An Update from Kevin Hamilton, Upper School Dean
Our words and actions are shaping our childrenβeven when we can't see it.
As parents and teachers, we sometimes wonder how much our words and actions influence our children, especially as they enter their teen years. Eye rolls and blank stares become more common, and it can feel as though our words go in one ear and out the other.
At Cathedral Oak Academy, our mission is to partner with parents to equip students to influence the culture for the glory of God. Our Portrait of a Graduate gives us a vision of who we hope our students will become as they mature and progress toward graduation.
But when we compare our students' current growth to that ideal, it can sometimes feel discouraging.
What if we paused to recognize the small but meaningful ways our students are growing in grace?
This first quarter has brought significant changes as we moved Upper School to a new campus and adjusted to the dynamics of two campuses. While change brings challenges, we have also seen encouraging signs of growth in our students.
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Recognizing Love in Everyday Life
During a recent classroom discussion, a teacher asked high school students to consider a statement about love, decide whether they agreed, and provide examples to support their opinions.
One after another, students shared ways they had experienced love from their parents through:
Discipline that guides them toward what is right.
Unwavering support through life's challenges.
Time and attention that communicate care and commitment.
Godly instruction that shapes their understanding of faith and life.
It was encouraging to hear students recognize these actions not simply as rules or expectations, but as expressions of sacrificial love.
Sometimes, the work parents do every day may not seem to make an immediate difference. Yet our students are noticing more than we realize.
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Learning to Think, Work Hard, and Grow
At the beginning of the school year, I spent time talking with our seniors about their final year at COA. I asked them to reflect on their favorite teachers and what made those teachers so meaningful to them.
Their answers revealed what they value in the people who have helped shape them:
Teachers who make them think: βShe really makes me think and go back and reflect on what I have read or heard.β
Teachers who genuinely care: βHe really cares about his students.β
Teachers who challenge them: βThat teacher makes me work hard, but they really teach their subject well.β
These reflections remind us that students are not simply looking for the easiest path. They recognize the value of teachers who challenge them, care for them, and help them grow.
Through these relationships, students are learning to reflect on what they read and hear, consider their actions, and mature in ways that help them become more Christlike.
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Growth Takes Time
Our students are not perfect, and they may never fully embody every aspect of our Portrait of a Graduate. But that does not mean formation is not happening.
At COA, students recite catechisms daily in class, reminding them of foundational truths:
Who God is.
Who they are.
How they are called to live in God's created world, full of truth, beauty, and goodness.
As parents sacrificially love their children and teachers faithfully instruct them, these truths are reinforced day after day.
Growth may not always be immediate or easy to see. But in the words of our students, in their reflections, and in the ways they recognize love and respond to meaningful challenges, we can see glimpses of the fruit of faithful formation.
Growing in Grace to the Glory of God
Formation is a partnership between home and school. Through loving discipline, faithful instruction, meaningful relationships, and daily reminders of God's truth, we help students mature in wisdom and character.
Our encouragement to parents and teachers is simple: don't overlook the small steps. Take time to notice where your children are growing, where they are beginning to understand, and how they are responding to the truths they are being taught.
The work may take years, and the fruit may appear gradually. But as parents and teachers love and instruct our students, they continue to grow in grace to the glory of God.
