One heart, one community, one life

Last month, readers of this space will recall that I focused my comments on the exciting “brand refresh” initiative that we launched over the course of this recently concluded summer break[1].  As I mentioned last month, it was time we took our marvelous 60-year story into the 21^st century in ways that will enable La Salle to rise above the “noise” of an intensely competitive educational marketplace. I think it is equally important to note that this initiative is not intended to tell a new story, but, rather, our story. I am pleased to report that the reaction from teachers, students, parents and alums has been positive (it helped that we gave every student a tee shirt with the updated logo on the first day of school!). I am particularly grateful to JR Ossman and Leigh Olivar, P ‘12, ‘21 for their leadership of the Marketing Committee, which was tasked by the Board of Regents to manage this initiative.

Coincidentally, this refreshed approach to making our voice heard over and above the messages from other private and Catholic high schools is taking place at the same time as the Christian Brothers launch the celebration of the 300th anniversary of their Founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s passing into eternal life. The international center of the Christian Brothers in Rome is promoting this significant milestone as a way to celebrate the centuries of educational innovation and service by Lasallian schools in 80 countries. At the same time, here in the West, the Christian Brothers are celebrating 100 years of service to the Catholic Church in Louisiana and 150 years since their arrival in the San Francisco Bay Area (which eventually led them to Pasadena). I can’t think of a better way to launch this refreshed approach to La Salle’s future than by linking it to a marvelous past.

Readers of this space know that I recently had the privilege of visiting Lasallian schools in Hong Kong and Singapore (there are 16 between the two cities!). That opportunity made a huge impact on me with respect to the educational influence of the Christian Brothers worldwide. To know that La Salle College Preparatory, here in Pasadena, shares the same educational mission as schools in Singapore, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain, Ethiopia, Sudan (!), the Philippines, Mexico and Columbia (to name just a few of the 80 countries) not only humbles me but also inspires me to “shout from the rooftops” regarding the unique contribution we make to secondary education here in Southern California. Many people, for example, do not know that the Christian Brothers are the largest religious order of men in the Catholic Church who are exclusively devoted to a mission of providing educational opportunities for and with young people. Here in the United States, for example, no other religious order (male or female) operates as many secondary schools (middle & high) than the Christian Brothers. While the Jesuits can rightly lay claim to operating the largest, and most prestigious, system of Catholic colleges and universities in the United States, that honor belongs to the Christian Brothers in Mexico and the Philippines. In short, here in Pasadena, we stand on the shoulders of educational giants who crossed the globe, over the course of more than 300 years, in order to “provide a Human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor[2].”

It is because of the hundreds of years in which the Christian Brothers transformed the educational experience of young people across the globe that Pope Francis has bestowed a singular honor on them in this, the tercentenary of De La Salle’s death. The Holy Father has declared 2018-2019 to be a jubilee year in honor of the three hundredth anniversary of the Founder’s passage into eternal life. This is an extremely rare moment in the life of the Church. The concept of a jubilee year - in which the Church pays special attention to the community of the faithful and marks the time with once-in-a-lifetime celebrations – was established by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. At that time, the jubilee was intended to be celebrated every 100 years.  Gradually, over time, the space between jubilees was reduced to 50 and then to 25 years (where it continues to occur up until the present moment). From time-to-time, Popes will declare special jubilee years for specific reasons. For example, Saint John Paul II declared a special jubilee to coincide with the turn of the millennium in 2000 and Pope Francis declared an extraordinary jubilee year in 2016 to focus on his commitment to the Gospel value of Mercy. So, it is particularly gratifying to Lasallians, world-wide, that the Holy Father is singling out the Christian Brothers for their unique contribution to the Church’s ministry of education.

Here at La Salle we are proud to stand with the Brothers and their partners across the globe in delivering an exceptional educational experience to the students entrusted to our care. We know that the cutting-edge innovations that De La Salle crafted for his schools in 1680 (whole-group instruction, teaching in the vernacular, as opposed to Latin, establishing what was arguably the first teacher education institution) have laid the foundation for our own efforts to embrace the challenges of the 21^st century school. The timing of these anniversaries – 300^th of De La Salle’s “transitus,” 150^th year since the Christian Brothers arrived in San Francisco and the 100^th year since the first permanent Lasallian foundation was established in Louisiana – with our own effort to more deliberately articulate our unique contribution to secondary education here in Los Angeles, couldn’t have been more fortuitous. We know that, at La Salle, what went before us has enabled us to move with confidence into the future. We also know that generations of our graduates will be able to look back with pride on our commitment to honor our past and to embrace the future.

For those who are “social media-friendly,” check out our Twitter and Facebook pages, where we explain each element of the updated crest. One of my favorite elements is the right-facing slanted lines:  

The intent of the graphic is to emphasize our commitment to “leaning in” to the future. What is particularly delightful for me is the fact that the graphic designer set their angle at 56^o – a subtle nod to the School’s foundation in 1956. La Salle’s wonderful story is to be found in the past, the present moment and the future!

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[1] https://www.lasallehs.org/s/639/images/editor_documents/Parent%20Newsletter/2018-2019/august_18_newsletter_1a_final-web.pdf

[2] Rule (1680) of the Brothers of the Christian Schools

Why Brand Matters

        

Guy Parker, Chief Strategy Officer for Workhorse Marketing, a branding and advertising agency, explains the importance of a company’s brand this way:

“When customers or employees look at your website, logo, pamphlet or store front, what do they see? Every aspect of your company says something about who you are and what you have to offer.”

He goes on to make this point:

“Without a good branding strategy, companies are not going to be able to express their nature to their customer base...Good branding focuses on “why” a company does what it does.” 

This has been on my mind lately as we are about to conclude a two-year process that has examined every aspect of the School’s interaction with the public – from the look of our stationery to signage and, especially, messaging. As readers of this column know, I regularly point out that Pasadena and its nearest suburbs are home to the largest concentration of private schools per capita anywhere in the nation. At the secondary level, La Salle competes with ten private and/or Catholic high schools within a twenty-mile radius. Each is distinctive in its own right – leading me to tell parents that no teenager should be unhappy at the end of a school day – there are plenty of options to match adolescent interests. That having been said, with such a large concentration of private high schools within shouting distance of each other, it can be difficult to be heard above the noise when one is attempting to articulate a distinctive and compelling message. As we entered our 60^th year, we knew that it was time to look at the School’s marvelous story and to ensure that a clear, compelling articulation of the “La Salle Difference” would stand out in a crowded marketplace over the course of the next forty years.

         We know what the central elements of the “La Salle Difference” are:

Catholic * College Preparatory * Co-educational * Diverse

And we recognize that the combination of these four elements distinguishes La Salle from every one of our competitors in the greater Pasadena area. Now, we believe it is time to “shout from the rooftops” and celebrate the benefits of the “La Salle Difference.”

         Thanks to the good offices of alum, Joe Olender, we were able to enter into a consulting arrangement with Innovation Protocol, a brand management firm who has served clients such as: eBay, the University of Notre Dame,USC and Homeboy Industries. 

Even the most casual of observers would recognize these entities and the values they stand for. We wanted to make sure that, in the Los Angeles Basin, La Salle would enjoy an equally powerful name recognition. But first, we had to return to the basics: we needed to make sure that we could clearly articulate who we are, what we do and why we matter. After 60 years of touching the hearts and minds of the students entrusted to our care, it was easier than we realized:

La Salle College Preparatory is where young adults discover their path to excellence in high school and beyond.

We also understood that this path to excellence is rooted in the nearly 400-year-old educational path launched by our Founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle which has led us to unapologetically advocate for a Catholic, co-educational and diverse student community. And because we recognized that these essential elements of our educational mission define the “La Salle Difference,” we knew that we could position the School in such a way as to ensure that those who may be unfamiliar with our approach to college preparation would encounter informational materials that are fresh, easy to understand and bold in their assertion of who we are and why we matter.

         Chief among those elements is a fresh take on the School’s 60-year-old crest. We wanted to make sure that its elements would be familiar to our more than 14,000 alumni while, at the same time, communicating to future alumni that La Salle is embracing the educational challenges of the 21^st century. To that end, we knew that its main elements needed to be fresh and easy to identify, while at the same time, echoing a 400-year-old educational enterprise:

Honoring our centuries-old tradition of educational innovation can be found in the lower left quadrant, where the broken chevrons (taken from the De La Salle family crest) reference the Saint’s regal family history in support of the French monarchy. In the upper right quadrant are five stars. The star has been a symbol of the Christian Brothers’ commitment to passing on the faith for almost 400 years. It can be found on the earliest representations of the Brothers’ printed materials, all the way to the present day (check out the Christian Brothers’ international website: http://www.lasalle.org/en/). That there are five stars, not only reinforces the Lasallian priority to pass on the faith to future generations, but also highlights the five core principles of all Lasallian schools:

·      Faith in the presence of God

·      Quality education

·      Respect for all persons

·      Concern for the poor and social justice

·      Inclusive community

Lastly, the forward-slanting lines in the upper left and lower right quadrants not only echo the historic broken chevrons, but also “lean in” to the future (going forward). And, while the fact that the angle of the slanting lines is 56⁰ - a nod to the year the School was founded - is, admittedly, a bit “wonky,” it does give this unapologetic salesman the ability to talk about the marvelous 60-year history of La Salle.

And, of course, the red cross that creates the four quadrants acknowledges our unshakeable commitment to the power of Catholic education.

         As the new school year gets under way, you’ll be hearing more from me on this exciting initiative. In the meantime, Guy Parker’s message is worth another shout out:

“Branding is important for every company to set itself apart from the competition and define its mission for both customers and employees. Branding includes images, content, marketing, logos, website and other materials that might be used to define a brand in the eyes and minds of its target audiences.”

How do you get an "A" in Life?

The Friday of Memorial Day weekend was my 19^th Graduation exercise at La Salle. As I greeted parents of the Class of 2018, I noted that their child was not alive when I started at La Salle. Their reaction was consistent: pause…smile…and express surprise at how fast life passes by. As I think about the last 19 years, I find myself reacting in a similar manner. In the last 19 years:

• ·       Four Presidents have occupied the White House (one survived impeachment)
• ·       Three Governors have presided in Sacramento (one was recalled by the voters)
• ·       Four Mayors have attempted to manage Los Angeles
• ·       Three Popes have occupied the Chair of Saint Peter (one was the first to resign the position        in over 500 years)
• ·       9/11 happened
• ·       The Arab Spring unfolded
• ·       Stanley Kubrick died (it matters to Baby Boomers)
• ·       The US fought two wars simultaneously
• ·       Disastrous hurricanes became a fact of life
• ·       The Great Recession nearly robbed us of the capacity for hope
• ·       Smartphones became a “thing”
• ·       Major League Football finally acknowledged the game’s impact on the health of its players       (while it paid way too much attention to a semi-inflated football)

I could go on, but you get the idea – we are so busy with the present moment that we fail to notice how much has happened when we take the time to look in the rear view mirror. We are too busy to pay attention to the impact national, regional and local events have on how we live our lives. All of the events noted earlier have shaped our worldview and form the basis of what teenagers take for granted. By way of example, for those of us of a certain age, we take for granted that:

• ·       we will be successful in our world of work, because our parents shaped that expectation        when we were young (and a robust economy made it possible)
• ·       having lived through three unwinnable wars, we tend to be suspicious of any military action
• ·       achieving middle class stability is a reasonable expectation
• ·       respect for the other is less an obligation than a function of our independent world view

None of these assumptions (okay, perhaps the suspicion of military action) can be attached to the worldview of the Class of 2018. They are about to enter college – and later – the workforce with little confidence that they will secure meaningful work. They face a world in which two household incomes are the minimum requirement for a middle class lifestyle. And, happily, they approach adulthood in which respect for the other is taken for granted, rather than an obligation (that’s still a work-in-progress if you live in the inner city).

I became a Catholic school educator over 40 years ago because I believe (and still do) that Catholic schools offer the best opportunity for young people to become good students and good people. And, yet, the world I entered as a 22-year-old teacher is not the world I occupy as a 63-year-old administrator. I’m not complaining, mind you. Today, I am far more enthusiastic about the power of Catholic education to shape the values and perspectives of young people than I was 40 years ago. In many ways, I find that the Catholic school world teenagers occupy today is far more conducive to the transmission of Gospel values than what I encountered in the 1970s. Some of that is a product of the course of events which have shaped how we understand the world around us and some (perhaps, more?) of it is a function of how our Church has evolved in its ongoing effort to minister to the changing needs of the folks in the pews.  Without a doubt, I am convinced that how we deliver Catholic education in the 21^st century is infinitely superior to that which I inherited when I first entered a classroom on the day after Labor Day in 1977.

And, yet, the Class of 2018 faces an incredibly uncertain world. Even students with a 4.0 GPA cannot assume that they will be accepted by the college of their choice. Students in the middle of the GPA spectrum can, happily, count on attending a four-year college, but they may not assume that their Baccalaureate will translate into a rewarding job which aligns with their chosen career path.  And students who, for whatever reason, do not go on to matriculate to a four-year college or university, will, undoubtedly find themselves on the economic margins of society some twenty years later.  As of 2016, a third of US citizens had achieved a Baccalaureate degree – that is the highest percentage in over 75 years. From an income perspective, graduates of four year colleges and universities are expected to earn almost double what a high school graduate will earn and those possessing a graduate degree will earn nearly 50% more than those with a Baccalaureate. Happily, a whopping 75% of La Salle’s Class of 2010 (the most recent year for which statistics are available) are in the workforce with a Baccalaureate degree in their pocket (the national average is 59%).

But this isn’t about celebrating the value of a La Salle education relative to college and career success. Rather, what I want to point out is that it was ever thus. High school and college graduates have always faced an uncertain future. The twelve events I experienced over the course of the last 19 years at La Salle can be replaced by twelve other events from 40 years ago and will be replaced by twelve events twenty years from now. These trends inform and shape our worldview, but they don’t determine it. The “A” a student received in an Advanced Placement course doesn’t translate to an “A” in marriage or parenting or service to the community. Those “A’s” are scored by how our students respond to the challenges of daily life, which are shaped by what went before and by what will come next.

Obviously, none of us can predict what will come next; but we can ensure that the young people entrusted to our care possess the skills and character traits necessary to respond ethically and dynamically to the unexpected changes the world will throw at them. My prayer for the Class of 2018 is that they will achieve an “A” in life.

When heroism is quiet ... it's louder than you think

              Not long ago, we received a wonderful email from Duke Banks ’64, which was triggered by his receipt of the School’s annual Christmas card. The card featured a portrait of Brother Solomon, our newest Lasallian saint, with an explanation of how his canonization was approved by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints because of a miraculous cure of a young girl in Caracas, Venezuela. It seemed altogether a bizarre connection between an obscure 18^th Century Christian Brother who was martyred in the French Revolution and the Catholic community in Caracas who had been venerating a statue of Brother Solomon over the course of the last fifty years. It turns out Duke’s extended Venezuelan family (he was born in Caracas with Venezuelan heritage on both sides) was intimately connected to educational institutions sponsored by the Christian Brothers in Central America. Somewhere, along the way, a statue of Brother Solomon ended up in a chapel serving residents living on the outskirts of Caracas. The Chaplain, who was educated by the Christian Brothers, gave the statue pride of place in the Sanctuary and, upon its installation, declared:

“We receive Blessed Solomon, and we will yet make him a Saint.”

It only took a mere fifteen years for that to happen. Also note that, through Duke Banks ’64, La Salle also enjoys a remote connection to the Febres Cordero family – from which emerged Brother Miguel Febres Cordero, the first Lasallian saint of the Americas and the first saint of Ecuador, his home country.

I dwell on this wonderful story of the little-known La Salle connection to Brother Solomon because, it seems to me that as the English Romantic Poet, William Wordsworth, penned at the time of the Industrial Revolution:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers

His critique, back then (and, perhaps, applicable to this modern-day moment) was described by one critic as: “the decadent material cynicism of the time.” The current news cycle is rife with cynical and apocalyptic stories of political intrigue, charges of cronyism and a never-ending (and exhausting) Washington battle over how to provide health care for 22 million people who would not, ordinarily, have a reasonable opportunity to access it. It is at times like this that I conclude that “the world is too much with us.”

I suppose it was ever thus. After all Saint Solomon was confronted by the awful choice of denying his vowed commitment to the Church and losing his life – and that was over two hundred years ago! I think we can learn something from Brother Solomon’s steadfast commitment to his vows. We may be fortunate not to have to consider the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our life’s commitments, but we aren’t excused – any more than Saint Solomon was – from living our lives with dignity and integrity. Here is what Brother Robert Schieler, the Superior General of the Christian Brothers had to say about Brother Solomon at the time of his canonization:

“Brother Solomon gives us a lesson of great integrity and loyalty with the options taken, even at the sacrifice of his life. And God only knows how necessary it is today to live with integrity and loyalty in a world where it has become normal to trample rights unscrupulously against our conscience, against others and against God, for mere interest and profit ... Secondly, there is another message that Brother Solomon proposes to Christian teachers and consecrated persons in general: to be witnesses of Christ, whatever the cost.  The world today needs more than ever loyalty, consistency, justice, generosity, altruism even at the cost of your own life. “

This last sentence captures, for me, the essential challenge this Lasallian school in Pasadena must face every day if we are to be faithful to the principles of our founding Brothers as well as those in a long line of Brothers who preceded and followed Saint Solomon: to exercise loyalty, consistency, justice, generosity and altruism even when the world around us appears to have abandoned them.

It seems to me that we need more heroes. The turbulent present moment admits of little by way of seeing past the intense conflict between political factions. Even within the Catholic Church, we encounter those who celebrate the leadership of Pope Francis as ground breaking and necessary and those who fear his innovative style will erode cherished traditions and beliefs. I’m not clear on why our American culture insists on a divisive either/or rather than an embracive both/and; but here we are, passively co-dependent on a Hobson’s Choice which, more often than not, forces us into no choice. Elsewhere[i], I’ve observed that Pope Francis is not only the first Jesuit pontiff, but quite possibly, given his preferential option for the poor and marginalized, the first Lasallian pontiff. Our Lasallian world calls us to pay attention to heroes – saints – in order to inspire us to be the better people we want to be.

Pope Francis is, for me, one of those heroes, but also, by example, highlights the wonderful young people we are sending off to college and a life of purpose and fulfillment. This is where I find strength in knowing that the Lasallian educational mission is not only alive and well, but able to nurture in those who encounter it a commitment to lifelong learning, service and leadership.

As we begin a new year at La Salle (my nineteenth!), let’s pray that the courage and integrity that inspired Saint Solomon will enable all of us who are responsible for the students entrusted to our care to demonstrate a similar, quiet heroism in the midst of a world that sometimes seems to have lost its bearings. After 60 years of fidelity to the principles of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the Founder of the Christian Brothers, I think this Lasallian community is up to the challenge.

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[i] Cf. my February, 2015 Blog entry (http://lasallehs.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2015-12-01T15:59:00%2B01:00&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=false) WHAT MAKES POPE FRANCIS DIFFERENT?

Lasallian Values as seen from 200 meters in the sky

             

There is a fascinating building in Singapore called the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It is billed as the most expensive stand-alone casino resort property in the world. Built to address Singapore’s anticipated growth in tourism, the hotel faces the city-state’s central business district to the north and the Singapore Strait to the south. What makes the resort remarkable is a 340 metre-long “Skypark,” shaped in the form of an enormous boat (to echo the city-state’s role as a major Southeast Asia shipping hub) which sits atop of and links together the three hotel towers. The Skypark contains gardens, jogging paths and an infinity pool which support the activities of nearly 4,000 visitors (think: a small town suspended more than 600 feet in the air).

              The Marina Bay Sands Hotel was my last view of Singapore as we departed the city-state for Los Angeles. “We” refers to a team of five La Salle colleagues who joined me on a week-long trip to Hong Kong and Singapore. These two cities have a sizeable Lasallian “footprint” with sixteen schools between them. We were particularly interested in visiting three schools: La Salle College in Hong Kong and Saint Joseph’s Institution and Saint Joseph’s International School in Singapore. These three schools are highly-regarded for their superb college-preparatory programs and it was my idea that they and we might benefit from establishing some form of networking relationship which could include students and teachers from each institution.

              Our hosts were truly gracious, generous with the time they shared with us and clearly proud of the work they do on behalf of the students entrusted to their care. Their sense of hospitality mirrored what I know visitors experience when they come to La Salle here in Pasadena. There was definitely a “Lasallian feel” to the schools we visited – surrounding their students with historical images of De La Salle and other Christian Brother saints. In fact, I suspect they do a more consistent job in this regard than we do here in Pasadena! What makes this effort truly impressive is the fact that all three schools serve a significant number of non-Christian (Buddhist and Muslim) students. And, given the fact that two of the three schools are 100 and 166 years old, one should assume that the Christian Brothers have always served a significant non-Christian student population. I was struck by this commitment to sustaining a Lasallian identity in a part of the world where Catholics are clearly in a minority. Saint Joseph’s Institution, for example, proudly displays their Lasallian Core Values (Faith-Service-Community) throughout the campus, making this visitor feel like he could be at any school sponsored by the Christian Brothers here in California! La Salle College, Hong Kong, decisively proclaims this Lasallian principle:

(The College) seeks to empower all students to realize their potential through

academic study, sport, and the arts

Reminds me of the “three-legged” stool (academics, arts, athletics) I like to use as a metaphor to describe the La Salle Difference here in Pasadena!

              The opportunity to visit successful Lasallian schools in a part of the world that is non-Western and, largely, non-Christian was transformative for me. I came away from the experience more convinced than ever that Lasallian – and Catholic – values can be meaningful to students of all – and no – faiths. Even more powerful is the recognition that what we do here in Pasadena is echoed in Lasallian schools a half a world away. While I have been aware of the fact that Lasallian schools operate in over 70 countries, it hasn’t really occurred to me to appreciate how deeply connected we are, united in passing on a nearly 400 year old educational tradition bequeathed by a genius of an educational innovator – Saint John Baptist de La Salle.

              As I departed Singapore and thought about the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, I realized that my final memory of my first trip to Asia was a structure containing three separate elements united by a boat-shaped “bridge.” What an appropriate visual metaphor for my experience of our shared Lasallian world that bridges oceans and continents for the simple purpose of delivering a high quality “Human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor.”[i]

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[i] Rule of the Brothers of the Christian Schools

Keeping our students safe

             

While the images in the Los Angeles Times of thousands of students participating in the National Student March in protest of gun violence were grimly impressive, the most powerful image for me was a mental one inspired by the quote of Parkland, FL resident Marc Harris on why he marched:

My daughter, Jenna, is a sophomore at Douglas and was cowering in a closet

during the murders at her school

As an educator who has spent 40 years working with teenagers, I can’t think of a more chilling image of what is wrong with the world they will inherit than that of Jenna cowering in a classroom closet. It is hard enough for parents and teachers to equip teenagers to move through adolescence without being overwhelmed by the corroding effects of traditional and social media messages that encourage them to act in irresponsible ways; much less have to worry about keeping them safe at school. Between the triple challenges of adolescent development, increasingly more rigorous academic expectations and the fragmented social structure confronting teenagers on a daily basis, the high school experience is sufficiently intimidating that our young people shouldn’t also have to learn to be afraid of what might happen to them if they encounter an unbalanced individual armed with rapid fire weapons. Cowering in a closet is not the answer.

              Some may be quick to point out that the solution to gun violence is increased funding for enhanced behavioral health services. Yes – that is a solution – one that may reduce gun violence many years from now. However, our children need to be safe now. On average, 12 young people a day die from gun violence. The National Association of Social Workers makes the argument that the issue of reducing gun violence is distinct and separate from the right to own firearms.

I agree.

Having spent a fair amount of my teaching career in Upstate New York where the opening day of hunting season regularly witnessed an increase in school absences, I respect the responsible use of firearms. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously argued that “falsely shouting fire in a movie theater” is not protected free speech, demonstrating that there are limits to the First Amendment, we already have limitations in place with respect to the Second Amendment. Making the case for the prevention of certain arms acquisitions by individuals who don’t have a clear and obvious reason to use them shouldn’t be in conflict with the prerogatives of the Second Amendment. Just as we all desire safety in theaters, we should also desire safety in schools. This argument is increasingly being made by a wide variety of professional educational, religious and medical organizations, including:

·       The Catholic and Episcopal Bishops

·       United Methodist Church

·       Presbyterian Church

·       United Church of Christ

·       Rabbis Against Gun Violence

·       National Catholic Educational Association

·       Jesuit Schools Network

·       Dominican Sisters Conference

·       Franciscan Friars

·       Lasallian Association of Secondary School Chief Administrators

·       National Association of Independent Schools

·       California Association of Independent Schools

·       National Parent Teacher Association

·       American Association of Nurse Practitioners

·       National Association of Social Workers

These and other organizations are asking for a national conversation regarding effective measures necessary to reduce gun violence. This conversation shouldn’t be about an “either/or” dichotomy (as currently appears to be the case) but a “both/and” dialogue in which competing individual rights (to bear arms/to go about one’s business in safety) are addressed in common sense ways. It is not common sense, for example, to argue on CNN (as one politician did) that the Parkland students should learn CPR rather than marching in the streets.

              Which brings me to the question of student protests. Those of us who grew up as “Baby Boomers” well remember the ugly protests against the Vietnam War that took place on college campuses across the Nation. Those demonstrations – regardless of their merit – fanned the flames of a country already divided over Vietnam. The student protests against gun violence, however, were led by articulate and thoughtful young people who had a story to tell the nation about the personal toll gun violence was exacting in their schools. I am reminded of the student walkout at La Salle on March 14^th. Teachers and administrators spent a great deal of time thinking about how to approach this event. We knew we wanted to be supportive of students’ exercise of Free Speech, but we also didn’t want the event to become an incoherent example of adolescent anarchy.

              Therefore, I was gratified to observe how student leaders Isabella Marez ’18 and Katrina Yuzefpolsky ’19 approached the walkout. Students quietly left the building and stood in front of the campus while Bella and Katrina read out the names of the 17 victims. They observed 17 minutes of silence and then concluded with a prayer service. Students re-entered the building and quietly continued on with their school day.

              This moment was all the more powerful because of Katrina’s own story. Ten years ago, on Christmas Eve, Katrina opened the front door to be greeted by a man dressed in a Santa suit (her aunt’s ex-husband) who began firing one of four semi-automatic weapons, striking Katrina in the face and killing nine of her relatives. To see Katrina quietly, politely and thoughtfully organize her peers on March 14^th was to know that, while we may not leave them a more humane world when they reach adulthood, they will certainly act in a manner consistent with Martin Luther King, Jr’s famous observation:

“…the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Remembering the quiet authority Bella and Katrina exercised that day is, for me, a far more hopeful mental image than that of Jenna Harris cowering in a closet.

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The problem with car horns

                            

Typically, my morning route to La Salle takes me to the south gate entrance of the lower parking lot, so I don’t often experience the congestion that takes place in front of the School during student drop-off at the time of the warning bell prior to the start of first block (I’m told it isn’t pretty).   Not too long ago, however, I had an 8am meeting with a donor in Sierra Madre, so I found myself driving north on Hastings Ranch Drive with the intention of turning right onto Sierra Madre Boulevard. The light was red, so I came to a stop, looked to my left and, proceeded to make a right-hand turn, thinking there was sufficient time to do so without impeding oncoming traffic. Apparently, I was wrong, because an SUV caught up behind me and, while leaning on the horn, proceeded to swerve to the left and then immediately cut into my lane, just in front of me. It appeared to me that the driver was angry that my poor judgment prevented him (her?) from arriving at the intended location in a timely manner. So, imagine my surprise when, not more than 1000 feet later, the driver pulled over to the curb in front of La Salle to drop off a student. I say, surprise, because I can only imagine the conversation between student and parent at that particular moment of high drama: “I’m going to be late and I’ll have to serve a detention and miss (insert activity) after school!”

              I suppose that this is a typical dialogue between most teenagers and their parents at some point in time. Having grown up in New York, my version of that conversation entailed getting out the door and to the bus stop in time – only it was my mother urging me to avoid the detention! So, I recognize that it was ever thus. What troubles me about the particular scene which I encountered on a certain Thursday morning was the SUV driver’s use of the car horn as an instructional tool. I say “instructional” because I’ve noticed over my nearly 20 years living in Los Angeles that the car horn – initially designed as a safety/warning device – appears to be more frequently used as a means of informing someone else of their errant behavior behind the wheel of a car – an electronic version of “You’re an idiot!” Don’t get me wrong – I spent a significant chunk of my life in NYC – so I’m used to horns blaring. But, for the most part, blaring horns were the provenance of taxi drivers, not SUV drivers. Yes, any visitor to Manhattan will recall the incessant use of the car horn; but, in general, their function is to alert another car driver that they are dangerously close to another vehicle (or to point out that cutting off another vehicle in order to make it through a changing stop light is a foolish choice). So, from my perspective, a blaring horn ought to be for the purpose of alerting another driver that an oncoming train is about to bring a life, well-lived, to a premature end.

              Not so in Los Angeles.

I get how frustrating traffic congestion is here (it really is worse than NYC). I get the frustration drivers experience when unexpected events clog the freeways (I’ve had too many heart-thumping-just-in-time- to-get-on-my-plane-at-LAX moments). What I don’t get is – other than providing an outlet for a person’s frustration at losing control of one’s expected arrival time – why leaning on a car horn is an acceptable response to the unexpected behavior of a complete stranger who, undoubtedly, is making his/her own assumptions about what is taking place at a particular moment. In my situation, I am ready to grant that I may have misjudged the distance between me and the oncoming vehicle. If so, a quick tap on the horn would (it seems to me) alert me to my error. A blaring horn (it seems to me) is a statement about my poor driving skills (most of my family and friends would agree) rather than a reminder to be more careful next time, or a quick alert that I am too close to an oncoming vehicle. The blaring horn, the rapid movement to circumnavigate my car and the immediate move to the curb tells me that, not only have I inconvenienced the offended driver, but that I needed to be taught a lesson.

              Perhaps I do – but I don’t think that responsibility should be held by any driver (especially in LA!) who is irritated by my – seemingly – poor judgment in a situation that transpired in less than two minutes. I especially don’t think that responsibility should be shouldered by a harried parent who is anxiously trying to ensure that the student passenger avoids being late for school. Here’s why…

              What’s the worst that can happen … an afternoon detention that becomes an inconvenient interruption into an already overscheduled day? Actually, that’s not the worst that can happen. The worst that can happen is that a teenager learns that it is okay to vent anger at strangers who may (or may not) have made a poor choice. We see too much of that among our peers in today’s society.  We (perhaps) agree that everyone should exercise more patience, more tolerance towards others. We worry about how to ensure that the next generation behaves in a responsible manner with respect to situations that, inevitably, they will not be able to control. But, what we don’t necessarily appreciate is that they are watching us and watching how we react to unexpected situations. They learn from us – without our ever noticing – that our reactions teach them how they should react.

One of the most difficult challenges I face in my role as a leader of the La Salle community is paying attention to the fact that my every reaction is parsed for its significance to those around me. I don’t always get it right – and my colleagues are there to help me accept that. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for parents to endure a lifetime of scrutiny. I only know that if we aren’t prepared to notice that our reactions to unplanned disruptions to our routine have consequences beyond the momentary annoyance, we run the risk of sending mixed signals to those for whom we have the greatest hope will be able to move our fragmented world closer to embracing the values of respect, tolerance and giving others the benefit of the doubt.

I think we would all benefit from putting the car horn on mute.