There are plenty of moments when the boys do something foolish and I’m surprised at their thoughtlessness. (No doubt you have had the same experience from time to time.) But there are just as many moments when I’m surprised for a different reason. Today was one of those days.
Our grade twelve students dedicate themselves each Wednesday morning to working for various community agencies and assisting those in need. Two of those boys, who have been working at a local men’s shelter, were speaking in Chapel this morning and appealing to their colleagues to assist them in making conditions at that shelter a bit more palatable. They had identified a specific need and they wanted to help. Also today, I encountered our Student Council members who were working with representatives from a charity in India to help fund the education of some of the world’s poorest children. Neither of these things, though laudable, would be remarkable except that both initiatives came not from the minds of their teachers, but solely from the hearts of the boys themselves.
One of the Sacred Heart goals states that we shall, “educate to a sense of social justice that impels to action.” When I talk about the social justice program with people who are unfamiliar with the school they often imagine it as a “community service” program, and I am quick to explain that it is quite emphatically not that.
There is nothing wrong of course with service to one’s community, and nothing wrong even with requiring that young people give back to their community in the form of service. Many schools do that. But the Sacred Heart approach to social justice is really quite different.
There are two phrases in the goal that make this crystal clear. Those phrases are “…educate to a sense…” and “…that impels…” It is not enough for us to introduce the idea of service, or even to require service; we are seeking much more. We want first to teach the boys about the nature of justice and injustice in the world, and then encourage their desire to right those wrongs. We want them to see why they must become the catalyst for that change, moving them beyond the concept of charity to a desire to noticeably alter the conditions that necessitate that work in the first place.
Our central focus is therefore the education of the boys themselves, not furthering the goals of the social service agency. For this reason, we don’t deserve or expect thanks from those agencies that agree to work with us; on the contrary, we go out of our way to thank them as our generous partners in the process of educating the boys of Fountain Academy.
Therefore, in a very real way, the immediate goal of the program is not to change the world, but to change the boys. That difference couldn’t be more profound. It is one of the reasons that I’m so happy that we have someone like Maura Gair at the helm of this program. She has a deep understanding of this distinction and selects those experiences for each boy that will stretch him beyond his comfort zone and open his eyes to the realities of those who need our help. I’ve seen firsthand what profound a difference that sort of experience, so expertly crafted, can make in the heart of a young man on the cusp of adulthood.
When you hear the stories that they bring back on Wednesday afternoon; and when you see them taking initiatives such as those they took today, moving hearts and minds in the service of justice, you are seeing a remarkable transformation. That sort of work demands a deep understanding of the boys, a profound love for them as individuals, and a willingness to ensure that they have the very best experiences that we and our partners can provide. It requires a deft hand to ensure that each boy is challenged, protected, and inspired, but it is something that Maura never fails to achieve.
These young men will no doubt be leaders in their community, captains of industry, or perhaps even future board members; but no matter what they do they will have a profound sense of what a truly just world would look like and why they must be the agents of change in making the rest of the world more like Sacred Heart.
Mr. Robert Marchand, Principal, Fountain Academy of the Sacred Heart
