The 8 Conditions® For Educators

The condition of Belonging fills us with a sense of comfort, safety, and connection, allowing us to feel and trust that we are part of something beyond ourselves. These feelings allow us to be our best selves—to learn, achieve, and contribute to the community. Belonging is the first step on the aspirations journey because it is the most fundamental. Schools must provide a sense of belonging for all their learners and leaders. As Catholics, we experience belonging in several ways. We belong to our own families and to families of faith, and feel a profound connection to millions of Catholics around the world through our baptisms and the sacrament of Eucharist. Bread and wine, water and oil, the sacraments of our faith hold all of us together in communion. This deep sense of belonging is a rich well that we can draw on to improve the experience of school. Belonging promotes students’ well-being and their connection to the Catholic faith.

Every student must feel that there is someone he or she can turn to at school—a teacher, a coach, a lunchroom worker. Students’ aspirations thrive when they feel they have a hero, someone to admire and to trust, who will listen to them and value their ideas. Like students, Catholics depend upon those further along the spiritual path to guide and inspire us. Beginning with Jesus, heroes have handed down our faith, from person to person, modeling and sharing through a deep commitment to learning and love. Understanding our faith, and living it daily, depends upon these trusted guides. We must work deliberately to build these important relationships with students, recognizing the hero in all of us.

The condition of Sense of Accomplishment is about recognizing effort, perseverance, and a sense of responsibility to the community as signs of success. This condition broadens the notion of “accomplishment” in schools from letter grades to the development of a student’s personal growth and effort. In Catholic terms, Sense of Accomplishment is about the dignity and worth of the human person as human person. Feeling accomplished as Catholics is not about having “arrived”, but rather having journeyed faithfully. In our daily efforts to follow Jesus, we are encouraged by the rewards of friendship and fellowship to hold steady the course. Students need to be rewarded for showing good judgment, for making sincere efforts, for caring for others. Taking time to recognize these behaviors will allow students to discover the many faces of success.

The condition of Fun & Excitement is about inspiring students to achieve their best. It is present in students who are eager to learn, who are engaged in their work and emotionally involved in their learning. Catholicism is full of fun and excitement. We have the marvel and mystery of midnight Mass and the incredible story of God being born in a barn, the death defying drama of the Triduum—with its solemn smell of incense, its proclamation of the resurrection, and the excitement of welcoming the newly baptized into our community—the observance of Saints’ days, the Sacraments, and the daily celebration of God’s presence in the form of bread and wine. Each year, each day, as we celebrate the rich traditions of Catholicism, we become inspired through the stories of our faith and are drawn into something deeper. This spirit of joy in learning is what motivates students to seek new opportunities, take on exciting challenges, and be open to endless possibilities in their education.

The condition of Curiosity and Creativity is about inquisitiveness, eagerness, and a strong desire to discover and learn new things. Curiosity triggers students to ask “Why?” while Creativity gives them the opportunity to ask “Why not?” Humans were created with great capacity to wonder and explore the complexity of God’s creation. Prayer itself is an exercise in curiosity and creativity. Seeking direction, support, inspiration, we turn to God with our most profound questions of why and why not. Thomas Aquinas believed that by raising questions and uncovering the deeper layers of the mysteries of our faith we draw closer to God. We must work to create classroom environments that promote endless questioning and creative exploration in order to sustain student enthusiasm for learning.

The Spirit of Adventure is characterized by a student’s ability to take on positive, healthy challenges at school and home, with family and friends. Students experience the Spirit of Adventure when they tackle something new or express new beliefs without fear of failure or success. The apostles of Jesus set a wonderful example of this condition. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they embarked on the adventure of building the Church. That adventure continues today in our own lives. We understand our faith as a journey, and taking steps in our faith requires courage and openness to what awaits us, as we grow closer to God. With faith in God and the companionship of family, friends, and mentors fear cannot paralyze us. Young people need such encouragement and support to choose apt and novel roads in their learning. Students with a Spirit of Adventure see life as full of opportunities worth exploring for their own sake.

The condition of Leadership & Responsibility means students are able to express their ideas and are willing to accept consequences for their actions. Students, encouraged to make decisions, are then held accountable for their words and deeds. Catholicism teaches that each person is a moral agent and in turn we are the authors of our own lives. This responsibility not only holds us responsible to the feelings and needs of others, but also is the criteria for deciding how to act. Fostering leadership empowers students to make just and appropriate decisions and to take pride in their actions. Catholic schools that instill the condition of Leadership & Responsibility are open to students’ opinions and ideas and take student input seriously. Opportunities for leadership must be available at all levels of school life in all grades. When students are trusted to make the right decisions they become healthy leaders.

Confidence to Take Action is about students believing in themselves. When this condition is in place, students are encouraged to dream about their future while being motivated to set goals in the present. Students who have the confidence to act look inwardly rather than outwardly for approval. All of the other conditions have this condition as their goal, their purpose. As Catholics, we are invited to do, to act, and to serve others as challenged by the Gospel. Courage and confidence to be agents of social justice flow from our relationship with God in Jesus. Jesus’ most frequent invitation to his followers was “Do not be afraid.” Catholic schools that provide students with the Confidence to Take Action create responsible citizens of the Church and society. Through the opportunities to make decisions, act on those decisions, experience the consequences of their actions, and reflect back on their entire experience, students will come to know that they can make a difference in the world.