I begin some of my presentations with a line that alludes to the classic closing lines of Sesame Street: “This presentation is brought to you by the numbers 3, 4 and 5, and by the letter, ‘Y’.”<\/p>\n
Why Y?\u00a0 Because it’s the most important question to ask, and the Y has three “arms.”\u00a0 It’s a graphic representation to convey the concept that any successful system begins with three elements.<\/p>\n
Remember, there are three sides to every argument, the triangle is the most stable\u00a0polygonal shape\u00a0there is, and, as Scripture states, “A three-ply cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).\u00a0 For Catholic and Christian schools, the Holy Trinity reinforces this concept.<\/p>\n
But 3, 4, and 5 are also important since they play a huge role in systems thinking. Most people can only hold three items in mind at the same time, and a few can hold four.\u00a0 The difficulty is that a system is fully recognized only when the fifth element can be discovered.\u00a0 The fourth element is usually related to the first three obvious ones, but the discovery of the fifth element makes the system complete.<\/p>\n
Today, we look at the fourth element, since the three obvious ones characterize your school as a ministry, a business and a school.\u00a0 This one categorizes your school as a learning organization…which is more than just a school.<\/p>\n
Remember, too, that your teachers are the most unique characteristic about your school, and because of this, your teachers are the most remarkable<\/em> quality of your school!\u00a0 No other school has your teaching staff.\u00a0 It is this unique combination of individuals that truly makes your school the remarkable place for education that it is!<\/p>\n It could seem obvious that your school can be called a learning organization since it is where learning takes place.\u00a0 But your school’s student body is not the only population that learns at your school.\u00a0 The parents of those students learn there, especially when something new is foisted upon the school by governmental or governance changes, or when the school institutes a new policy that must be adhered to by every family.\u00a0 Parents also learn when their kids come home from school and ask them for help with their homework.<\/p>\n Your community also learns from your school.\u00a0 You may hold computer classes for parents so that they become more computer literate, or open your computer lab to them so that they can apply for financial aid or sign up for a payment plan.\u00a0 The school can also be the gathering place where performances can be experienced in the auditorium, where the community gathers for Mass or Thanksgiving events and worship services, or where alumni come back to relive the basketball rivalry that has existed for decades between your school and the Knights from the school on the other side of the county.<\/p>\n In the case of a Catholic school, the parish or parishes that sponsor and support the school also learn that if the school closes, it may be the first step to consolidation or closure of the parish.\u00a0 If there’s no young life coming through the parish which is educated and nurtured in the school, then, as the population of the parish ages, there may be some shrink if families with young children are not moving into the area.<\/p>\n Even if they are, they may not join the parish because it doesn’t have a Catholic school where their kids can attend.<\/p>\n Sure, a parish may have a religious education program, but even in this era of consolidations and cooperation, there are parishes with several worship sites, and there’s usually one site where religious education takes place.\u00a0 Today’s young parents are all about convenience, and, if the site is not “convenient,” it will be a challenge to attract them to this site, while the other worship sites will be at risk for closure.\u00a0 One of these situations just happened in the East Hills of Pittsburgh.\u00a0 A grouping of 8 parishes are now being served by one location.\u00a0 While that sounds significant, one of those parishes that’s closing was a previous consolidation of 6 parishes.\u00a0 Further, two other parishes merged into one, then that one was merged into the 6 parish consolidation.\u00a0 That’s 14 parishes and worship sites that are now completely closed due to demographic shifts, economic hardships, and a declining number of priests.\u00a0 How many Catholic schools were part of that merger?\u00a0 All the parishes that had schools had already closed.<\/p>\n By touching all these constituent groups, the organization itself learns, giving an additional meaning to the term, “learning organization.”\u00a0 As it fosters life-long learning, the learning organization grows.\u00a0 To learn is to change, and to change is to grow.<\/p>\n TEACH describes “who” your school is.\u00a0 Because it is a learning organization, however, some have suggested that LEARN be the acronym used.\u00a0 As every teacher knows, it is through teachable<\/em> moments that learning takes place.\u00a0 Additionally, teaching can happen all the time.\u00a0 Learning only occurs when the mind is open and prepared to learn.<\/p>\n TEACH stands for:<\/p>\n Train – Athletes train so that their bodies and be ready for the matches they will participate in.\u00a0 Scripture says to “Train up a child in the way they will go.”\u00a0 Training requires discipline, which is why life-long learners are disciples.\u00a0 Every day, the life-long learner is exposed to new circumstances, new ideas and new people who will have a lasting impact on their current mindset.<\/p>\n Enrich – Whereas training introduces the new material and reinforces the learning, enrichment builds upon that foundational layer, taking it to the next level of expertise or ability.<\/p>\n Affirm –\u00a0Excellent instructors always affirm the learning by giving praise and building esteem in the learner.<\/p>\n Challenge – While enrichment describes\u00a0the forward movement of the learner, excellent instructors push for “stretch learning,” pushing the student beyond their comfort zone, and encouraging them to go for the next milestone.\u00a0 Jesus teaches His disciples this principle at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, when he tells them, “If someone presses you into service for one mile, go with him two.”\u00a0 It’s a challenge to their current way of thinking, leading them to, as St. Paul puts it, “a more excellent way.”<\/p>\n Help – In the words of those other 4 “evangelists,” John, Paul, George and Ringo, the first lines of the song “Help” are very important: “Help!\u00a0 I need somebody.\u00a0 Help!\u00a0 Not just anybody.”\u00a0 Let’s repeat that: Not just anybody.\u00a0 In all four of the above elements, sometimes the learner needs a bit of help from an expert.\u00a0 The trainer may “spot” the person doing the exercising so they don’t hurt themselves.\u00a0 Sometimes the golfer doesn’t realize it’s simply their grip that needs a slight adjustment.\u00a0 The student who’s struggling with multiplication can be shown how to learn the 9s table by using their fingers.\u00a0 Even those who are able to be train themselves, enrich their current base of knowledge, offer self-affirmation and push themselves every now and then will give it a try with a little help from their friends.<\/p>\n In fact, that’s what this site is all about!<\/p>\n Next time: System number 5, which describes the vision that must be set forth for your school, since advancement requires awareness of where your learning institution is going.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Michael V. Ziemski, STAFF Advancement, 2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I begin some of my presentations with a line that alludes to the classic closing lines of Sesame Street: “This presentation is brought to you by the numbers 3, 4 and 5, and by the letter, ‘Y’.” Why Y?\u00a0 Because it’s the most important question to ask, and the Y has three “arms.”\u00a0 It’s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-staff-system"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3584,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions\/3584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffadvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}