Graduation

Dan graduated from Roncalli High School this past Sunday. It was great to see him walk across the stage and collect a little red diploma display book which including grade school I calculate as costing me somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000. Even as I write that big number, it doesn't bother me in the least. Sure I have thought about what a nice car that might have bought, or what country club I could have joined, but really, I'm not all that big on possessions or status.

So why does a Lutheran guy spend that much on a Catholic education for his kids? Well, I might have considered Concordia but 4 (or 5 for Jake) years ago but they were still pretty new, very small and not close to our home. Roncalli is close, a nice size, and the boys were used to Catholic education from their days at St Bernards, so we decided to take the plunge. I remember walking into the school one morning to deliver a forgotten book and hearing prayers over the school PA. I knew right then for sure I had my boys right where I wanted them.

I welcomed the fact that my boys were taking religion classes in school. I don't think they thought that was anything special or a big deal but maybe that's what I like best about their Catholic school experience- the daily subtle influences of Christian teachers and coaches. Teachers can talk about God and faith and creation without fear in any class. The result is a learning environment in a culture of faith. These days, that's not the norm.

Public schools in Omaha do a great job in my opinion for those who want to learn. Compared to parochial schools they have nicer facilities and more resources at their disposal along with higher paid teachers. Honestly, I think you have the opportunity to stretch your abilities further at a public school. And plenty of great Christian kids do just that, taking advantage of these fantastic opportunities. Still Sherri and I will most likely send Caleb to Roncalli in the Fall of 2010.

And even I ask myself why, why would I forego this better opportunity which comes at no cost? The answer returns again to the environment, the culture in which learning occurs. Psalms 111:10 teaches us, 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.' Look, I think there is an element of humor in what we call ourselves as humans, 'homo sapiens' which means 'wise ones'. The point is fellow wise ones, the Bible tells us 'the fear of the LORD' is the only reason we could possibly be 'wise' to any degree. Based on this I find satisfaction in a school day for my boys that starts with prayer and continues on in a culture of faith.

Sherri's and my commitment to a faith-based education began with pre-school. One of the folks who came to congratulate Dan at his party was his pre-school teacher Marge Kirkpatrick. She has such a love for the Lord that you would pick her out of a thousand qualified applicants to teach your child. She is a shining example of how faith and teaching can go hand in hand, of how fear of the LORD is the beginning of all wisdom. What a blessing it is to start your search for wisdom with such a Godly teacher. Maybe you had a teacher like this as well. Mrs. Kirkpatrick made it easy for us to see the benefits of a faith-based education.

As for Sherri and I, we want to give our boys every opportunity to understand what true wisdom really is. In Romans 1 we read, 'professing to be wise they became fools' which describes those who trade faith in God (true wisdom) for faith in themselves, in this world, in what they know and idols of their own creation. They are lifelong 'sophomores' which means 'wise fools'. Our hope is that our boys' faith-based education has helped them to know that God is indeed the beginning and end of true wisdom. I pray that you know this as well and that we will all have a glorious graduation party one day, on that final day. And it is on that day we will begin the ultimate catholic education, an eternal opportunity to explore the infinite wisdom of our omniscient God. See you in pre-school this Sunday!

Blest Regards,
kp