High School Student Planning Strategies In a World that has Us Continuously Responding & Reacting5/23/2022 A mass shooting in Buffalo. Another Covid variant. Flawed political rhetoric. Cable commentary. A shortage of baby formula. The on-going war in Ukraine. A possible recession. We are in a continuous loop of exhaustive responding and reacting to difficult situations where it’s easy to get spun up. High school should be an oasis – a set of experiences where students learn and plan for life projects, spending less time responding and reacting. Perhaps, then, it is our responsibility as secondary educators to model essential practices and habits for planning, and teach/practice those with students, helping them build healthy habits toward something Greater. A Model for Meaningful Conversations An essential life-practice is interacting with others in the world. Our society is divided on everything from social and political issues to education. Division is exacerbated by ego-driven politicians, money-making social media outlets, and one-sided cable shows limited in perspective and profiting from targeting and alienating us. Current and past politicians routinely use division to drive agendas, stay in power, and take advantage of others. How do we combat division and divide in strategic and thoughtful ways? We learn, once again, to talk with and listen to one another – to be companions for and with one another. At De Smet Jesuit High School (St. Louis, MO) we introduced a model for practicing meaningful conversations based on St. Ignatius Loyola’s spiritual insights. One of his gifts to our world is a way of engaging in conversation with another person. For St. Ignatius, the other person (and every person) is a child of God and a person deserving respect and consideration, no matter what opinion the person holds or the history of the relationship with this person. At the beginning of the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius lays out the “Presupposition” for the entire retreat and for (what we call) Ignatian Conversations. In it each person “presupposes” the good in the other and the “goodness” of the statement being made. When one believes the statement is not correct, with love one seeks to correct or work to understand the statement so that “it may be saved” or understood correctly. At De Smet Jesuit, we strive to engage in honest, brave, and fruitful conversations, which have the following attributes:
A Paradigm for Logical Argumentation An essential life-practice is seeking what is good and true in the world. We live in a fast-paced world where reality is presented via phones and screens in (often-times) skewed, bite-sized Tweets. Information comes to us after data-mining – when the received message both supports and shapes our thoughts. How, then, do we determine what is real and true? In my English classes, I use Steven Toulmin’s paradigm for rhetoric & argumentation with students, because it helps us become familiar with seeking the truth and it is easy to understand and learn. With students, I focus on three, simple components that invite students to think about how arguments are constructed and how information is presented:
This paradigm is an essential knowledge/content/skill set for students in my English classes because it is a tool that helps us discover the truth. Therefore, we learn about it and practice using it, with oral arguments and in our writing. Reflective Practitioners An essential life-practice is using reflection in our lives. One result of the current world that has yielded much trauma is anxiety. One of the foundational components of our educational pedagogy at De Smet Jesuit High School that helps us unpack anxiety is frequent reflection, because it leads to personal freedom. The practice of reflection is an effective means toward an increase in personal freedom. Through reflection, one learns to recognize the movement of God in one’s life; learns to interpret, evaluate and assign meaning to significant experiences; and thus, learns to give direction to one’s life. The habit of reflection can empower and enable one to consciously act rather than unknowingly react to and within the circumstances of one’s life (Gallagher, Musso). Practicing reflection in our classes requires that we:
Practicing reflection, then, is central to developing constructive responses to fear and anxiety. A World View An essential life-practice is developing perspectives that are expansive, not restrictive. Nationalism and extremist political tendencies are restrictive and on the rise in our country and in many other countries around the globe. Those in power or vying for power often invite us into a “me first” world view, which is the antithesis of an expansive global view, in an Ignatian context. We see the value of nation-building through alliances and how the war in Ukraine impacts global resources, such as grain and oil. It is not hard, then, to realize that the USA is inextricably globally connected. In fact, the USA is a leader, driving a global economy – and by being so, we often reap the benefits of such a drive. Yet, how do we understand how our decisions – individually, nationally, and globally – both positively and negatively impact others? We challenge students to engage in a larger context than just our school, that includes our city, our region, our country, and our world. This is essential. We believe that global citizens are those who continuously seek to deepen their awareness of their place and responsibility in an increasingly interconnected world, both locally and globally; those who stand in solidarity with others in the pursuit of a sustainable earth and a more humane world as true companions in the mission of reconciliation and justice (JSN). To this end, De Smet Jesuit High School partners with other Jesuit high schools in North America and participates in the JSN Ignatian Global Scholars Certificate Pilot Program. Students enter the De Smet Jesuit High School Ignatian Global Scholars Certificate Program during their sophomore or junior years. This program promotes interconnected learning experiences in the classroom and beyond, to help students become more globally minded. This program and certificate provide a framework for student experiences through a variety of requirements in the school’s curriculum, language study, local & regional networking events, intercultural experiences of immersion, engagement and service, co-curricular involvement, ongoing and culminating reflection, and a capstone project. Mission-Based Faith-Filled Living An essential life-practice is striving to live by standards and ideals. We live in an increasingly diverse world which affords us a wide variety of options for the way we see and act. This is the beauty of living in the USA. As a parent of an 4th grader at a local public school, I am grateful that my son can readily recite the school’s “Avery Way.” It is a clear set of standards that every student is taught in kindergarten and recites daily until they move to the next level. While I’m on the periphery of some of the district’s initiatives, one recently came across my computer that surprised me. The local public high school is developing their profile of a high school graduate. I was surprised when I received the document draft recently, not because it was bad or ineffective – I think it is, in fact, terrific; but because the district was just now developing this important standard. At De Smet Jesuit High School, we are grounded in the Jesuit Schools Network’s The Profile of the Graduate at Graduation. It is a foundational, mission document, guiding students and faculty during all four years, toward graduation. The Profile of the Graduate at Graduation includes 6 components:
We provide indicators under each component, and we consider this a threshold document that forms students in high school and beyond. It provides us with standards and ideals to strive toward. Not only do we introduce these to our students in their first year and talk about them every year, but also, we integrate them into action in three concrete ways.
This past year has been my most difficult year in secondary education. And I know it has been tough for many other teachers in my school and beyond. Many of us are leaving the profession, out of frustration and because of a felt sense of loss – of efficacy. And while I see my colleagues struggle and some leave this profession, I find consolations in what we practice and how we build habits with students – while they begin to work on their life projects in our building, each year. We remain counter-cultural, holding the line. As we end this academic year, I look with hope next year, because I know we will continue to practice building habits around how to talk with one another, strive toward what is good and true, use reflection to increase personal freedom, as well as encourage one another and students to be worldly, mission-based, and faith-filled. These are counter-cultural practices that support students at De Smet Jesuit High School, as we continue to create safe spaces for students exploring who they are and potential life projects, accept others, and learn to live in community.
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Pete MussoAssistant Principal, Curriculum & Instruction Archives
May 2022
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