LASALLIAN TERMINOLOGY

I recently put together the Lasallian terminology piece above.

The vocabulary includes, the Lasallian Core Principles, the 12 Virtues of a Good Teacher, Lasallian phrases, prayers and ideals.  I hope that this JPEG is something that you can use in your classrooms, offices and schools. It is a nice way to begin a discussion of the common threads that all Lasallian schools share.    

Living the Lasallian Mission

"It is not fair to ask of others what

you are not willing to do yourself." — Eleanor Roosevelt

Emblazoned around our campus is the very Lasallian idea of Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve.

This phrase is a direct outcome of the Lasallian Core Principle of Concern for the Poor and Social Justice.

 To kick off this school year the Science Department Faculty got together at Union Station in Pasadena to cook and serve dinner to  75 members of the homeless community of Pasadena.  This is part of a monthly service opportunity at our school where students, faculty, staff, clubs and teams provide this meal on the fourth Tuesday of every month.

I would like to thank the members of my department and their spouses and children who volunteered their time and energy in living the mission of our school community.  I would especially like to thank the faculty members of our Student Life Service Team who organize this tremendous opportunity for our school to give back to our community.

Film Favorites - No Impact Man

"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. 

And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."  

                                                                                           -  Eleanor Roosevelt  -

The documentary "No Impact Man" provides tremendous opportunity to explore with students, the choices they make and the impact that those choices have on an interconnected world.

"No Impact Man", follows the lives of the Manhattan-based Beavan family. Writer Colin Beavan decides to write about a year of abandoning their high consumption 5th Avenue lifestyle and try to live a year while making no net environmental impact.

I really enjoy monitoring my students impressions of the Beavans from start to finish of the film.  Most of my students begin the movie with the notion that this guy has lost his mond and what the Beavan family is taking on is impossible.  However, student impressions change as they see how this no impact lifestyle not only impacts the family in an environmental sense but truly brings the family together as they eliminate many of the daily activities, such as television and computers, that detract from the relationship of family.

 At the end of the film Colin's message to bring about change is a simple one, VOLUNTEER!

It is through the act of volunteerism that the building of a community takes place.  This message parallels the Lasallian principle of service and our motto of "Enter to Learn. Leave to Serve." 

Too, often our students feel that they are powerless as individuals to make change and have an impact.  Plain and simple the message to our students needs to be make the choice to become involved. Because, it is in the development of community and the act of volunteering that an understanding of the power that individuals can have when their ideas have a positive impact on the world we share.

To learn more about Colin Beavan and the No Impact Project, go to the website at http://www.noimpactdoc.com/index_m.php

For information packets for educators, go to the No Impact Project at

http://noimpactproject.org/educators-middle-high-school-environment-curriculum-html/

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.

                                                                   -  Edmund Burke  -

Sophomores - You Gotta Love Them

" Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress. When you're pissed off at someone and you're angry at them, you just haven't given them enough time. Just give them a little more time and they almost always will impress you."
                                                     — Randy Pausch

The ideals of service to the poor and social justice are core to the principles of Lasallian education. This week, we celebrate our Founder by completing service thoughout the community.  Each day one of the classes takes a day away from the classroom and lives out the motto of "Enter to Learn. Leave to Serve." to provide service to the poor at various points around Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

I chose to do my service today with the Sophomore class. This is a class that has built a little bit of a reputation as being very spirited and lacking focus.  I was hoping to gain a better insight into this group of students, and as the quote above from Randy Pausch states, "Just give them a little more time and they almost always will impress you."  I was truly amazed by the group of students with whom I spent the day. 

We spent the day at Project Angel Food in Hollywood.   Project Angel Food's mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Volunteers and staff cook and deliver free and nutritious meals prepared with love throughout Los Angeles,
acting out of a sense of urgency because hunger and illness do not wait. Project Angel Food volunteers and staff deliver more than 14,000 meals every week to people in need.    http://www.angelfood.org/

 The ten sophomores that I spent the day with, were a joy to watch as they worked through a day of chopping vegetables, cooking hamburger patties, preparing hamburger accompaniments, roasting potatoes, packaging meal trays, washing down service tables and all the while never complaining and maintaining wonderful smiles the entire day. 

As Randy Pausch suggests, sometimes you just need to give these adolescents the time that they need to demonstrate what they are capable of.  Sometimes as educators we need to step back and gain a perspective of these young adults outside of the realm of our classroom to truly appreciate them for who they are and what they can become.  

 

  An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.