All You Have to Do is Show Up

It was 4:00 PM when I left the school building a week ago Friday. I happened to be walking through the Ahmanson Science Hall when I noticed a half-dozen Freshmen sitting on the floor, intently examining the computer screen of a laptop in front of them. One of the group noticed the puzzled look on my face and hastened to explain that they were working on a Science project. I smiled, wished them well, and continued on my way. As I passed the Atrium of the Dining Hall, there were three upperclassmen, seated at a picnic table laughing at a story being told by a fourth. Next, I passed the Blakeslee Library where a trio of girls was attempting to share two earplugs connected to an Ipod. As I made my way to my car, I could hear a coach’s whistle halting a Girls Volleyball practice in the Duffy Lewis Gymnasium. Out on Lancer Field, I could hear Pat Wickhem announcing the start of the JV Football Game. Did I happen to mention that it was 4:00 PM on a Friday?


Later, when I returned at 7:00 PM to watch the Varsity lose a heartbreaker against San Marino, I noticed that not only were the stands packed with La Salle students and parents (and, I should point out a Drum Line that was clearly having way too much fun performing for the fans) but the area in front of the Concession stand was so jammed with freshmen that we could have easily conducted a Class Assembly on the spot. As I walked home that evening, I thought about each of these scenes and with a clarity that happens typically when I trip and fall, I asked myself how I got so lucky.

I’ve often said that being President of a school like La Salle in a community like Pasadena is really quite easy – all you have to do is show up. Meaning that the sense of community at La Salle – as in Pasadena – is so completely tangible that, as the School’s chief promoter, all I have to do is nurture the overlapping circles created by La Salle’s interaction with the wider community it serves. At a time of day when some schools take on the look of a ghost town, La Salle – the school that never sleeps – is buzzing with activity. I’ve long since stopped fussing about the School’s gates being open on a Sunday – for I know that some thing is always going on.

I am lucky – not so much because La Salle is a perpetual beehive of activity – but because students and adults want to be here. I get to promote a school community that celebrates individuals coming together for a common purpose. I’ve always remembered the advice Pete Griffith, P ’00, ’03 gave me shortly after my arrival at La Salle: “Richard, you don’t understand something. When our kids are happy, we’re happy.” It goes without saying that, by definition, teenagers go through volatile swings of emotion – often in the same day! So, the notion that teenagers can be happy requires some parsing. Perhaps the best way for adults to get their arms around the notion of adolescent happiness is to observe those moments when they are looking forward to something – a sweet sixteen birthday party, a date with the Captain of the Football team, the chance to perform at Café Bibliotheque, being in the starting lineup at Homecoming, to suggest a few. Similarly, when they are disappointed that an enjoyable activity comes to an end – Prom, a pep rally, or a graduation party come to mind. At La Salle we can take a rough measure of adolescent happiness by noting their presence on campus long after the school day ends or – strangely enough – by their determination to go to school, even when a head cold makes them sound like bleating sheep. There’s a certain magic that happens at La Salle each moment when adults and teenagers come together to pursue a common purpose.

I’ve often remarked that 50% of my own success is due to luck – some would argue it’s more like 95% - whichever – I can assure you that when I observe our students at work, at play, or socializing with each other and think about the 24/7 world of La Salle, I know I am very lucky indeed.

Bothersome Friends

Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the Founder of the Christian Brothers, was a prolific writer, authoring hundreds of letters as well as documents – like The Conduct of Christian Schools – which had a lasting influence on the Brothers, long after his death. An essential concept promoted throughout the Founder’s writings is the notion that the Brothers should be “obliged to look upon themselves as the older brothers of those who come to their classes.” The imagery of this concept is rich in the kinds of relationships we imagine occur in the ideal family. What better way to characterize the kind of nurturing relationship between teacher and student imagined by De La Salle than to liken it to that of an older brother? In the ideal, an older brother takes us by the hand, encourages us to develop our God-given talents, keeps us from harm, and watches over us constantly. For De La Salle, this is precisely what he asked the early Brothers to imitate as they entered their classroom each day.

Fast forward three hundred years and listen to the words of Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, FSC, Superior General of the Christian Brothers, describe the student-teacher relationship:

“A beautiful Lasallian image is that of the bothersome friend… We need to be bothersome for the sake of the children whom we educate in order to obtain what might be necessary for them, without counting the difficulties or the inconveniences it might cause for us….”

Both the image of the older brother and bothersome friend formed the foundation of the annual Faculty/Staff Retreat conducted by Student Life Director Ed O’Connor just prior to the start of the 2008-2009 year. I was struck by these images (updated slightly by including older sister in their iteration) as Ed challenged us to answer three questions:

1. How have I acted as a big brother or sister to the students entrusted to my care?

2. What motivates me to be a big brother or sister to my students?

3. What makes it difficult for me to be a big brother or sister to my students?

Working in a school like La Salle, it is easy to take for granted the family metaphors we frequently use to describe the educational experience of the students entrusted to our care. Because they are so familiar to us and because we make assumptions about their efficacy, we need to be reminded from time to time of their power and of the “awe-full” responsibility they require us to shoulder. So, as I spent the day with my colleagues wrestling with these three questions, I began to realize that De La Salle’s vision for the Brothers - and their lay colleagues - required more than a simple acknowledgement of its utility to the task of educating students. His vision is as fresh today as it was 300 years ago because, in the words of one Lasallian author:

“What we have here is…a Christian anthropological view which is the basis for…personal relationships.” 

 While the concept of “Christian anthropology” is the stuff of research papers, in terms of our use of family metaphors to describe the student-teacher relationship in a Lasallian school, it is as simple as De La Salle’s understanding that, if we see everything with the “eyes of faith,” then we become grounded in a spirituality which recognizes that God’s Spirit transcends categories and social divisions. We are older brothers and sisters – and sometimes a “bothersome friend” - to the students entrusted to our care because we see God in them as easily as we see God in ourselves. We are grounded in a relationship that demands the kind of care and concern an older sibling offers to her sister or brother.

The Faculty/Staff Retreat concluded with a ritual in which each of us deposited in a basket a card containing an individual resolution to be a better older brother or sister in some specific way during 2008-2009. I can’t think of a better way to welcome our students back to their home away from home. Happy New Year!

Enter to Learn; Leave to Serve

A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press revealed that of those adult respondents surveyed:

Just 27% say they are satisfied with national conditions, while 66% are dissatisfied.

Positive views of the state of the nation have been mired at about 30% for most of the past two years; in December 2006, 28% said they were satisfied with the way things were going in the country, while 65% were dissatisfied.


It’s easy to see why… the Iraq war shows no sign of an end on the horizon, the sub-prime crisis has spiraled into a liquidity problem for the financial services sector, and unemployment is edging up while the Federal Reserve is becoming concerned about the possibility of rising inflation. Sounds to me like the 1970s called and they want their problems back!

Closer to home the rapidly escalating price of gasoline has caused both Ford and General Motors to scale back production on popular sport utility vehicles as the market for them is verging on collapse. And, consumer confidence is at a 16 year low. As the nation turns its attention to the upcoming presidential contest between Senators Obama and McCain, more and more pundits are describing the election as a dramatic choice between stability and change.

Whether that description is true, or not, remains to be seen. That having been said, there can be little doubt that our national dilemma regarding the direction the country should be taking provides an historic opportunity to define the relationship between shared civic values and the collective good. The problem, however, clusters around a conundrum: whose civic values? ... and which collective good?

The dreary state of the national attitude towards our near-term future may appear to be an odd topic for a column in the Parent Newsletter - which essentially ushers in the 2008-2009 academic year (note all those forms included with the Newsletter that must be filled out before the first day of school!). Encountering a new year – whether it occurs on January first or August 21st – is an opportunity to make resolutions, to remind ourselves of the priorities we have set, and, significantly, to embrace the opportunity to establish a new direction. I’ve grown fond of wishing students “Happy New Year” on the first day of school; not only because it startles them into recognizing that they are embarking on a new school year, but also because the same sense of hope and optimism which typically accompanies the cheers of well wishers in January can be found in the more sedate and purposeful behaviors of students and teachers in August.

A new school year makes it easy, however, for students, teachers and parents to focus their attention on the matters at hand – new faces, new responsibilities, new textbooks – and to miss the obvious at a place like La Salle ... we are also charged with forming the next generation of socially responsible citizens. Our Mission Statement makes this clear:

Motivated by a spirit of faith and zeal, our students are informed by and made responsible for the world in which they live.

Over the course of four years La Salle students will be exposed to a variety of learning experiences that reinforce this noble goal; yet the pressing issues which command our attention every time we turn on the television can seem too great for a teenager to ponder. If we remain focused on the larger context of our Mission: to produce good students and good people, we can get our intellectual arms around global issues – if only to remind ourselves that the values nurtured here at La Salle are the very same ones that will facilitate adult conversations regarding the relationship between shared civic values and the collective good.

What better place to launch a conversation about a future world that isn’t at war that, is in harmony with the environment, and promotes cross-cultural cooperation than in a school where students are encouraged to:

Enter to Learn; Leave to Serve

Happy New Year!

Zealous Teachers

For administrators, faculty and staff at La Salle, the last day of school is not when the students finish their final exam but the following Monday when we gather for our end-of-year retreat day. Director of Student Life, Ed O’Connor typically serves as our “retreat master” and organizes the day so that there are plenty of group activities. I particularly like this approach because it affords me the opportunity to listen to my colleagues reflect on the year just ending. These activities were especially interesting this year because the theme of the retreat was The Virtue of Zeal. I’ve written in this space and elsewhere that the Lasallian virtue of Zeal plays an important role in the way schools sponsored by the Christian Brothers seek to fulfill the Mission given them by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. Here is how Brother Agathon, the fifth Superior General of the Christian Brothers, defined Zeal in 1786:


The zealous teacher attends to his or her responsibility for educating the students. The education of youth demands, on the part of those who are charged with their care, the most undivided attention, the most constant efforts and concern for the most minute details.

It should be clear from this description that the pursuit of the virtue of Zeal is what is expected of Lasallian educators. Even the most talented and enthusiastic teacher will only occasionally achieve the “most undivided attention” in the classroom! Some might wonder why we focused on Zeal at a faculty retreat that concludes the year? This, too, is uniquely Lasallian. De La Salle’s vision of education was entirely focused on the future; what will happen down the road as a result of a teacher’s efforts in the here and now. In his Fifteenth Meditation for the Time of Retreat, De La Salle made this observation:

For the future, then, devote yourself with zeal and affection to your work

So, as we ended our year, Ed challenged us to reflect on three tasks:

• naming something in our work that encourages us to be zealous

• naming one or more practices that we use to support our zeal

• identifying something we want to do more of or better when we return to school at the end of August


Now, here’s why I enjoy listening to my colleagues in these group activities: as each small group reported on their conversation together, the overwhelming response to the question of what encourages our zeal involved teacher interactions with students. And, their response to “new year resolutions” involved behaviors that will enable them to expand and deepen their relationship with the students entrusted to their care. As I thought about this remarkable dynamic, it occurred to me that there is another way to frame these comments – teachers at La Salle genuinely like their work and, in particular, care deeply about their students. Not only was this message clear at a time when one could expect teachers to be drained of energy and looking forward to time away from school, but it was articulated by virtually every small group that reported out. And, while we are all human, which keeps us from achieving the state of zeal envisioned by Brother Agathon, it is gratifying to know that the quest is just as important for the dedicated colleagues I am fortunate enough to support. Not a bad way to end a year and an even more exciting way to anticipate the one coming up!

I was a stranger in my own hometown...

I am fond of saying that La Salle is like the “Hotel California” (for Gen Xers who may not be familiar with this reference to the 1976 Eagles hit song – you can look it up on Wikipedia); “you can check out but you can never leave.” For the Eagles, the hotel in question is the state of California and the notion that one “can check out but…can never leave” refers to a particular state of mind which is formed by living in the Golden State for any length of time. To paraphrase the Eagles, you can leave California but California won’t leave you.

I was reminded of this dynamic when I recently returned from a family funeral in New York (I am writing this on my return flight). Aside from the fact that I encountered thunderstorms for the entire weekend I was on the East Coast, it struck me that, after twenty years in California, I had become a stranger in my home town. Mind you, I wasn’t particularly troubled by the experience (the thunder storms in June cured me of that), but I was surprised…especially since it has been more than ten years since I had returned to the small town that marked my elementary and secondary school years.

What I discovered was that, while I missed the experience that, for the better part of twenty years had represented “home” for me, I didn’t need – to paraphrase author F. Scott Fitzgerald – a “second act.” The flight home helped me to see that California is my home now and that; not only did I not need to “check out;” I didn’t need to leave either.

So, what do these ruminations of a quasi-home-sick adult have to do with equating La Salle with the “Hotel California?” The answer, it seems to me, lies in the second annual Mothers of Alumni cocktail party which took place two weeks ago. The event, coordinated by a committee of alumni mothers, is designed to maintain the connection between the parents of our graduating Seniors and the social network that was sustained throughout a four-year involvement in their child’s experience with academics, arts and athletics. The event “inducted” those among the 50+ attendees whose son or daughter had just participated in the 2009 commencement ceremony. As I think about the wonderful spirit which permeated the cocktail party, I began to realize that La Salle can be, for many, the “Hotel California.” Because I have heard – repeatedly – the comment that parents were not ready to “graduate” from La Salle at the same point as their children, I have come to realize that the adults can “check out” but they can’t, necessarily, “leave;” I now realize that the “magic” that is La Salle impacts adults and students alike.

New to this year’s Mothers of Alumni party was the announcement of the Gloria Delaney, P’82, ’85, ’89 Volunteer of the Year award and the creation of the Gloria Delaney, P’82, ’85, ’89 Memorial Scholarship. Both projects are intended to honor the memory of an amazing parent volunteer whose life was prematurely cut short by the ravages of cancer. I won’t take the time in this short space to list the many, wonderful ways Gloria’s involvement at La Salle helped to transform the school (check out the current issue of Lancer Magazine that should be hitting your mailboxes right about now); but I do want to highlight the significance of these two memorial projects. The first – Volunteer of the Year award – was established by the Executive Committee of the Mothers of Alumni Council to honor an “unsung” graduating parent(s) who have quietly and unobtrusively made themselves available for any request the School made of them for volunteer help. (I was thrilled when the Committee nominated Deacon Harry and Seta Kazarian, P ‘09 for the inaugural award). The second – Memorial Scholarship – was established by Gloria’s family to honor her lifelong commitment to the Catholic education of middle income children.

As I juxtaposed the experience of the Mothers of Alumni cocktail party with the need to be present at a family event on the East Coast, I began to recognize that the Eagles were right: we are all shaped by powerful influences that – only with the passage of time – are we able to fully appreciate the ways in which we have been changed by those experiences. So, as La Salle gears up for another school year, I warmly welcome the incoming parents of the Class of 2013 to the “Hotel California”…err…La Salle and hope that you, like legions of parents before you, will come to embrace the marvelous notion that you can “check out” but you can never “leave” this amazing place.

The end of the Blog...

It’s hard to believe that the month has ended. As I noted earlier, it will take some time for me to process the entire experience. I am persuaded that I am bringing back to La Salle a greater appreciation for what makes it special. I can also see better how La Salle can continue to broaden and deepen its existing strengths both academically and spiritually. In the meantime, here’s a (somewhat) lighthearted take on what I’ve learned while staying in the Eternal City: Richard Gray’s top 10 lessons learned... 10. The cobblestone streets of Rome are hell on your feet. Bring a well-broken in pair of sneakers. Docksiders won’t cut it! 9. If you live in Rome, there is no such thing as a priest shortage 8. If Angelenos in cars rule the freeways, Italian pedestrians rule the sidewalks, so be prepared to get out of their way 7. The nice thing about attending a conference in which the participants speak different languages is that no session lasts longer than 45 minutes – otherwise the translators’ heads will explode 6. Europeans know how to produce attractive paper money – our bills looks like somebody spilled tea on them 5. Brother Domingos from Mozambique at 33 years of age speaks 4 languages – I have GOT to get serious about learning Spanish! 4. Cultural differences become real – and demand respect – when you share living quarters with people from 18 different countries, speaking three different languages and taking for granted a wide variety of customs that you’ve never heard of... 3. Like most Catholic Americans I take for granted the virtues of freedom of speech in our society and in our schools…until I listen to the challenge of Christian Brothers in places like Malaysia where they operate government-schools in which instruction in the Muslim religion is required 2. Being exposed to the different works of the Institute reminds me that there are many ways to educate young people And, the number one lesson learned while I’ve been in Rome is… If graduates of Lasallian schools like La Salle, Pasadena, don’t leave us with a healthy respect for spiritual values and the necessity of sharing with others the gifts God has given them, then we haven’t done our job so, as they say in Roma… Ciao, bella – baby (okay, the “baby” part is more Hollywood than Roma) Oh, and BTW…(if you don’t know this acronym, ask any teenager who texts!) it IS possible to eat too much pasta! Thanks for tuning in! * I LOVE this picture! It is taken through a Keyhole (YES...a keyhole!) of the main gate to the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta (they're the ones who support the work at Lourdes, France) located at the top of the Avetine Hill, framing the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica.

Boo Hoo and Woo Hoo...

Just as I come to the end of my time in Rome, I finally figure out how to get around the city! I actually successfully gave someone directions on the Metro! We have had brilliantly sunny days this past week – although it has been extraordinarily cold. With the sun in full force, I can only imagine what Spring must be like in this city. One of the side benefits of participating in this month-long conference has been the time in the middle of the day to explore Rome, read, think and discuss. In the day-to-day life of a school we have precious little time to do any of the above (especially the explore Rome part!). We’ve been fed a hefty diet of sophisticated concepts and spiritual theories, so the time to digest them has been essential to the whole experience. Walking the streets of Rome with history and Church-related buildings within arms reach has been, for me, a magnificent backdrop for consideration of concepts like “Shared Mission” and “Association.” More importantly, I’ve had the daily opportunity to stare in awe at magnificent churches and monuments and know that La Salle, Pasadena is connected to all of this (in some respects and thankfully, also separated by four time zones!) and is a part of the “Great Commission” noted in the last chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Not surprisingly, I have mixed reactions about my departure tomorrow. On the one hand, I am really looking forward to getting back into the “trenches” at La Salle (my employees may not all greet that with enthusiasm). On the other hand, this has been an amazing experience on so many levels that it will take me some time to fully process it all. I can say that the month here has made me even more convinced of the power and the promise of Lasallian education. It has also established, for me, a recognition that the world we occupy at La Salle, Pasadena cannot be divorced from the larger, Lasallian world that exists in 83 different countries. Moreover, I now understand – in ways that were only intellectual prior to my participation in this experience – that the gift of Lasallian education gets articulated in a vast number of highly differentiated ways – many of which don’t even look like the traditional school we have come to know and appreciate in Pasadena. Most importantly, it has been a privilege for me to encounter Lasallians – Brothers and laypeople – from around the world who give me renewed hope that what we do in Pasadena matters. Tomorrow will be my last blog (boo hoo) - tune in for Richard Gray's Top 10 Lessons Learned in Rome (with apologies to Dave Letterman). * The 70 of us with the CIL staff on the front steps of the Motherhouse. Even with my glasses, I can't find me (and I know where I was standing!)