Mitchell Cavens, Head of Secondary
I would like to use this broadcast to share a conversation with you that I had with our Secondary team at the end of a demanding school day. I hope that hearing about the hearts of our staff will encourage you.
It had been a challenging day; one student in particular had placed considerable demands on our staff. It’s a great challenge to face the evil that arises in our culture, or even within our own hearts, but facing evil that arises in the hearts of our children can be particularly taxing. As parents, experiencing this from time to time, I’m sure you can agree! This was one of those times when the behaviour of a student had a negative impact on our staff.
So at the end of the day, instead of complaining about the student, or putting forward ways in which they could be gradually excluded from learning, the conversation was characterised by a communal, unified desire for the student’s best; we were prepared to extend every strategy that was available to us to help the student become the person God had called them to be. We were saddened by the student’s behaviour, because we knew that they were not living out the authentic identity that Christ had bestowed on them; an identity that we had seen manifested before in the student’s life, and wanted to see again.
I was highly encouraged to see our staff members’ attitudes in preparing to take the harder road; the way of patience, endurance, prayer, and pressing forward until we have utilised every available option to assist the student.
I have been studying the Psalms recently, and happen to be reading Psalm 112. In verse 4, I encountered this thought: “Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.” Jesus declared Himself the light of the world. Similarly, in Matthew’s Gospel, He looked at His disciples and said: “You are the light of the world.” I saw our teachers embody the light that rises in the darkness, the light which was first in Christ. I was compelled to pray for them on my way home, that God would continue this work in our teachers, and to thank Him for the work He has already done.
I am deeply grateful for a staff body who carry this kind of love. And we are grateful for you; a community of families who entrust your children to us, and who share with us the conviction that every child matters, and that the work of forming them is worthy of everything we have to give.