Growth – Seeing the Year 12s off in this last week from their 12ish years of schooling has made me reminisce a little about the whole growth journey of people. Seeing our Year 12 young adults head out of the regular 8:15am to 3:15pm, five days a week rhythm of Kennedy life, moves me to pray for them to find their way into purposeful, productive, and joy-filled adulthood. I have found myself in many conversations about parenting lately with both parents and students. Students talking about parenting is such a fun conversation and I wish that many of you could hear these ‘experts’ tell us parents about how it’s done!
The one thing I do find, both as I talk to people and through my own parenting, is that there is one statement that slows down my reactions to children and students making bad or poorly thought-out decisions. My natural quick response is to correct them and tell them how they should act, but many times that is not received all that well by the young person in front of me. The statement that has helped me focus on the growth of the student, or my own child has been, “it’s a good thing I’m raising an adult and not a child”. This one statement going off in my head has changed the way I manage each moment of growth for every young person I interact with.
Watching this Year 12 cohort head out into the next stage of adult life has just confirmed to me that by allowing them to fail, supporting them through poorly thought-out decisions, and helping them find their way through challenges all work towards the adult they are becoming. Fully grown adults acting like children is not a pretty sight but it’s great being part of a community that looks to grow adults, something that every student at Kennedy will become.
Peter Chase
College Chaplain • Pastoral Care
