Students Without Spirit?

What are we teaching our children?

It's the time of year when we have to have meetings with students who are on the verge of failing because they are faced with the possibility of not graduating. As a senior teacher I usually attend these meetings and have the opportunity to speak face to face with parents.

While I am able to discuss with parents what their student needs to do to pass my class, I also like to act as an advocate for students. It seems to me that many of the students are not completely honest with their parents about how they are doing or feeling, as any person may be. I also hope that by speaking about their perception of their own progress that they take responsibility and identify steps they need to take in order to move forward.

Yesterday I had a meeting with a student I am close to. He is close to failing math and while he can do the work in my class he is so behind from absences that his grade is currently not passing.

One reason why this student and I have connected is because of our similar religious beliefs. We speak about our relationship with God often. He is very active in his Church and it's nice to be able to have those important conversations with him outside of class.

Yesterday, though, while we were meeting, we were all discussing some of the things that he was doing or not doing that put him in the position that he is in in his math class. His mother was annoyed because he doesn't have a job and he doesn't have too many responsibilities at home. I mentioned that he is very active in his church to ensure that we weren't forgetting that important piece of his life -something that he spends a lot of time on. When I mentioned church, the administrator who was meeting with us and translating for his mom said, "Yes well, right now school is more important than that!" His mom seemed to agree and I could tell he was getting really angry at both of them for saying that school was more important than his spiritual and religious practices.

I was shocked that they would say something like that. I understand that it's important for our students to graduate but I was really disappointed in the message that was being sent. Of course, he needs to take his academics seriously, but if we are really trying to cultivate and develop young people holistically, don't we have to take their spirituality into account and don't we actually have to put that first? If they don't have a sense of the supernatural or of whatever it is they need on a mental, emotional, spiritual level, what will drive them to move forward? They are not machines! Is it possible for us to be students/workers without spirits?!

With all students, we need to affirm their humanity. Society does so much to take our spirits, our selves away from ourselves. Schools should be a place to fortify our students' spiritual and academic tools, not take them away!

Later, he texted me about how angry he was about that part of the meeting. We spoke the next day and I encouraged him to use all of the work and obstacles he had before him as spiritual work -work to be done in order to honor his Creator and his beliefs. Talking seemed to help a little bit and I hope that he will continue in doing both his spiritual and academic labor, for in truth they are the same thing.