Suburban Life - Main Line/Philadelphia - Issue #12 (December 2021)

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SL_Education_1221_Layout 1 12 / 27 / 21 4 : 04 PM Page 1 In response , Father Judge ( father - judge.com ) set up a series of solutions - based presentations covering everything e E D U C A T I O N from mental health to substance abuse awareness to student leadership . On top of existing resources , such as on - campus guidance counselors and social workers , these presentations were designed to help students navigate a confusing time in a confusing world . Father Judge bills itself as a school were students will discover a “ climate of academic excellence and college prepa - Undisputed ration . ” It’s also rooted in the teachings of Saint Francis de Sales , promoting values such as respect , patience , gentleness , grat - Schools advance solutions to foster respectful itude , and positivity . discourse and “ healthy conflict ” among students . “ Everything we do revolves around the idea of being a ‘ Salesian gentleman , ’ ” BY BILL DONAHUE Hozier says . “ We want each student to Every page - turning novel and gripping Netflix series requires at least one pivotal know the things you do and the decisions conflict — a defining moment in which key characters have a heated exchange , come to you make not only affect you , but they blows , or otherwise engage in some sort of powder - keg battle . Although such exchanges also affect someone else . Even when there make for compelling works of fiction , moments of intense conflict can lead to unwanted are conflicts , we make students meet and outcomes in the real world . discuss what happened . ‘ What led to the That’s why James I . Hozier believes every high school student should be able to have conflict ? Was your reaction appropriate ? respectful discourse with peers and “ healthy conflict ” rooted in trust and respect . Such What is your plan if it happens again ? ’ lessons were especially important at the outset of the 2021 - 22 school year , as students “ We try to impart this in our classes returned to the classroom after so many months of disruption caused by the pandemic . and everything we do discipline - wise , ” he “ This year we were very worried about that , ” says Hozier , assistant principal for academic continues . “ It’s part of helping each student affairs at Father Judge High School , an all - boys Catholic high school in Northeast Philadelphia . develop [ into ] who you are as a person , “ For 18 months you had kids sitting at home by themselves , not sitting in school where they so when you leave here it’s going to follow have to watch what they say . They got very comfortable where they were . ” you , because it’s embedded in you . ” SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4 74 |

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SL_Education_1221_Layout 1 12 / 28 / 21 2 : 13 PM Page 2 A course focused on current events helps students engage in instructor - led con - versations about the news of the day , in - cluding controversial topics such as the political climate . More often than not , these discussions reveal multiple sides of an issue , thereby enabling students to hear perspectives with which they may not agree . Likewise , an active donor community has enabled the school to fund necessary resources to facilitate student growth , while an engaged alumni network exposes stu - dents to the wisdom of their predecessors . Hozier says graduates often return to the school to share their firsthand life experi - ences with the student body , including ad - versity they have faced and what they learned by having gone through it . Father Judge is hardly alone in its quest to help students obtain a broader , more in - formed view of the world around them . Quaker schools such as Friends ’ Central School in Wynnewood ( friendscentral.org ) and Abington Friends School in Jenkintown ( abingtonfriends.net ) promote far - reaching concepts such as diversity , equity , and social justice . Such guidance is essential when young minds see politicians , athletes , and such as compromise and the ability to they leave high school behind . other luminaries indulging in behaviors have constructive disagreements are just “ Students can have the tough conver - that would be considered unacceptable as critical as academic proficiency . By de - sations here , ” he adds . “ When students on the playground , let alone in a society of veloping these skills in adolescence , students do have problems , they have teachers and civilized adults . will be prepared for college , the working a lot of people to talk to so we can resolve ? At Father Judge , Hozier suggests skills world , or wherever life takes them when these situations when they arise . ” SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4 | 75

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