Education and Life

Education and Life:

School is more than classes

My first day of school was traumatic. I still remember it rained cats and dogs that day. Or, as my Grandmother would say estaba lloviendo ranas.The rain that day and the tempest in my soul matched up better than in any Shakespearian play. I cried when I got out of the car to go find my classroom. I didn't know anyone. Maybe they would be mean; maybe I would not learn how to spell my name. Maybe they would make fun of my flat-top haircut. Maybe I would get on the wrong bus in the afternoon, and never find my way home. Very real fears for a six year old. 

I survived. I only got on the wrong bus a couple of times. You learn from your mistakes. Get on the wrong bus, and you learn to pay more attention to your surroundings, next time. You also learn from your fears. People were nice, I eventually made friends and learned how to spell. A lot of times what seems like the end of the world is really the beginning of a challenging adventure.

I travel up and down the Rio Grande Valley constantly. I talk to a lot of people (a basic elements of a Bishop's job description). As I travel I often encourage young people to study hard and to stay in school. And I tell parents to be involved in their children's education, to stay alert about what might discourage them, and to talk with them about what they are learning. The drop-out rates in the Valley are alarming. Sometimes young people ask me why they should stay in school. I am sure they ask the adults around them too. 

Why go to school? Maybe we think the answer is obvious, so we answer them quickly by saying because you can't get a good job without an education. It's true of course. An education is key to future economic security. For someone to live a good life, maybe get married and have a family, a good job is essential. And in the world our children are growing up in, technology and communication are vitally important. To be conversant in the computer world, internet communication, implies knowing things about science, mathematics, writing and listening skills, not to mention the advantages of knowing more than one language. We want our young people to have opportunities in the world that is opening up before our eyes. And so we rightly say to them: stay in school, get a good job.  What we are saying is: you need to learn a lot of stuff to make it in this world.

But there is more to it than that. School is at least as important for what we learn in the process of going, as it is for the stuff we learn while we are there. On my first day of school, I learned that something that is scary at first can actually be a great blessing. In the fourth grade when I realized I was going to have a great deal of trouble learning the multiplication tables and learning how to do long-division, I panicked. Yes, a fourth grader can go through a panic experience. But my teachers, my friends at school, my parents, they all said I could learn it. It was going to take a lot if work, but I could do it. My mom bought flash-cards with the multiplication tables, my brother practiced with me until I memorized them. Time that I would have preferred using watching television or riding my bike had to be given to memorizing what 8 times 9 equals. The whole experience was an education in how not to be afraid to get help, and in how not to give up if at first you fail at something. That lesson was even more important for my life than the multiplication tables committed to my memory.  

In high school I took a class in debate and public speaking. It was an elective, and I was beginning to think seriously about becoming a lawyer. I learned a lot in that class! First, I learned that I was not very good at memorizing speeches; I preferred extemporaneous speaking. And I learned debating different sides of a political issue sort of bored me. I learned also that I could not really talk about something passionately if I did not believe it was important. I think that experience sort of made me think less about becoming a lawyer and more about becoming a priest. School is a time to try something to see how it affects your heart as well as your mind.  And when an education engages the heart of a young person, then whole worlds open up. I think that from that debate class I gained a desire to explore what other kinds of education I would need to be able to do something my heart could be committed to. 

Going to school, and staying in school is necessary for a lot of reasons. But the heart reasons are as important as the mind reasons. A well-trained mind is not of much use if there is not a committed heart behind it. Yes, our children need to learn a lot of stuff to succeed in this life, but along the way they need to learn that how to make the stuff they have to learn fit into a sense of purpose and hope. Our young people need to know that some things that are worthwhile can be scary at first (like the first day of school). But that the scariness can be tamed, and good can come from making the effort. And they need to learn that there are some things you will find hard to do (like learning the times tables), and that a sacrifice is needed for you to be able to do it. But through all this, you are not alone, there are people who can help you, and who want to help you succeed. I still recall gratefully the kindness and patience of my teachers who helped me learn how to multiply. 

In the end, if our children do not stay in school, it is because they think they can make more money in other, often illegal, ways. Only a heart touched by kindness can recognize that life is not just about the money you can make, but also about the good you can do. That's a lesson that comes from realizing  that the talents and gifts God gives to us imply a responsibility to develop and use them well, not just for our own economic gain, but for the good of others. Sometimes our kids leave school because they don't see a way to succeed, or they feel alone in the struggle to fit in or to do well. That is why it is so important that we adults take seriously our responsibility to accompany them through the educational journey: to let them know that they can succeed, that they can let their hearts be touched by kindness, and they are not alone.  

Maybe we adults get discouraged by the obstacles our children have to face. To you, I say, don't give up. Remember what you learned in school: worthwhile things sometimes require a sacrifice, and we are in this together. You are not alone. There are people who can help. 

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