Mrs. Howard October 12, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in BRCA, Faculty and Staff.1 comment so far
This post is the third in a series of interviews with people tied into the BRCA community. This interview is with Jean Howard, known to her adoring kindergarteners as Mrs. Howard. She recently began her third year at BRCA.
WJ: How long have you lived in this area?
JH: My husband and I moved to Greenville, South Carolina in August 2006.
WJ: Where do you go to church?
JH: My husband and I attend Redeemer Lutheran Church in Greer.
WJ: Where did you go to college?
JH: Indiana University (Go Hoosiers!)
WJ: How did you meet your husband? How long have you been married?
JH: I met my husband, Hal, at a wedding reception. We celebrated our 33rd anniversary on September 9th.
WJ: What does your husband do?
JH: Hal is a sales manager at Garfield Sign Company.
WJ: How old are your kids? Where do they live? What do they do?
JH: Hal and I have been blessed with three awesome children.
Our oldest son, Adam (31), and his wife, Jenna, live in Washington, D.C. Adam is Senior Policy Advisor to Indiana Republican Senator Dan Coats. Jenna is an insurance broker for Lockton Co. Adam and Jenna have been married for one year and have no children or pets.
Our daughter, Anne (29), and her husband, Rob, live in Charleston (where we spend many of our weekends). Anne is a surgical pathologist at MUSC. Rob is an anesthesiologist at Roper Hospital. Rob and Anne have been married 5 years and have two dogs, Roscoe and Tillie.
Our youngest son, Chris (27), and his wife, Morgan, currently live in Montgomery, Alabama. They will be moving to New York City in January 2012. Chris is an attorney for Dewey and LeBoeuf and Morgan is a physical therapy assistant. Chris introduced us to Upstate South Carolina during his undergrad years when he played baseball at Clemson University. We fell in love with the area. Chris and Morgan have one dog, Rudy (the Fighting Irish Wonder Dog).
All three of our children attended a Christian school for 12 years. They are now able to express their gratitude and support for their former Christian schools through scholarship contributions. Our children know that all they have has been given to them through Christ.
WJ: Have you read any good books lately?
JH: “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” by Bill Martin, Jr.; “No, David” by David Shannon; and “Mrs. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten” by Joseph Slate. You should check them out. They will make you SMILE.
WJ: Have you seen any good movies recently?
JH: I liked “Money Ball” because I enjoy baseball and math. This movie demonstrated how important math is in the game of baseball.
WJ: What teacher made the greatest impression on you growing up, and why?
JH: The teacher that made the biggest impression on me was my own children’s kindergarten teacher. She could play the guitar, was always calm and had the best sense of humor. I still talk to her occasionally when I go back to Indiana.
WJ: Who was president when you started teaching?
JH: Bill Clinton
WJ: What is your favorite thing about working at BRCA?
JH: I enjoy the opportunity to become acquainted with my students and their families. It is a privilege to teach and care for each of my students. As the year goes on, I have the benefit of developing a relationship with parents, grandparents and brothers and sisters. We become friends in Christ and our intention is to work together to love and nurture the special child Christ has placed in our care.
WJ: What is your favorite BRCA moment so far?
JH: As I was interviewing with Mrs. Baker for the second or third time, our conversation was ending and she walked me to the door and said, “I am not sure we will have an opening for you here at BRCA.” Many people would have been discouraged, but I replied, “My husband and I will be back, even if it is to volunteer. BRCA is a school we want to support and be a part of!” Mrs. Baker had a very puzzled look on her face. This moment was special to me because God was guiding my words and actions at that very moment. He had placed in my heart the confidence that BRCA would be a part of my future!
WJ: Tell us something about yourself that few, if any, people at BRCA know?
JH: I love to dance!
WJ: Where did you get that Cinderella dress?
JH: My Cinderella dress was purchased at a yard sale for 25 cents and no, it is not for sale! (WJ Note: If you haven’t seen Mrs. Howard in her Cinderella dress, don’t miss it when the day comes this year.)
WJ: As a Hoosier alumni, you must have a favorite IU basketball player. Who is it?
JH: Keith Smart. He made “the shot” that won the National Championship with 4 seconds remaining in the game to beat Syracuse. (WJ Note: This was 1987 tournament – I think Bobby Knight’s last championship team. With some Hoosier ties myself, I would have chosen another player on that same team – Steve Alford).
WJ: Thanks, Mrs. Howard.
Character, Part II September 17, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in Beyond, BRCA.add a comment
As promised, this is a continutation of the theme from an earlier post (see Character, Part I).
Character development is an interesting issue to me. It should be obvious to you that this is a critical issue in the development of your child or children. However, so many questions are raised. How does it happen? Over what period of time? How do you re-direct/address flaws in character development of children? Are parents and family the only people in a child’s life that impact their character development? Can something other than a person (e.g., media) impact a child’s character? What are the character traits that I should seek to develop in my child?
My dictionary defines character as “the combined moral or ethical structure of a person or group”. That’s easy enough to understand if you know what a moral or ethical structure is. I think it relates to the system of beliefs and values with respect to standards of right and wrong that govern thoughts and behavior and that’s how I plan to address it below.
A child’s character is largely determined by the time he or she reaches adolescence. Their character is impacted by their environment (including parents, family, school, church as well as television, movies, books, etc.) and their experiences. Of particular interest to me is the potential positive or negative impact on character development of the school, where children spend more time than anywhere else other than their home (and, typically, more supervised and structured time than even in the home). So, schools have a great opportunity to do something of great significance for your child (or to your child, in the negative sense).
Despite the fact that the public and educators agree that character development is important, it has been de-emphasized in public education since the 1930′s. Teacher education has downplayed the role of teachers in character development and focused on techniques and teaching strategies to improve achievement since the 1960′s. So, we now have teachers in the public schools who are a couple of generations removed from any training on how to integrate character development into their curriculum. I won’t even get into the policy constraints that they would face with respect to what types of character they would develop as a result of legislative and legal rulings on the separation of church and state.
What impact has this had on our society? Bennett’s 1993 study showed that the following changes in cultural indicators were noted in the U.S. from 1960 to 1990: (1) average daily TV viewing increased to 7 hours; (2) the percentage of illegitimate births increased 419%; (3) children living with single parents increased 300%; (4) the teen suicide rate increased 200%; and (5) the violent crime rate increased 470%. In the meantime, average SAT scores, a measure of the achievement that schools are focusing on, decreased 76 points (over 5% of the median score). I don’t think anyone would argue that these are not positive developments. I would argue that they are a result of the moral decline of our nation and are at least partially attributable to the lack of emphasis on character development in schools.
Parents are primarily responsible for their child’s character development, but they are NOT the only ones or things impacting it. Children absorbing countless hours each week watching TV or video games depicting violence, gratuitous sex and a multitude of other unbiblical behavior are likely to absorb those values into their character. Remember, character development happens as a result of the environment and experiences. In what is generally a vacuum for positive character development in our society, children are going to absorb negative or distorted views of what is right and wrong. “Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.”
I could go on about this topic for a while, but I wanted to bring it back around to BRCA and why it can make such a difference in children’s lives. One of its distinctives is the concept of partnering with parents to shepherd a child’s heart. At its core, this focus on the heart is all about character development that is driven by a right relationship with Jesus Christ, the ideal by which good character is measured. “Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested.”
Rather than focusing on actions and behaviors, which could be seen as reputational views, BRCA’s approach focuses on the issues of the heart that are manifested in or demonstrated by behavior. This happens day by day, class by class, child by child. The vacuum for positive character development that I mentioned before can be filled. It’s not easy to bring a child (or sometimes a parent) to the realization that certain behavior is a result of sin in the child’s heart. It’s a lot easier to just say, “Don’t do that.” However, kids are smart and can easily learn to manipulate behavioral rules when they are being observed and then revert to a darker true character when they aren’t being observed. “…your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
This view of character and character development is central to what happens everywhere at BRCA – in classrooms, in the lunchroom, at recess, and in faculty and staff meetings. Not surpisingly, this emphasis can lead to better performance in the classroom for a child (e.g., development of a sense of individual responsibility, integrity and steadfastness can lead to maturity that is demonstrated in doing one’s best to complete homework in a timely manner and adequately prepare for tests). As I said, it’s not easy. But the faculty and staff will keep at it, because He’s worth it and so are your children!
Character, Part I September 14, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in Beyond, General.add a comment
The ideas of character and character development have been on my mind for a while. When you have a son graduating from high school and going to college, the concern that you have done what needs to be done in terms of character development tends to weigh on you a little bit.
I think character is underappreciated and under-emphasized in our society. I want to share some quotes on this topic with you and then I will revisit this topic in a later post in the next week. I would love to see some comments on other character quotes that you like or ones here that you like or maybe disagree with. Hopefully, several of these will catch your eye and cause you to stop and think about your character and the development of your child’s or children’s character.
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Compared to Reputation
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your repuation is merely what others think you are. John Wooden
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Abraham Lincoln
Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. Thomas Paine
Character Development
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Marcus Aurelius
Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life. Goethe
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Religious/Christian Perspectives
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. Billy Graham
A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not marble. Charles Spurgeon
Character is supreme in life, hence Jesus stood supreme in the supreme thing – so supreme that, when we think of the ideal, we do not add virtue to virtue, but think of Jesus Christ, so that the standard of life is no longer a code but a character. E. Stanley Jones
Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested. Oswald Chambers
If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me. Dwight L. Moody
True character rises from a deeper well than religion. E.O. Wilson
General Thoughts
No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Character is much easier kept than recovered. Thomas Paine
Character, not circumstances, makes the man. Booker T. Washington
Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. John Wooden
Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike. Theodore Roosevelt
Character matters; leadership descends from character. Rush Limbaugh
I have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children. Arthur Conan Doyle
BRCA Invitational September 12, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in BRCA, Sports.add a comment
BRCA will be hosting what I believe will be its largest competitive event ever (in terms of number of competitors) on Thursday, September 15. It’s not a spelling bee (sorry, Mrs. Baker). It’s a cross country meet! Cross country coach Angie Dentler has organized the BRCA Invitational, which will have over 150 competitors from 10 area schools.
Athletes will face a very challenging 5K course at BRCA that will feature more hills than most of the visitors will have seen this year. If you haven’t been to a cross country meet before, this would be a great one to check out. Also, cross country is a great event to bring your kids out to so they can cheer for the Warriors. And did I mention that there is no admission charge!
The girls race starts at 5pm with the boys race following at about 5:45. The races start and finish near the baseball field but there are lots of good places to watch throughout the race course. I hope to see you there!
Miss Carter August 28, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in BRCA, Faculty and Staff.add a comment
As I have noted previously, I plan to post a series of interviews with people with various ties to the BRCA community. This post is an interview with Morgan Carter, one of the newest staff members. Miss Carter teaches middle school science and math as well as keyboarding for first through seventh grade.
WJ: How long have you lived in this area and where did you go to college?
MC: I was born in Greenville, but moved to Anderson on my third birthday. We moved back to Taylors when I started middle school and have been there ever since. I attended Erskine College my freshman year and then transferred to Clemson University where I graduated this past May.
WJ: Where do you go to church?
MC: I attend Taylors First Baptist with my fiancé.
WJ: Have you read any good books lately?
MC: I am a huge fan of Karen Kingsbury’s books. She is a strong Christian author and her stories deal with issues that we are all facing.
WJ: Have you seen any good movies lately?
MC: I have not seen too many new movies, but one of my favorites is “The Blind Side”. (WJ also gives this one two thumbs up!)
WJ: What kind of cell phone do you have? Do you like it?
MC: I just got an iPhone and I love it. Some days I think my phone is a little smarter than I am, but I have enjoyed it.
WJ: Sweet or unsweet?
MC: My fiancé tells me that I am not a true Southerner because I do not drink tea. I prefer a cold Coke or Gatorade.
WJ: You’ve mentioned your fiancé a couple of times. How did you meet him? Have you set a wedding date yet?
MC: Wes and I met seven years ago in high school and have been dating ever since. We are not 100% positive about the date, but we are hoping we can get married on June 30, 2012.
WJ: What does your fiancé do?
MC: Wes works for his family’s computer store off Laurens Road. He builds computers from old parts, fixes printers and sells office supplies. He will be taking over half the company when his grandmother retires.
WJ: Who was president when you started teaching?
MC: Obama
WJ: Why did you want to be a teacher?
MC: I took a teacher cadet course my senior year of high school which led me to pursue teaching as my career. I love working with children and helping them to succeed. School was difficult for me growing up, but I had some great teachers who were willing to put in the extra time and never gave up on me. I hope to do the same for my students.
WJ: What teacher made the biggest impression on you growing up and why?
MC: My second grade teacher was just a truly amazing woman. She not only inspired me to do my best in the classroom, but also is the one who led me to know Christ as my Savior.
WJ: How has teaching been different than practice teaching?
MC: Having my own classroom is very different from the other experiences that I had during my education courses. I find myself having a lot more freedom with what I bring into my lessons. I have a unique personality which shines through in my teaching style now that I am a teacher. It is a very exciting career that is different every day.
WJ: What is your favorite thing about working at BRCA?
MC: I have really enjoyed the first couple of weeks that I have spent at BRCA. Everyone seems like family and someone is always willing to give you a helping hand or an encouraging comment.
WJ: What is your favorite BRCA moment so far?
MC: Meeting all of my students on the first day of school. I am so excited about what the Lord has planned for this school year.
WJ: Tell us one thing about yourself that few, if any, people at BRCA know.
MC: I was a cheerleader all four years in high school and actually won the State Championship my sophomore year.
WJ: Thanks, Miss Carter. I hope this interview will jumpstart the process of the BRCA community getting to know you.
WJ: If there others out there, especially parents, who would be willing to do a Warrior Journey interview, please let me know. Otherwise, I’ll start drafting you!
New Beginnings August 28, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in Alumni, BRCA, Faculty and Staff, Sports, Students.3 comments
Few things in life give you the sense of a new beginning like a new school year. New classrooms, new teachers, new classmates, new books and new classes (as you get older) all contribute to the strong sense of freshness as a new school year begins. School started at BRCA this week and I’ve noted below a few of the things that struck me in the first week due to their newness or absence.
New teachers always make an impression. Welcome aboard to the Ethuns, Marianne Parrish and Morgan Carter! Plus, Shawntae Weant is actually on staff now to help with band and string instruments. If you haven’t met these folks yet, take a moment to introduce yourself.
Parents waiting to pick up children at dismissal may not believe it, but pickup lines at dismissal seemed to move faster than prior years at the beginning of school.
Early reviews for the modified block schedule for MS and HS are resoundingly positive. The longer class periods seem to work well for both teachers and students.
New students, and there are lots of them, seemed to settle down quickly and feel at home in the BRCA community. Rumor has it that the first day for K-5, normally a bit traumatic (mostly for the parents), went amazingly smooth! With the largest K-5 class in BRCA history, that is saying something.
Many returning students appeared to be on Miracle-Gro diets over the summer because they shot up like weeds!
Athletics got off to a great start with three trophies this weekend at the Westgate tourneys for volleyball and soccer. Two trophies were for sportsmanship and one was for the tremendous third place finish (out of six schools) for the volleyball team. Congrats to Christian Alexander (volleyball) and soccer players Jamie Young and Jake Heard on their All-Tournament recognition!
While we are on the subject of athletics, I believe Mrs. Dentler and Mrs. Canup are still looking for at least one more female runner.
This was the first time in the 8 year history of BRCA that there was no Zach Bird at school and the first time in 7 years that we started school without Kendall Boone. We miss those two graduates from last year as well as Nate Heard, who was only at BRCA for his senior year. From what I hear, all three are enjoying college life so far, but they haven’t had any tests yet so what’s not to like!
One other former Warrior that is missed by many, including me, is Patrick Herr. Patrick is back at school in Berlin. If you saw a soccer game last year and saw one this year, you know he is missed on the soccer field. However, he was such a good friend to so many that he is missed in classrooms and hallways, too.
Did anything strike you about the first week of school this year? I look forward to comments from parents and students.
The Helpless August 22, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in Uncategorized.3 comments
I have not posted here for six weeks. It doesn’t really seem like it has been that long, but life has been happening at an alarming pace!
Shortly after my last post in July, our two sons returned from a mission trip to Honduras in various stages of bad health. We had to stop once on the way home from Atlanta to take our youngest son Mason to the emergency room (shortness of breath and dehydration). Within 24 hours, our oldest son Zach was in the emergency room in Greer with similar symptoms and a potential abscess. A few days later, that had to be excised, but his condition continued to worsen and he eventually required surgery. In the meantime, Mason had to make another trip to the emergency room and also had 4 wisdom teeth out. As they recovered from their respective maladies, they became “The Helpless”.
It was a trying time to have two teenage boys who are normally so independent become so reliant on dad and mom (mostly the latter, of course) for everything. I learned that my patience, never a strong point, was lacking. I also learned what it felt like to really be constantly worrying about children’s health for the first time – exhausting. An unplanned trip to the Outer Banks in NC (round trip in 24 hours) did not help on the exhaustion front.
Over the course of all the doctor’s visits and trips to the ER room, we got more exposure to the US healthcare system than I have ever had or ever desired. With Mason, in particular, it was frustrating to not be able to get concrete answers as to what was causing the problem. However, as of today, we are thanking God that they are both doing better. Zach has had a great time at orientation at Furman and starts class on Wednesday. A week ago, we were fearful that he would not have the stamina to make it through or wouldn’t be able to take care of himself. Today, in fact, he enjoyed a game of basketball for the first time in close to 2 months. Mason finally seems to be up to soccer practice and starts school Wednesday as well.
So, that’s a brief explanation on why I haven’t been posting. I am looking forward to writing again now and already have some ideas for future posts. Also, a quick plug for my inspiration for the title. If you haven’t read “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, I highly recommend it. The movie is pretty good as well, but the book is better!
It’s A Small World July 7, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in Beyond, BRCA.4 comments
Even though I hear and read about globalization all the time, sometimes it is nice to be reminded without a trip to Disney World that it really is a small world, after all.
I was talking on the phone to the grandmother of a BRCA student yesterday about buying some corn (we are harvesting corn in multiple bushels every day right now, so we need buyers!). At the end of our conversation, she mentioned that her husband wanted to talk to me.
He got on the phone and said,”You probably don’t remember this, but I used to carry you around when you were four years old.” I had never had any sort of extended conversation with this gentleman. In fact, we had probably done no more than shake hands and say “Nice to meet you” once or twice. My immediate thought was “You must have thought your wife was talking to someone else on the phone. I think you’re talking to the wrong guy.”
Then, he told me that he went to church with my mom and dad in Decatur, Indiana. He was in the Youth group at their church (he was 15 or 16 and I was 4) and my parents were part of the Youth group’s leadership. His mother even worked at Central Soya where my dad worked.
He went off to college soon and my parents changed churches so he didn’t realize that we actually lived in Decatur for seven years. I went to Adams Central after we moved to the country when I was in second grade (we left Indiana when I was starting 6th grade) while he graduated from the rival school, Belmont. I have lots of fond memories of Indiana. Unfortunately, the church he knew me from wasn’t one of them. I knew we had gone there, but really have no recollection of it.
He said when he first heard my name, he thought that I might have been the same child he had known 40+ years ago. However, when he asked someone at BRCA if I had ever lived in Decatur, Indiana, he was told that I was from Connecticut. Then, when he saw the Graduation program from May that listed my parents’ names, he knew he had the right guy. It’s too bad he didn’t attend Graduation because he could have seen them again after over 40 years.
He told me about a church retreat that he remembered vividly. A group was playing softball and I tagged along with my dad in the outfield. Someone hit a ball into the outfield and I started moving in the direction as if I was going to catch it. Then, the ball bounced and hit me right in the mouth (hey, I was only 4 – give me some credit for knowing where the ball was going!). Blood everywhere!
All in all, it was a great conversation from my perspective. I never knew that my parents had been involved with the youth at that church. I certainly had never heard about the softball story. At my age, it’s cool to learn new stuff about when you were a kid. Plus, it was fun to think about Indiana again – I hadn’t done that in a while.
This whole story would be wrapped in a nice ribbon if I could say that my parents remembered all these details. However, the only detail my dad could confirm last night when we talked was that he remembered the retreat and the softball game, but not my injury.
I can’t wait until my parents come to SC again so they can get together with my new old friend and I can see what other memories we can dig up!
Commitment June 29, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in Beyond.1 comment so far
As I watched a movie last night (don’t ask me the name) where the primary characters could never seem to figure out that they were in love, I was reminded again how difficult true commitment is in our society today. There are different types of commitments, of course. There are financial commitments, moral commitments, religious commitments as well as emotional and intellectual commitments (like to a cause). In all cases, I think that commitments today are, in general, weaker than they were in the past. Why would that be?
Is there a fear of commitment? Maybe. I often run into situations where people are afraid to commit even though their commitment is frequently without much weight. Commitment involves decision and choice. Many people are afraid to make a choice because they don’t know what every option is. Something else might come up that would be more “attractive”. The grass is always greener, right? Well, commitment does take courage. You can never know everything about what or to whom you are committing. Ask Mr. Conner or Mr. Heavner or Miss Buchanan. They certainly displayed courage when they came to BRCA five years ago during a time of significant change. Or ask Mrs. Baker who came at the same time in the face of long-time friends advising her not to do it. I think they have all been blessed by the commitment they made and we have certainly been blessed by them.
A reluctance to commit may also be due to a desire to keep options open. Free options are great things to have from an economic standpoint. However, they are not really “free” if there is an opportunity cost, like not gaining the advantages that may be available from an actual commitment. The AP Macro teacher side of my personality slipped in there for a second. Sorry! “I want to keep all my options open” is really just another way of saying “I don’t want to commit”.
Another factor in being reluctant to commit to things is the lack of understanding of the benefits of commitment. From the outside looking in, it may look like there aren’t many. But when there is true commitment to a spouse, a career, a ministry, etc., there are clearly great benefits. They aren’t always obvious on a day to day basis. However, with the advantage of time that a commitment gives you, you can reflect back and see the beauty of God’s hand working. That is simply not possible when you are flitting from relationship to relationship or job to job or ministry to ministry.
One of the things that should seem surprising is that despite the great struggle we see with making a commitment in today’s society, the commitments that are made don’t mean much to people. My friends Dave and Karen Canup are celebrating their 15th anniversary today (Happy Anniversary!). That is quite an accomplishment, but sadly is becoming pretty rare in today’s society. Shockingly (or maybe not), the divorce rate in the church is just as high as outside the church. Why? It’s too easy and readily accepted. The commitments weren’t real — they were just until times got tough. The same scenario can be seen with financial obligations. It’s easy to walk away for so many people. You can work with FreeCreditScores.com (just remember their goofy commercials, not picking on them) and get your credit restored. Your reputation, however, may be another story.
Find some things to commit to yourself. One example that would benefit many couples is a commitment to a date night. Encourage your kids to make and honor commitments. If they are athletes, ask them to commit to getting better in some aspect of their sport. This, of course, takes work (also known as practice). As students, ask them to commit to a certain amount of reading (remember those summer reading lists?) on a daily or weekly basis. If they are artistic, ask them to commit to spending an agreed upon amount of time drawing, painting, playing guitar. Let them commit. It won’t do much good for you to commit for them. I don’t think these are things that they should necessarily be rewarded for doing, by the way. However, if that’s part of the bargain in gaining their commitment, that’s OK. Just be sure that they honor their commitment before they are rewarded. Otherwise, you are undermining the lesson you are trying to teach.
Build a desire in them (and yourself) to make a commitment and stick to it — even if it costs you more than you thought it would in the first place. That’s the way it is supposed to work!
The Heart June 26, 2011
Posted by warriorjourney in BRCA, Faculty and Staff, Students, Uncategorized.add a comment
As you will see as time progresses ( or may have already noticed), I don’t tend to plan out what I am going to write about. Rather, I write about topics that rise above others for me on a particular day or that I have been pondering for a while and finally feel moved to write about.
Today’s topic is definitely in the former category. One of the unique foundational things about BRCA is the discipline approach used. Most schools, including Christian schools, use some form of a behavior modification model. BRCA’s approach is a heart modification model that is referred to as shepherding a child’s heart.
My interest in writing about this surfaced today as I listened to our pastor, Peter Hubbard, teach about the heart. The primary scripture reference was Proverbs 4:23. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (I like the New Living Translation which says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”).
Peter pointed out two important implications from this verse. One is that our hearts are vulnerable to influences. That’s why they need to be guarded. Secondly, our hearts are culpable, or responsible for action. Our hearts, the control center for our beings (not the muscles in our chests), think, feel and, most importantly for purposes of this discussion, decide or make choices.
With apologies to Peter for leaving out lots of what he had to say (this was the first sermon in this year’s Wisdom Fest series “Homosexuality in the Light” at North Hills Community Church – for more on the sermon or the series, see nhcconline.com), he went on to talk about the importance of pointing children back to their hearts. As he made that statement, I glanced at my wife and another BRCA staff member who was sitting beside us. Then he made the statement even more strongly by saying that one of the greatest gifts that a parent can give a child is to help them understand how their actions can be tied back to their hearts (my paraphrase).
That is what the staff at BRCA is trained to do and is something that they work diligently to do with students in the classroom. Do they do it perfectly? Of course not. But their heartbeat is about getting beneath behaviors and trying to point children back to the underlying heart condition(s) that are causing the behaviors. This is not easy to do nor is it normally the most expedient way to discipline a child, especially in a classroom setting. However, it is far more meaningful in the long run and can have eternal consequences.
If you already have kids at BRCA (or are about to) and heard the phrase “shepherding your child’s heart”, but weren’t clear what it was about, I encourage you to find out more. This approach is clearly one that sets BRCA apart from most other schools, public or private. Even if BRCA is not a consideration for you, you should try to learn more about shepherding your child’s heart (Tedd Tripp’s book on the topic is a great place to start). It is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.
