, and other drugs is still a concern. However, I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a place where none of these issues existed when you are dealing with 12 to 18 year old humans. While the Honor Code holds our students to a high standard, it also recognizes that they are still teenagers, and with being teenagers comes some stupid choices.
Theology Supporting an Honor Code
An Honor Code system of discipline makes a strong anthropological claim about the dignity of our students. It assumes their inherent goodness and reaffirms that they are made imago dei. It also assumes that they are capable of conversion – when a student breaks the honor code, there is a dialogue between student and adult; we remind her of her goodness and push her to act in accordance with it.
In place of rooting discipline in fear, anger, and negativity, we root it in trust and relationship. We wish to accompany our students as they grow and learn. Wedding discipline to fear and “justice under God” makes some anthropological statements about me and my actions: I am bad, I am ugly, I am unworthy. In my opinion, a discipline system rooted in fear can lend itself to a self-fulfilling prophecy. “I’m having a really bad day and I really don’t like this kid so instead of working through my beef with him, I am going to hit him and curse at him.” In this “JUG” mentality, there is a calculated risk – do something bad, you know the consequence.
An honor code is much scarier: you will be pushed to live by your honor and forced to humanize others. You are called to act justly, regardless of how others are going to; there is no control for others’ behavior. Using an honor code humbles the student – as she is not in control – and also introduces shame and guilt. I feel ashamed that I broke the honor code because I disappointed a teacher, a coach, an administrator, and what’s worse – I broke their trust; I feel ashamed because I acted in a way that was contrary to my inherent goodness and the goodness of others; I feel ashamed because I could have acted more maturely and more justly, but instead my relationships suffered. To me, the Honor Code closely mirrors the sacrament of reconciliation. With the Honor Code we are confronted by our previous actions and are cajoled into repairing the brokenness we’ve caused.
The Honor Code is so appealing to me because it presumes our human nature – it asks us to to live the spirit of the law to the best of our abilities, knowing that at times we will stumble. But the key thing here is that while God gave us freedom and humans subsequently have fallen and endured the consequences, God will always proffer the grace to try to learn from our past mistakes and grow from them. It is this cycle of free will established in Genesis that gives me hope when disciplining my students. The Honor Code presupposes that students will falter – no one is perfect. But the Honor Code also presumes that the student will grow from her mistakes and thrive. Each student, then, is not the sum of her actions, but rather how she grows from them.
Making Our Schools Safe from Gun Violence
A Catholic high school educator reflects on reversing the pattern of gun violence in our schools.
Lauren E Bjork
I remember very clearly where I was and what I was doing when the first school shooting, that I had ever heard of, took place. It was 1999, and I was in middle school. I found myself horrified by the way that half-way across the country tragedy had found its way to high school students in Columbine, CO. It seemed unimaginable. How could this happen? It was such impossible violence in a place that ‘should’ be safe that it just could not be.
In 2012, in the days that followed the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the world mourned the loss of 27 members of the Sandy Hook Elementary community. Fr. James Martin, S.J. wrote an article for America magazine shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy in which he identified that gun violence in our schools is, ultimately, a pro-life issue. Our country continues to experience devastating gun violence in schools. We have come to a place where a response of action is necessary in the wake of such offenses to the value of human life.
While individuals may disagree on how to solve the problem of violence in schools, one thing we can agree on is that children should be able to go to school in a safe environment, free from fear that violence may come knocking on the classroom door. We have become a culture where our children are desensitized to violence and hatred. Our children deserve better. Our children deserve to be able to go to school and not have to worry about active shooters, bomb threats, and lock downs.
So, how do we as Catholic educators respond to this crisis of life and love in our communities?
I’d like to propose some ideas for practical ways in which this issue might be addressed. First, what do we in U.S. schools need to do to promote safety in the classroom? I think our country needs to think about a twofold approach to a solution:
Immediate: We need to keep our children safe at school. We need to prevent children from accessing firearms. We need to overcome our differences of politics and opinion, so that we can truly put the needs of our children’s safety first.
Long term: We need to know our students and communities. We need to build relationship in a real way where students are much more than a name on a roster but rather a beloved child of God. We need to educate our communities and foster love and respect. We need capable, well-trained adults in our schools who can serve the needs of all students.
As part of the “Violence Prevention Initiative” at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers suggest that a combination of these approaches could lead to the solution, that is limiting access to guns and developing real and lasting community among students and adults.
Outside of the school setting, there is work to be done as well. I find myself tired of the discussion on gun violence in schools without the thought of practical suggestions. So, what might this look like?
Political action: Our students and school community members should feel empowered to speak out. We must encourage and support those who wish to make their voices heard by those in decision making capacities. We have seen young people do this best in the solidarity that was evident in schools across the nation on March 14th, when students honored the 17 people who died in the Parkland, Florida shooting during the National Student Walk Out.
Gun Control: Enforcement of firearms laws and, potentially, the incorporation of new laws that serve to keep communities and children safe is key. Upon researching the aspect of the enforcement of current gun laws, it seems that nationally there is significant work to do in upholding laws that already exist.
Education: There is a need in our communities for an increase in education about responsible gun ownership and the responsibilities that a person takes on when exercising his or her right to bear arms.
Our Catholic faith ought to propel action, promoting positive change in the world. Those actions often require sacrifice. What does this look like? Perhaps this sacrifice involves increasing firearm legislation and enforcement. Perhaps this sacrifice looks like individuals and communities increasing the finances allocated for additional staff, such as counselors and social workers, to be added so that school communities can grow into places where students are known and are loved. Perhaps great sacrifice looks like giving up violent games, movies, and TV shows that our children are watching at an increasingly early age. Could we do these things in the name of creating a culture that is committed to the well-being of others, putting the needs of others before our own desires?
If we want to be a community of love and service to one another, then we need to start living out that kind of love. If we look to the example of Jesus on the cross, we know that real love, radical love nearly always requires great sacrifice.
And, since I have been able to call myself a teacher, I have been criticized for the type of teacher that I have chosen to be.
Whether it is a family member who chides me for working in a Catholic school, when I could be teaching history (as I intended as an undergrad) in public school “and making so much more money”, or a well-meaning friend who comes to the conclusion that I am “lucky” to teach the “easy” kids, there seems to an underlying belief that teaching in a Catholic school is some lukewarm version of the righteous struggle that the “rest” of the teachers in the world are undertaking. I would like to dispute this mild interpretation of what we, as Catholic school educators, do on a regular basis.
Additionally, I would like to validate my belief (and likely, that of countless other educators) that the choice to work in a Catholic school is one of vocation. Author and minister Frederick Buechner, in discussing vocation, states that, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” It has become increasingly clear to me that Catholic schools (and those who teach in them) are meeting the “deep hungers” of our communities, often in ways that are not evident at first glance.
So, to anyone that may need a reminder, I want to definitively state that all teaching is a radical action. As a teacher, you are rejecting the general belief of so many in society that our youth are lost or misguided. You provide a place of hospitality and safety – really, of normalcy – that is not found in some of our students’ homes, neighborhoods, and families. Lest you forget that what you are doing is making a difference – I beg you to believe differently. It does. You do.
To illustrate my point further, let me provide you with two instances from my own experience. In the first, two juniors in my theology class were staying after school to work on an essay about C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. I went to check on the step team’s practice (since I have recently become their moderator) and came back to these two boys looking at their iPads and phones. When I asked why they were not working on their essays, they told me they were looking at information from a recent fatal shooting in Boston. They proceeded to tell me how the young man who had lost his life had previously saved the life of an individual who fell on train tracks four years ago. Then, between themselves, they talked about others who had lost their lives recently to gang violence. As they talked back and forth about which gang these people were a part of, where they were from, and if they had seen them in their neighborhoods, it became increasingly clear – my students’ lives outside of our school are much different than what they experience in our small, Catholic school setting. So then, when we question why they hang around after school or constantly want to practice their three point shots for hours in the gym, we may want to consider what they may be avoiding, and treasure the fact that our schools have created a refuge from what they experience in so many other places.
In the other instance, a student for whom I was writing a college recommendation let me read some of his written reflections he had composed in his free time. Though I was aware that this student overcomes significant challenges just to get to school every day and have his work done for his challenging course load, this glimpse into his non-school life was quite eye-opening. He chronicled his days, explaining that after school he often goes to work until late in the evening, and once his shift is completed, makes the often-intimidating trek home to complete homework and study. What struck me most were the descriptions of the individuals he encounters on his commute home from work. Knowing who to avoid and what to say to these individuals in order to communicate his neutrality, it broke my heart to read how complicated it was for him to simply go home. It also gives me great insight into why when I taught him last year he often asked for extensions on assignments, and was late to school more than any of us would suggest. I feel so lucky to have been deemed trustworthy enough for him to share these challenging details with. I feel even luckier to have been able to brag to colleges about how great he is.
It doesn’t have to be as extreme as gang violence, it could be family issues, rigorous after school responsibilities, or the countless other struggles our students endure – regardless, I hope you can remember that the communities of acceptance, love, and yes, even safety, that we create in Catholic schools are making a difference. I believe that lives have been transformed because my exceptional colleagues and I have made a vocational choice.
If you, too, have made a similar choice, what difference does your school make in its community? What lives have been transformed in the learning community in which you teach?”