Part Three of Three on the Redesigned Curriculum: There is No Glass at All

British Columbia’s curriculum is being overhauled in a completely new way.  Gone are the long lists of learning outcomes.  They will be replaced by “Big Ideas”, allowing teachers and students to pursue learning based on individual needs and interests.  About two weeks ago 500 teachers from the Catholic school system gathered to learn about what this might look like.  This blog is part three of three of my reaction to the proposed changes…

Part Three: There is No Glass at All

We’ve all heard the expression “I’m a glass half full kind of person”.  It refers to looking at a situation from a positive perspective.  In the context of my feelings about the curriculum I have looked at it from both positive and negative perspectives, but I think there is another important aspect of this “glass” analogy.  In our post-modern culture, we have tossed away the objective realities that framed previous determinations of “positive” and “negative”.  In effect we have thrown away the “glass” in the analogy.  There is no common definable truth, other than that we all determine truth for ourselves.

I am all in favour of personalizing learning and engaging students as stakeholders in their learning process.  This, however, cannot excuse us as educators from our responsibility to provide direction and clarity to young minds.  We cannot leave it all up to the child.  Children need direction.  Despite their innate consciences and the natural law, children need to be taught what truth, beauty, and goodness look like so that they can pursue them.  I don’t see this in the new curriculum, even under different names.  I see a lot of great ideas and things to do, but no central reality that guides it.  The new curriculum seems to allow the leaner to determine this for themselves.

Fortunately as Catholic Christian educators we have a focus.  Our first focus is a relationship with Jesus.  In relationship with Jesus we are on a mission to establish His Kingdom here on earth and ultimately join Him forever in Heaven.  For education this means developing students in a holistic way to equip them to be life-long learners, Christian leaders and kingdom builders.  We instruct them in seeing God’s truth, beauty and goodness in creation so as to be stewards of God’s creation (which includes taking care of their fellow man).

This post-modern reality of determining one’s own truth does not seem to have worked very well so far.  If it is the premise of the new curriculum I believe it is a very shaky one indeed.  From a personal, Catholic school perspective, I am not overly concerned.  We have a clear vision and goals.  To quote the Book of Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

BC Curriculum Redesign: Glass Half Full, Half Empty, or is There No Glass at All? #cisva

British Columbia’s curriculum is being overhauled in a completely new way.  Gone are the long lists of learning outcomes.  They will be replaced by “Big Ideas”, allowing teachers and students to pursue learning based on individual needs and interests.  Yesterday 500 teachers from the Catholic school system gathered to learn about what this might look like.  This blog is part one of three of my reaction to the proposed changes…

Part One: Half Full

Yesterday’s professional day was really interesting.  There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to the redesigned curriculum.  I totally agree that there have been far too many PLOs in the past.  While we will always need Math, Reading, and Communicating Skills as a foundation, we can now move away from the memorization of facts and focus more completely on the processes that make for a lifelong learner.  Critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communicating, and social and emotional health are where we need to focus more and more of our time.

I’m also excited about the opportunity the redesign gives to us as Catholic educators to integrate our faith into the curriculum in a more holistic way than it’s ever been done before.  We can add to the “big ideas” to include church teaching in a relevant, evocative, lasting and meaningful way.  It is a huge opportunity for us that we need to seize while we have the chance.

Finally, I believe this new approach to the curriculum is more respectful of the learner as an individual, and therefore reflects better the Catholic worldview of the dignity of the human person.  Students should not be labelled as A, B, or C, but should rather be treated as unique individuals learning and growing the best that they can.  This curriculum appears to be geared towards what we have been saying we do all along; developing the whole person to their fullest potential.

For these reasons I am excited about the redesigned curriculum.  It’s not, however, all rainbows and lollipops.  Part Two, Glass Half Empty, will be posted soon.

Rules, Rituals, and Routines; but Relationship First #cisva

If you stop and think about it from an outsider’s perspective, we as Catholics believe and do a lot of peculiar things. Our Mass is filled with symbols like incense, bowing, kneeling, gestures, words, and songs that would be hard to understand for a first timer. Our church teachings, particularly in the area of morality, can be challenging to understand for people formed in a Catholic world view.

The same is true for Catholic schools as well. Beyond our unique religious practices are routines and expectations like uniforms, drop off zones, bells, door buzzers, playground rules, line ups, and assemblies that may seem strange to someone new.

As important as our rituals, rules, and routines are, they are not primarily what we are about. They are ways we live and express our faith and our commitment to our school. The problem is, sometimes we fail to convey our faith to newcomers and outsiders when we rely too heavily on the rules and fall short in the first and most important thing: relationship.

In last Sunday’s Gospel Jesus was asked which of the commandments was the greatest. Keep in mind at that time the Jewish people had hundreds of religious laws to follow. Jesus’ famous reply was, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus’ reply does nothing to disrespect the other laws, but he puts relationship first. Without a loving and personal relationship with God, we cannot have a loving relationship with our neighbour. Without this understanding of relationship first, all the other laws lack their true meaning. Pope Francis echoes this sentiment regularly. By reaching out to people of other faiths or people living outside the moral expectations of the Church in a very personal way, he is fulfilling Christ’s instructions to love God and love neighbour.

So how does this apply to us in a Catholic school? School rules are important, but they are not the first thing for us to be concerned about. We must first see each other with love and build relationships. Our commitment to rules and routines will serve as expressions of our love. Be it on the playground, parking lot, or classroom, may our love for God and neighbour always come first!

“Live the Joy of the Gospel” this School Year

Welcome back to another school year! Last summer at this time I was so proud to report back to you about all the reading I had done. This summer… not so much. It felt like there were babies everywhere! I looked left, and there was a baby. I looked right, and there was another baby. Needless to say I was not necessarily in a good place for reading and intellectual growth. Still, I did have the time to read one particularly interesting and pertinent book that fits well with our school theme: Live the Joy of the Gospel.

Our school theme this year is “Live the Joy of the Gospel”. Joy is a term we don’t use all that often. More frequently we will use the term “happy”. There is a significant difference between the two words. Happiness is generally a short term feeling, based upon exterior feelings and experience. For example, when a child is given a candy they are happy. When the candy is gone, they are not happy anymore. Joy is a longer term, inner sense of peace and interior stability. A child with inner joy will be happy when they get a candy, but remain content when that candy is gone.

We all want our children to be like that, but how can we? Like so many things in parenting and education, it is not going to be a linear process, but the goal is clear. Inner joy for a Christian is based on Christ’s love and sacrifice for us. Regardless of our circumstances in life, Christ’s love never changes. By focussing on Jesus, we are capable of incredible inner peace and joy. This is the message of the one book I carefully read this summer The Unfolding Journey: The God Within: Etty Hillesum and Meister Eckhart. In this book the author, Squamish-based Sister Jean Marie Dwyer, relates the similarities between these two mystics, despite the fact that they were separated by hundreds of years. Etty herself was particularly inspiring, experiencing peace and joy in the midst of losing her family, and eventually her own life, in the holocaust of WWII.

Even if we all know that Christ should be our center, and we can cite mystics who have demonstrated this inner peace, we still need a clear way to pass this on to our children. The key to teaching inner joy and peace to our children is to set a personal example. We need to have inner joy based on Christ so we can live it and set the example for our children. Do I fly off the handle when my child carelessly drops his milk on the floor? Do I rant and rave when my neighbour’s dog poops on my lawn? Do I complain about being bored and buy things as entertainment? My children are watching. Do they see in me an inner peace? That is my goal for the year. In my relationships with my family, students, staff, and school parents, I want to demonstrate inner joy, confidence in my source of joy, and peace.  Let’s work together this year to make this a reality for our entire school community.

Thanks for reading!

Catholic Schools: Our Best Opportunity for Evangelizing the Family #cisva

The “evangelization of the family” is one of the priorities of the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The focal points of this priority are twofold; the growth of youth ministry and the expansion of adult faith formation opportunities. These are great areas to improve in, but I would make a case for an even more effective area for evangelization, the expansion of Catholic schools.

Each year at Cloverdale Catholic School we turn away numerous (like 20 or more) families due to a lack of physical space. Our classes in most grades are full. For some of the families we turn away, I have no doubt they will send their kids to PREP or another Catholic school. For many more, however, I fear their school application was the one and only time they are going to reach out to the Church. They may return at Christmas or Easter, but our opportunity to evangelize that family in a long term and meaningful way has passed us by. I spoke to one father in our school just yesterday who admitted that had they not been accepted into the school they would likely not have become the active and participating members of the parish they are today

It is for the reason of evangelization that I believe Catholic schools exist and need to grow. No youth ministry program has the opportunity to evangelize for 6 hours a day, 200 days a year. No adult faith formation experience can bring people back for faith formation meetings, community events, parish sacramental celebrations, and informal gatherings for 13 years. The opportunities for evangelization of the family through Catholic schools are almost endless.

Not everyone sees things the way I do because we don’t have firm numbers and we as catholic schools still need to improve. I think two things need to happen:

1. We need numbers. We need firm data that proves that, on average, kids who go to Catholic school (and their parents) a active, generous, and faithful both while in their school years and after. As far as I know our archdiocese has never surveyed graduates on a large scale to determine our effectiveness. Why not? Are we afraid of what we may find, that Catholic schools are not effective?
2. We need to use data to find our which schools, teachers, pastors, communities, and programs have been most effective and copy them. We can plainly see that the practice of the faith is declining. We cannot ignore it, but we can do something about it. We can use data to tell some they need to change and tell others they are on the right track. There is a best way of doing things, we need to use data to determine what it is and make it happen everywhere.

I hope you can tell I am not saying Catholic schools are perfect, they are far from it. I’m not even saying they are all doing a terrific job, though I think many are. I am saying that if the “evangelization of the family” is our goal, Catholic schools give us the best opportunity I can see to get us there.  We need to continue to grow and improve them to ensure our “evangelizing moments” don’t pass us by.

Smartphones and Faith: My End of Year Message to Grade Sevens

Dear Grade Sevens

Congratulations on finishing elementary school. It is a milestone in your life and an important time to look back and thank God for all of the blessings you have received. I have really enjoyed watching you all grow up and getting to spend a little extra time with you in your Grade Seven year. As you may know, one of my favourite things to do is give you lectures, so here is your very last one…

You have been blessed with a tremendous gift: the gift of faith through Catholic education. Like any gift, it must be cared for. Don’t put it on a shelf and treat it like an antique; something to be admired and appreciated but never used. Don’t treat it like an old favourite toy; outgrown, forgotten and neglected in the bottom of your toy box. I urge you to treat this gift like most people treat their smartphones. You may have noticed most people take every spare moment to check out their smartphone. They take it with them everywhere. When they need an answer to a question they look it up on their phone. When they need encouragement from their friend, they call or text on their phone. It is their constant source of comfort and assurance that they are connected to others and can access help.

Your faith should be like that. You should take it with you everywhere. When you have a question about what to do with your life, turn to your faith and the Church. When you need comfort or assurance, turn to Jesus in prayer. Let your faith and trust in Jesus be your constant source of comfort and connectedness.

Your phone will get outdated and you will have to replace it. You’ll never have to replace your faith. Your faith comes with free upgrades (sacraments) and free weekly updates (Sunday Mass). Yes, you are committed to a lifetime contract, but there is no iPhone that continues service after you die (yet). If people (including myself) spent as much time in prayer as we do on our smartphone, imagine how much it could change the way we live and change the world! Remember this each time you reach into your pocket and pull out your phone. It wouldn’t hurt if you reminded your parents and siblings too (just don’t be obnoxious about it!).

May God bless you and your families as you move on to high school.

Mr. Borkowski

Debunking Some Myths About Independent Schools #CISVA

As is far too often the case in the province of British Columbia, the provincial government and the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation are once again in a deadlock. As a result, teachers are beginning rotating strike action next week and the province, in turn, is beginning partial “lock outs” of the teachers. This happens with such regularity you could almost set your watch to it! Each time it happens, the BCTF turns some of its attention to independent schools. I would like to clear up some of the myths or misunderstandings routinely brought up by the BCTF when it comes to independent schools.

Myth #1 Catholic Schools are rich “private” schools. When one hears the term “private,” one envisions ivy covered brick walls and students driving up in their parents’ Mercedes. For the vast majority of schools in the CISVA, nothing could be further from the truth. Many of us are struggling to get by, living hand to mouth when it comes to government funding and tuition. I would challenge anyone who believes we are “rich” to walk the halls of Cloverdale Catholic School.

Myth #2 Catholic schools take money away from the public education system. As a Group One independent school, we receive half of the “per student” grant received by public schools in our district. We make up the difference through tuition, parish subsidy, fundraising and cost savings. Catholic schools thus save the government a lot of money; about $3500 per student, plus the cost of buildings and maintenance.  Our parents still pay full taxes, so taxpayers come out ahead when it comes to the funding provided to independent schools.

Myth #3 Catholic schools are elitist and do not accept students with disabilities. Of all these myths this one hurts the most! Not only do we accept students with disabilities, we embrace them wholeheartedly. We work closely with families and outside professionals to provide the best programming we can for these precious children.

Myth #4 Catholic school teachers are less qualified than public school teachers. Our teachers are fully certified through the same governing body that regulates public school teachers; the Teacher Regulation Branch of the Ministry of Education. Our teachers graduate from the same universities and take the same courses as the public school teachers.

I write all this to keep our families informed on the issues that have come up in the news. I have no ill will towards the BCTF or the provincial government. I have friends in the BCTF and I know how hard they work and how dedicated they are to their students. I hope it all works out. In the meantime when you hear these myths in the news try to remember the facts.

Thanks for reading!

Using Imagination to Unlock Potential

You don’t get what you want, you get what you expect. This axiom was at the heart of a program I took through the Pacific Institute 10 years ago called “Imagine 21: The Fast Track to Change.” In this program we were taught how to unlock the power of our imaginations to change how we see the world and ourselves. We learned how to seriously envision ourselves succeeding in this or that area of life. Once we had that picture in mind, we worked on using affirmative statements to reprogram our subconscious to help us achieve our vision.

Now that I write that out it sounds like some kind of cult brainwashing activity doesn’t it? Trust me, it’s not. Our imaginations are truly powerful and the evidence is all around us. Successful people, whether they do it consciously or unconsciously, use the power of their imaginations to achieve their success.

Think of some successful people you know. How do they talk about themselves? Rarely will you hear a successful person talk about how terrible they are or how they expect to fail. Successful people say things like “I can do that!” and “I can’t wait to make that happen!” (Apparently they also always use exclamation points on every statement). By repeatedly affirming themselves both inwardly and outwardly, these people program their subconscious to find ways to make that dream a reality. They keep working, trying new ways to get things done, and never give up until they reach their goal.

On the other hand, think of some of the less successful people you know. How do they talk about themselves? Usually they have low self-esteem and low expectations. They say things like “I wish I could do that” or “That’s too hard” or “That’s too expensive.” Like the successful person, they are using their imaginations too, but in a negative way to affirm their lack of success. Their subconscious, thus programmed to fail, will find ways to make sure success never comes. They will give up, make excuses, and ignore opportunities until they fail.

In the case of both the successful and unsuccessful person they will get exactly what they expect.

Nowhere is this mentality of using the power of your imagination to unlock your potential more important than in education. Students need to envision themselves being successful. They need to have positive self-talk, both inwardly and outwardly. As with adults, imagining and affirming success will set students on a positive course in life.

Think of the teachers your children have had over the years. Which ones made the biggest difference? I am willing to bet my career that the teachers who made the bigger difference in your child’s life were the ones who affirmed them and made them see how great they can be. Knowledge of content and good pedagogy are important, but are not necessarily life changing.  I was blessed to have several life-changing teachers in my life. I am blessed to work with many such teachers at CCS.

As a parent I need to remember this too. Cutting remarks and low expectations are a recipe for disaster with my own children. I need to constantly lift them up, reminding them of their awesome potential. When they fail it is merely a stepping stone to a greater success. That doesn’t excuse laziness or let them off the hook for dumb mistakes, but it puts these behaviours in a different light. Ultimately I need them to understand the dignity and awesome plan God has in store for them.

Thanks for reading!

Sacraments and Self-Esteem: Are We Sending The Right Message? #cisva

Helping to prepare our students to receive the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation is one of the best parts of being involved in Catholic education. Through months of study, prayer, and parent meetings, we have the privilege of being a part of this really important moment in the lives our students and their families.

Sometimes, however, it almost feels as though we as adults get in the way of the true meaning of the sacraments. We do need to mark the day as special. We do this well by planning family celebrations after Mass, buying a special dress, and having a family meal. It’s not hard to find examples, however, of things going “over the top”. Receptions are important, but they should be pleasant, not decadent. Family members should give gifts, but not gifts that are unrelated to the Sacrament or distractingly expensive. As a Grade Seven teacher for ten years I can tell you that the next school day after Confirmation I heard countless conversation comparing gifts, dresses, and hairdos.

What I’m hearing from some parents is that in the lead up to the Sacraments (particularly for our Grade Sevens) there is a lot of pressure for girls to keep up. Having that perfect dress and planning that perfect hair is top of mind.   At this stage in their development kids compare themselves and can base their self-esteem on how they measure up to others. As adults, we have an important part to play in helping kids see the importance of the Sacrament itself. Even from a non-religious point of view, we need to help our kids develop a healthy sense of self-esteem, not one based on comparisons to others.   We need to affirm our daughters’ beauty on regular days, and not re-enforce their insecurities by telling them how beautiful they are only when they are all dressed up with make-up and fancy hair.

As a community let’s work together toward our goal of helping our kids grow spiritually and in a healthy sense of self-esteem. Are we doing everything we can to keep the focus where it needs to be? Are we helping our children develop a healthy sense of self-esteem and a healthy spirituality?

 

Why Don’t More Teachers Want to be Principals? Part Three #cisva

This is Part Three of a three part blog on Why Don’t More Teachers Want to Be Principals?  Part One dealt with why I became a principal.  Part Two dealt with why I think the job is unappealing to teachers.  Part Three looks into some possible solutions.

In my last post I outlined some of the parts of being a principal that make it unappealing to teachers. It was quite a list of administrative unpleasantries! I think part of our problem is that we focus too much on “to do” lists, and spend too little time of vision.

How does the government recruit for the military? They don’t advertise for people who like digging trenches, crawling through mud, getting shot at, and occupying hostile foreign countries. They promote the virtues and the big picture i.e. Do you want to be a part of a team? Do you do want to protect the innocent? Do you want to create a better world? These are the important questions. If you believe in these big picture items, you will be willing to put up with all the dirty jobs that are required.

The same is true for prospective principals. Do they see a big picture, or are they constantly inundated with the never ending list of chores that need to be done? Where do we expect them to get that bigger picture? I like to think I paint a somewhat positive picture of my role in the school, but I sometimes get caught in the trap of “to do” lists as well. When I am stuck in “management” mode, rather than “leadership” mode, I fail to inspire. Above all else I think I need to provide an inspiring vision my staff, my students, and my community. From our pastors, to our superintendents, to our current principals, we need to do a better job of representing and exuding the vision we so strongly believe in.

The hiring of new principals is something that must be done with great care and an emphasis on certain characteristics. New principals should be hired firstly based on their vision of Catholic education. While details like human resources, financial savvy, and curriculum expertise are super important, you can teach people to do that. First and foremost, we should hire people who are passionate, committed, and dynamically orthodox in their faith. You can teach anyone the details of the job, but not everyone is gifted with the passion it takes to be a leader.

If we want more teachers to become principals we need to inspire them, not convince them. It is not a job for the weak or the faint of heart. It is not even primarily a job for a good manager. It is a job for those with vision and who are willing to sacrifice to serve the Church because they believe in Catholic education and the importance of helping build the future of our Church and our communities. It has never been a more daunting job, but it has never been more important.

Thanks for reading!