To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them.
Shakespeare
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Otto
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the Bird
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1/2/2019
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Excellence depends upon association. No important enterprise can flourish without the strength that comes from moral support, from the exchange of ideas, from mutual encouragement and criticism.
The Rev. Canon Preston B. Hannibal
Canon for Academic Ministries
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Excellence depends upon association. No important enterprise can flourish without the strength that comes from moral support, from the exchange of ideas, from mutual encouragement and criticism.
The Rev. Canon Preston B. Hannibal
Weekly Meditation
The Weekly Meditation is a regular, Monday-morning email message from the Rev. Daniel R. Heischman, our executive director, to NAES member heads, rectors, and chaplains.It’s intended to inspire and encourage you in your leadership of your Episcopal school.
The Weekly Meditation is a regular, Monday-morning email message from the Rev. Daniel R. Heischman, our executive director, to NAES member heads, rectors, and chaplains.It’s intended to inspire and encourage you in your leadership of your Episcopal school.
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“Christopher and Brandt bring decades of experience in school and parish ministry to the Governing Board” said the Rev. David A. Madison, D.Min., NAES Executive Director. “We look forward to the important perspectives they will offer to NAES and Episcopal schools nationally.” Silvia Larrauri, NAES Governing Board President and Head of School at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School (Coconut Grove, FL), added: “It is my delight to welcome Christopher and Brandt. Their commitment and service to Episcopal education is such a blessing, and we are so grateful for their willingness to serve in this capacity.”
A founder of the Bishop Walker School for Boys and a past member of the NAES staff team, Sandi was instrumental in linking Episcopal identity with our work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
The annual award of a William Randolph Hearst Service Learning Scholarship of US $20,000 (US $5,000 per year over four years) is made to an outstanding Episcopal student of an Episcopal School, with an emphasis on Service Learning and community service who matriculates at one of the six American Episcopal Colleges.
Two new NAES publications are now available for sale in the NAES store. “About Episcopal Schools” is a perfect resource for your admissions office to help explain Episcopal identity.
NAES is pleased to announce that Farrah Stephenson will be joining the NAES staff as Member Services & Events Coordinator, beginning February 16, 2022.
Both Episcopal and non-Episcopal schools are in the business of educating students of all ages, backgrounds, races, religions, cultures, and abilities in caring, nurturing environments. What is unique about Episcopal Schools however, is that Episcopal Schools are “embodiments of the Christian faith…that honor, celebrate and worship God as the center of life,” and as such “are created to be models of God’s love and grace.” One important way we share God’s love is through pastoral care. The Episcopal Church defines pastoral care as “The ministry of caring at the heart of the church’s (or school’s) life.” In my ministry as a school chaplain, pastoral care is woven into every aspect of my day. Tending to Jesus’ sheep is multifaceted, and the following are a few of my reflections about pastoral care after serving forty years in education, the last ten as a chaplain in an Episcopal School.
In recent months, the role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in schools has faced increasing scrutiny, with some arguing that it promotes indoctrination rather than education. More than two dozen states, including here in North Carolina, have taken legislative steps to restrict or outright eliminate DEI initiatives and roles in public colleges. This debate has significant implications for the education sector, particularly for schools rooted in principles of diversity and inclusivity, such as those affiliated with the Episcopal Church.
I have been teaching Religion and Philosophy at independent Episcopal schools in New England for almost a quarter-century, and much has changed over that time! Specifically, our students’ level of interest in studying these topics, going on to major in them at University, and even adopting new spiritual or religious worldviews for themselves has been steadily increasing. It is not what I expected, and I am fascinated and delighted by it.
If you had to buy all of your groceries at CVS, what would you be able to eat? What wouldn’t you be able to eat? These are questions that we pose to our second graders to get them to think, not only about food insecurity but also about food access. Washington, DC has inequitable access to fresh food/full service grocery stores in certain areas of the city. Second graders can understand Food Justice.
At St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, one strategic initiative for us is to enhance curriculum and teaching methods while upholding excellence in academic programs, teaching, and faculty expertise. This commitment is vital in providing outstanding education for our students and aligns with our Episcopal identity, emphasizing the honor and respect for the dignity of every individual, which speaks to both hearts and minds. Achieving this goal is possible through ongoing professional development. An illustrative example of such professional development was when, earlier this school year, our Visual Arts Director took three preschool teachers and three high school teachers on a curated professional development opportunity to see the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence. It is not just a college but also a museum, and it opened our eyes to innovative educational spaces.
When people ask me about school ministry, they usually bring a set of assumptions. They say things like “Oh, it must be so fun to just do Chapel with kids every day,” or “It must be so nice to be on a school schedule and not have to work as much as you do in a parish,” or “It must so great to have an easy schedule where you just do Chapel for a few minutes each day and teach a class or two.” Like the work that everyone does, school ministry involves a lot more than most people see at any one glance.
The world of athletics is rapidly changing. The establishment and growth of “pay to play” club sports opportunities at a young age promotes performance-based development and success. Many club sports programs are transactional in nature, focusing on winning results, college recruiting, and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals. It seems that professional sports have bled into college sports and high school sports are now replicating the level of professionalism of Division I college athletics. Now, more than ever, it is critical to maintain focus on education-based athletics and developing student-athletes holistically.
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Dr. Michael Kellmann knows a thing or two about the importance of rest and recovery. As a leading sports psychologist, he published extensively on the topic. In 2020, Dr. Kellmann along with Dr. Jürgen Beckmann compiled research from a variety of disciplines demonstrating the importance of recovery to performance. As they noted in reviewing the literature, “only recently has the importance of recovery and health become increasingly realized.” Further, “ensuring comprehensive recovery has emerged as an essential strategy to establish psychophysiological well-being and a functional health condition as a foundation for continuous ability to perform.”
During the school year, the pace tends to be so hectic that we might not be able to capture every bit of learning we encounter. One of the blessings of the academic calendar is the opportunity for a bit of review and reflection during the summer months. Management guru Tom Peters highlights the importance of taking an annual pause to review the different levels of our work and our lives. The end of a school year provides such an opportunity.
I’ve always believed that the best educators are those who are passionate lifelong learners. Whether it’s through organized professional development activities or self-initiated personal enrichment, teachers who enjoy being students always make an impact in their classrooms. There is something about regularly experiencing what it’s like to be a novice that makes you a more effective instructor. It takes some bravery. At the core, it’s an indicator of possessing a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset.
One of my favorite aspects of summer is having a bit more breathing room to catch up on reading. With June and July just around the corner, I wanted to share some picks. This year, I have organized my suggestions around the four pillars of Episcopal identity.
A recent recent article in The New York Times explored the topic of student mental health in schools and questioned whether awareness campaigns have an unintended negative effect. Research from Oxford University presents the concept of “prevalence inflation” where mild or transient symptoms are improperly reported as mental health disorders as a result of such campaigns. The conversation is further complicated by research exploring the effect of mindfulness exercises in British classrooms. After working with 28,000 teenagers over eight years, the researchers were unable to conclude that mindfulness practices improved students’ mental health. Regarding prevalence inflation and student mental health, Dr. Lucy Foulks concluded, “It’s not that we need to go back to square one, but that we need to press pause and reroute potentially. It’s possible that something very well intended has overshot a bit and needs to be brought back in.”
Entering May always gives me a feeling of “crunch time.” If you are a runner, it feels like the final miles of a marathon. There is a part of you that would like to just stop and take a well-deserved nap. However, there is also a part of you that knows pushing your tired body towards the finish line is essential. At this stage in school life, the end of the year activities are starting to pick up and that list of things that we had planned to cross off before the end of the year seems to be growing rather than shrinking. It’s the final leg of the race.
In his book, Dear England: Finding Hope, Taking Heart, and Changing the World, Stephen Cottrell (Archbishop of York) shares a conversation he experienced with a fellow traveler at a train station. While buying a coffee for the journey, a young adult asked him, “why did you decide to become a priest?” As they discussed this very large question within a very small amount of time before their trains arrived, the questioner shared her conclusion about people of faith.
Recently, one of our heads of school (Paul Barton from Holy Innocents’ in Atlanta) introduced me to a podcast he found influential for his leadership practice. Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic explores the writings of stoic philosophy and how they inform our work and leadership today. In one episode, Holiday highlights the top ten rules for life from these writings. I’d like to highlight three of them that I believe have specific application to those of us serving Episcopal schools.
The season of Easter lasts for fifty days and gives us time and space to reflect upon the mystery of the resurrection while contemplating exactly what it means for us here and now. In the Gospel According to Luke, we are told that Mary Magdalene and other disciples of Jesus went to the tomb early Sunday morning to anoint his body for burial. When they arrived, they were greeted by two angels who posed a simple question, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”