Begin a Great Work Today

My “new year” has always been August. I’ve been on the school calendar pretty much my entire life. And even though this is the second year (WOW!) that I am not participating in the beginning of the school year either as a student or educator, it’s still the beginning for me.

And so, as I prepare for the beginning of the school year, I wanted to share some thoughts that may or may not be new to you, but might serve as a point of reflection as we head into fall and the school year ahead.

Recently, I had the privilege of being invited as the Keynote Speaker at the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart’s JESI Day in Miami, Florida. JESI stands for Janet Erskine Stuart Teaching and Learning Institute and it is inspired by Sr. Janet Erskine Stuart who was a religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) and an educational philosopher in her own right. Sr. Janet said, “We must remember that it is better to begin a great work than to finish a small one.”

And so, I will share a few thoughts for my educator friends that they might keep in mind as they are fresh, ambitious, and excited to begin a new school year. I hope you will wonder and consider throughout the school year?

What is the purpose of education? Not schooling. But education.

Not the version in your school’s handbook. Not the version where you tout the list of prestigious universities your former students might have attended.

But who are you and what do you do?

What do you say to the fourteen-year-old in your third period who is having the worst year of her life and doesn’t know how to cope with it? To the child whose parents are divorcing and wonders if it was her fault? To the one who doesn't believe she is pretty enough. To the one who didn’t get into her dream university. To the girls who had no one to play with at recess? To the now awkward girl who lost her best friend in fifth grade.

Who are you in these moments? Who are you becoming now to be better, more helpful, more supportive, more loving to your students when a situation like this arises?

Education is not the transmission of information; it is something more. Education philosopher Richard Pring noted that, “what is distinctive of being a person is the capacity to take responsibility for the direction of one’s life and for making moral choices.” He questions, “Is not an aim of education to nurture the virtuous person, not just the knowledgeable person?”

Education is the formation of a person’s capacity to meet reality — disappointment and joy, loss and success, and all the contradictions of life — without being stunted or destroyed by it. Education is the process of human flourishing. Everything else, the content, the curriculum, the credentials, are vehicles. But they are not the destination.

Since I became an educator, I have asked myself a simple question every year, “Does the promise we make that education will change a child’s life for the better — actually deliver?”

You will only be able to answer this question if you look within and reflect on your being.

When I was a young teacher (a maybe a slightly insecure single woman), I would become annoyed if someone referred to my education profession as a vocation or form of parenting. It bothered me because I wanted our profession to be treated with the respect and importance it rightfully deserves. We are not people who just care for children; those are baby-sitters…and nothing wrong with baby-sitting but it is different. We are professionals who deserve respect – educators with expertise, pedagogical knowledge, an understanding of child development, linguistics, and oh yes, content knowledge, that make what we do a proper profession.

I’d become annoyed at colleagues at conferences in special education who would frown on me because I didn’t have my own personal experience of a child or family member with special needs that motivated them to join the profession. Somehow, they put me in a lower category. But couldn’t I just be a professional where my belonging and my worth was related to my job performance? And I never wanted a teacher appreciation day or week; it’s always felt condescending and only “a thing” in undervalued, oftentimes female-dominated, and underpaid professions.  

But I’ve gotten older, and perhaps a bit wiser and I’ve learned this…Education actually has a higher importance when you consider that love can transform an effective pedagogue into a meaningful educator. A sister I admired in Uganda called education, “A loving profession.”

A loving profession.

Now I’m not talking about a superficial type of love. I mean, I LOVE soccer and it brings joy to my life. But I am talking about something deeper. You might know C.S. Lewis from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. But he was also a profound Christian philosopher. In his book, The Four Loves, he describes love as 1) Affection (my soccer obsession), 2) Friendship (which we all know), 3) Romantic love which I hope you have experienced. But the highest of loves is 4) Gift-Love.

Gift-Love is the highest, unconditional, and completely selfless love that originates from God, giving grace to the other three natural form. St. John said, “God is love.” CS Lewis knows this. Gift-love is unselfish, caring for others regardless of whether the lover will benefit personally. Implicitly, this type of love is like God.

Can you love that? None of us are perfect. We get tired, can lose our patience, can be distracted by the challenges of our personal lives. But who you are educates your students. Can you give them the love that I have seen the best, more transformational educators give?

I continue to think about Jason Arday and what led him to live a life that became exaggerated in its telling and being. Could he have turned out more honest, with more integrity if he had felt more love throughout his life?

I look at news headlines every single day describing many of our elected officials’ actions of antipathy and inhumane cruelty. I do not excuse the actions of functioning adults, but I do wonder if, individually, any one of them would have turned out differently if they had been afforded a God-like love. A love so deep that you know you are enough despite all of your flaws. A love so pure that you do not feel insecure when love and compassion are shown to others. A love so full that you do not need to embellish or put others down just feel powerful. That would be life-changing. That would be world-changing.

So just as Sr. Janet asked us to begin a great work than finish a small on...Begin this year, this great work with love. With gift-love. Because I know and I have seen that gift-love can transform a life.

The education we promise will deliver when we give someone the type of gift-love that allows them to feel accepted, capable, and worthy to pursue a life that gives them dignity and joy. A life with aspirations to make their community a better place. A life where they share their gifts, talents, and expertise to make it a little bit better for their children, for their neighbors, for the world.

That would not be schooling. That would be amazing gift of an education.