On Graduation & Student Exchanges

Mother Teresa Exchange with Cape Dorset, Nunavut

On Friday, May 24, I was privileged to meet Senator Vernon White at Mother Teresa High School.  Senator White came to the school to speak with students and staff at Mother Teresa and with the exchange students from Cape Dorset, Nunavut.   Mother Teresa students had spent a week during the early spring in Cape Dorset, and in return, hosted the Cape Dorset students in late May.

Senator White spoke specifically about restorative practices - an approach to misconduct whereby the perpetrator of harm towards others accepts responsibility for the harm he/she caused, asks for forgiveness, and repairs the harm he/she caused.   He explained that when he was a young police officer, he thought his job was to "put people in jail".  However, his experiences in law enforcement taught him that putting people in jail did little to reform them, or make them take responsibility for their actions.

Back row l to r. Mother Teresa teacher Kevin Nearing, Senator Vern White,

Superintendent Peter Atkinson, SEVEC Representative, & VP Marcy Cooper

Front row: Some Mother Teresa and Cape Dorset Exchange Students

In 1985, he took a course in restorative justice that changed his thinking.  In his time with the RCMP, he found that a person's likelihood of re-offending was cut in half when the person went through a restorative process.  Senator White later completed a Ph.D thesis in restorative justice, and his research findings were that 98% of victims of crime interviewed said they found restorative justice a "more satisfying" process than the traditional justice system.

Teacher Kevin Nearing, who led the Mother Teresa-Cape Dorset

exchange, with Senator Vern White

Senator White chose to come to Mother Teresa to speak about restorative practices while the Cape Dorset exchange students were there because, as he acknowledged in his address, he believes he would never have found restorative justice if not for his policing experiences with northen cultures.

St. Nicholas Adult High School Graduation

In the matter of a few days, I attended four high school graduations.  Each was customized to reflect its community , but without a doubt, the graduation ceremony for St. Nicholas Adult High School was the most unique. 

For those who have never attended a St. Nicholas graduation, it is difficult to describe the experience.  For one thing, the locale is spectacular - Centrepointe Theatre.  Then there is the atmosphere, which is loud and raucous, as so many of the graduates, their families, and friends are over-joyed to have completed high school.  At what other graduation ceremony do you hear every graduate cheered loudly as he/she receives his/her diploma - often to spontaneous shouts such as "I love you, mom!" or "You rock, dad!"     

Some of the close to 300 graduates at St. Nicholas Adult High School

The valedictory address is particularly moving.  As is the tradition, there were co-valedictorians this year.  One of the valedictorians, a fiftysomething mother, shared her life story, which was filled with terrible hardship and abuse, yet like so many St. Nicholas graduates, she found tremendous support from the staff of the school, and through much determination, met with great success at the school.

St. Nicholas Adult High School truly is a place where people`s lives are turned around!



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Presenting Director of Education Award at St. Nicholas Graduation

My Address to The Class of 2013

On Thursday, June 27, I was honoured to speak briefly at three graduations - those at Mother Teresa, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Joseph High Schools.  Below is the text of my address to the grads.

 

Dear Catholic Graduates,

There’s an old adage that says advice is cheap.  As you transition from high school to college, university, apprenticeships, or the world of work, you will no doubt receive a great deal of free, and unsolicited advice.

Here’s a small sample of advice for graduates that I pulled off the internet:

-      Find what you like to do and have a passion for;

-      Never write anyone off and never alienate a person over one small disagreement;

-      Don’t spend money that isn’t in your pocket;

-      Unplug for at least an hour a day;

-      Find a worthy someone to love and make them your first priority in life;

-      Get up and go to church. Church is good for you;

-       Put yourself in the position of others;

-      Don’t be afraid to fail; and

-      Be content, but never complacent.

But here’s the one suggestion that I want to leave you with.  It’s adapted from Richard Olson, Vice-Principal at Bishop Macdonald Catholic High School in Guelph, Ontario, as quoted in the April 14 Catholic Register:

“Catholic graduates should say ‘thank you’ to their parents, families, and teachers with their lives.  Remember that those famous words ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country’ come from a Catholic U. S. President.  By virtue of your Catholic education, you have been consecrated; that is, set apart for the task of loving and serving the world.”

So go forth from today as emissaries of the God who loves you:

-         bringing light where there is darkness;

-         bringing hope where there is despair;

-         bringing healing where there is anger and hurt;

-         and most of all, bringing love to where there is hate.

 May God bless you on your life journey.