Dear Brothers,
What’s Happening
- April 25-27: Conclude Hawaii school board visits
- April 27: St. Louis Jubilee Celebration
- April 30-May 2: Leadership Development meetings with Savio Franco
A Story of Hope and Joy
Submitted by
Fr. Robert Jones
– Chaplain and math teacher at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School.
As happens often in schools, many students get sick and miss a few days. Two weeks ago, one of my geometry students had been absent. When he returned, he was really struggling to get caught up in class. This particular student also has some behavior problems and difficulties in staying focused. At one point in class, I could tell that he was quickly getting to the point of exasperation. But before I could get to him to offer help, I saw another student – without prompting – simply and quietly move his desk next to the frustrated student and say, “This isn’t too difficult, let’s figure this out together.” The helper-student patiently assisted and calmed down his peer.
In our world that is becoming increasingly polarized, individualistic and fearful of “the other,” this simple act gives me hope and joy. For me, it is representative of what Marianist Educators (both vowed and lay) do every day. Yes, we teach subject-area content, but we also teach such things as respect, compassion, empathy and the necessity of working together – Gospel values that are more and more counter-cultural and that are signs of the Kingdom of God among us. And our students embrace these values and put them into practice. I get to interact with an amazing group of young people every day that remind me that there is much hope for our world, and, in this, I find great joy.
