Page 2 - Priorities 2

"St. Benedict taught that, to live fully, an indi- vidual must commit to a
community... must influence and be influenced."
From the Prior
Warm greetings! Is it
possible that gradua-
tion for the Class of
1996 is just ahead? As you look
through this issue, I hope you will
be impressed, as I am, with the
energy and vitality of this exciting
year. College acceptances are com-
ing in. Our Annual Fund drive is
progressing well, thanks to
Chairperson Mary Jane Kelly and
all of you who have given your
support. We are at our enrollment
capacity and in fact are bringing in
temporary classrooms soon, so that we can honor the faculty’s desire to keep average class size at 15.
As these exciting times go forward, I want to share with you some important work being done by Brother Edward, our director of academic affairs. It involves maintaining the Benedictine values unique to our school.
Brother Edward is coordinating for the Priory a series of drop-in discussions about the characteristics of Benedictine communities, teachers and students. Each discussion is led by a different faculty member or administrator. We have some recommended read- ings but the real point, as Brother Edward will explain in the following paragraphs, is what each participant brings to the discussion.
Research shows that the most successful schools know who they are. They are clear about their values and their goals.
The purpose of education, as communicated by St. Benedict, is not simply to achieve one’s highest academic potential. It is also to master an approach to living and learning that will guide one through a productive life and ultimately to God and heaven.
St. Benedict taught that, to live fully, an individual must commit to a community. He/she must interact — allowhim/herselfbothtoinfluenceand tobeinfluencedby community members. We are studying this statement and practicing it in our discussions.
St. Benedict was most concerned with the way people
in a community treated each other. He spokeof honoringtheotherperson’s humanity, respecting their individual- ity, accepting who they are (without the necessity for either party to be like the other). Attributes of a good com- munitymember includecarefullis- tening, reflection, action. The action hespokeofincludes servingwhere needed and respectfully challenging others to become their best selves. It means allowing others to respectfully challenge us. He advised that commu- nity members relate as equal to equal,
even while acknowledging differences in abilities or responsibilities.
Inour highlyeducated,highlytechnical,highlymulti- cultural cornerofthisdemocraticcountry—howcanwe do all that? Hopefully, we can first understand it our- selves, then teach it and model it. By looking at our daily behavior, we are trying to understand the ways we model, or don’t model, the Benedictine values that we wish to have as our guide.
In our first discussion, teachers reflected, for example, that they can feel comfortable saying to students “I didn’t know that” or “I’ve never thought of it that way,” and allowing capable students to lead the way. They are model- ing careful listening, respect, and relating as equals (with- out relinquishing their responsibility as teachers).
Another example comes from earlier in the year, when agroupof studentswishingtopursueasocialactivity talked through and rejected the idea of including other stu- dents“byinvitationonly.”Possibly unconsciously,they realized theconflictwithcommunityvaluesandchose instead to include any interested student.
If you have an interest in the discussions, please let us know. We will try to devise a way to share them with you — perhaps over the Internet.
Sincerely,
(Very Rev.) William Sullivan, O.S.B., Prior
Brother Edward Englund 2