Four Faculty Pillars: Part I

Our Faculty Development model focused on four main pillars that defined our Faculty and school culture. 

From there, we set about defining what we really meant by each of these pillars. I assigned two faculty leaders to each pillar. These faculty members seemed to embody their respective pillars through their teaching and school involvement, and also had the personalities and qualities to positively take charge of this creative, collaborative process. Once I explained the whole idea through phone or face-to-face conversations, we used a Google doc to draft the defining statements. This took about four weeks over the summer. [Note: the style and some of the language of these defining statements was informed by the Jesuit Network's "The Profile of the Graduate at Graduation".]

By Catholic, we mean that:

1. We have read the four Gospels and have an understanding of the Church’s teaching about Jesus Christ and His redeeming mission, as well as the embodiment of that mission through the Church.

2. We revere the Bible as the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to us by the Church.

3. We believe that every human person is created and loved by God and is invited to live in a joy-filled relationship with Jesus Christ in this life and for all eternity, in communion with all the angels and saints.

4. We realize that we live in a world in which all of creation, including ourselves, has been wounded by original and personal sin, and we seek healing through reconciliation with God, the Church, and others.

5. We allow our teaching and all interactions with students, parents, and colleagues to be influenced by the words, example, and grace of Christ.

6. We actively explore and develop our own faith and relationship with God.

7. We have been exposed to the presence of God in private and liturgical prayer, in the sacraments, on retreat, and in other moments of grace.  

8. We strive always to recognize God in our students, parents, and colleagues.

9. We appreciate the centrality of the Eucharist to a vibrant Catholic community.

10. We understand Church teachings on moral issues and social justice and are able to clearly identify, evaluate, and reason through moral issues that arise in the classroom.

11. We respect the many people who follow different religious traditions throughout the world.

12. We humbly accept and embrace the call to be enthusiastic living models of Christianity in our classrooms, athletic fields, extracurricular activities, and all interactions with students.

By Loving, we mean that:

1. We understand and follow Christ’s commandment to love one another as He has loved us.

2. We recognize everyone as a child of God; as a result, we genuinely care about every student.

3. We teach and model self-acceptance by recognizing that we are loved by God and others.

4. We allow the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and minds, to connect us as a community, and to inform all of our interactions with others.

5. We realize that love finds ways to disagree and even critique without denigrating the person with whom or about whom we speak, and we seek to address conflicts lovingly.

6. We strive to show respect, compassion, and empathy for all members of our community, especially those who may feel marginalized or who are suffering in a particular way.

7. We work against personal and social prejudices or stereotypes and are able to communicate across diverse groups, especially with persons of another race, gender, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or sexual orientation.

8. We openly admit when we have failed to be loving and we seek forgiveness from God and others, while also looking for ways to repair the damage we have done.

9. We are willing to suffer inconvenience, discomfort, and even ridicule, in order to demonstrate love for others.

10. We understand the need to create a supportive community of colleagues marked by caring gestures, concern, and respect.  

11. We work to promote a safe environment among students, which is characterized by kindness, respect, love, and support.

12. We understand the Christian mandate (Matthew: 25) to give of oneself through service to others, and we provide opportunities for students and faculty to serve both the John Carroll community and the greater Birmingham area.

By Scholarly, we mean that:

1. We engage in ongoing study of our subject areas and the art of teaching through relevant reading, research, and professional learning.

2. We work toward possessing and developing a strong growth mindset and seek to overcome obstacles associated with a fixed mindset.

3. We celebrate and honor intelligence marked by an informed, thoughtful, curious, creative, and persistent approach to learning in ourselves and in our students.

4. We promote and engage in critical thinking in order to deepen our understanding of the world so that we can respond with care and perspective to students’ questions.

5. We communicate effectively, both in the written and spoken word.

6. We recognize the benefits of learning about a wide range of human experiences through History, Language/Culture, Science, Literature, the Arts, Mathematics, and other educational pursuits, and we understand the interconnectedness of the world.

7. We are able to reason through complex situations and topics and explore issues from different viewpoints.

8. We approach problems and adversity--in and out of the classroom--with humility, patience, faith, and positive action.

9. We are able to work and learn collaboratively as active members of a team.

10. We study our faith and subject areas in such a way that we can help students to make connections between the subject matter and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

11. We distinguish, in our minds and in our teaching, between our own claims and the claims found in our curriculum.

12. We value intellectual integrity, meaning we celebrate individual thought, give credit to others for their work, and teach our students how to navigate an academic culture honestly and ethically.

By Innovative, we mean that:

1. We understand that education is a creative process that requires continuous improvement, revision, adaptation, and growth.

2. We recognize that God made us with the ability to create, and that in being creative, we serve Him.

3. We engage in on-going reflection, independently and with others, about the effectiveness of our teaching.

4. We see challenges as opportunities for growth and are therefore undaunted by problems big and small.

5. We recognize that failure is not only permissible, but essential to progress.

6. We are willing to learn about and use technology that will improve and enhance the learning process.

7. We understand that students learn in different ways, and we strive to differentiate teaching techniques in order to reach every student in the class.

8. We believe in the power of collaboration, knowing that while good ideas may come to us individually, the best ideas are developed in groups of dynamic thinkers.

9. We encourage students to question and to create.

10. We strive to understand realities of current student culture(s) and devise teaching methods that respect, celebrate, and challenge our students.

11. We understand the value of student-centered instruction that encourages learning by listening, engaging, and doing.

12. We realize our 21st-century world is ever changing, and we prepare our students for success in increasingly technological, interconnected, and collaborative environments.