The Shadow

I had a shadow in my seventh period Gospels class this afternoon. If you aren't familiar with the term in a school setting, it refers to a potential student who spends a day with a current student, following their schedule in determining if the new school might be a good fit academically, socially, and in our case, spiritually. The young man was shadowing Caleb, one of our terrific juniors. He goes to a very reputable private school in the Houston area and I was impressed with his handshake and his personality. In class, he even took our quiz for the day, Luke 13:18-35, and made a 93%, higher than the class average today of 91.5%! I engaged him in the class discussion about the Pharisees and what they had in common with some basketball referees; being more concerned with untucked jerseys than game management issues like traveling, three seconds, and fouls. The young man seemed to have a great experience today at WCS and I hope he enrolls. Every school, both public and private, wants good students who want to be there. My guess is our shadow would be in high demand in any number of schools in this part of Texas.

There's a reason the shadow was assigned to Caleb. Our admissions office needs to pair our visitors with our own kids who are friendly, academically successful, and who will make the case for Westbury Christian simply by being themselves. That defines Caleb.  A number of years ago, I spoke to our policy makers about one of our students who I regarded a poor choice to be followed for a day. The student, one of my all-time favorites, was not at all serious about school work which I thought was detrimental to the purpose of the program. That's not saying schools don't need all types of kids or that we want to be a cookie cutter kind of place but we need to put our best foot forward with our own students who love being our own students. In Titus 2, Paul advises his protege to teach Christians who were slaves how to behave in the presence of their masters so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. Undoubtedly the same applies to us today, even though we are not in bondage. The world should see in us a manner of life that is appealing and inviting in a society that is chaotic and frustrating. That's the same reason Calebs are so important to us. He and those who serve in the same capacity are our spokesmen to other youngsters we hope will come and share the blessings of a Christian education with us. Next Monday, Caleb is assigned another shadow for the day. This afternoon, I told Caleb's mom, one of our wonderful teachers, that if these kids end up as Wildcats, she and her husband should get a tuition break for their son! But the bigger benefit is bringing in young men and women who will get to hear the word of God from our faculty and staff... and our student body, like Caleb and his sister Rebecca before him. Without a doubt, they have cast a long shadow.

Applicable quote of the day:
The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.
Oswald Chambers

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.haweybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com