Dear Village Family,
Choice is the fulcrum of our life. Daily, we make hundreds of choices from the mundane, which shoes to wear, to the eternal, choose you this day who you will serve.
Since Eden, judgment has served as a central figure in spiritual and ethical approaches to life. How do we make good choices? Within psychology, a debate has raged for the last fifty years on whether judgment is a skill that can be improved, like algebra. Or if judgment is a perception that can't be improved, like seeing the color green. Carey Morewedge's research at Boston University's Questrom School of Business suggests there's a lot of skill…if judgment is a skill, then learning how to do it better is good for people and good for the world.
For us as a learning community, growing the skill of creating better choices is woven into our ethos. In the CREATION acronym, the C stands for Choice and how living a life for God empowers us to make healthy choices for Him. Choice is also a fundamental aspect of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and a central tenant of agency along with voice and ownership. Within our Village agency empowers students, fostering a sense of autonomy, curiosity, and responsibility in their learning journey while moving our young learners to take action for good in their community and world.
Dr. King's sermon, On Being a Good Neighbor, starts with a powerful narrative of what it means to be a good person. I should like to talk with you about a good man whose exemplary life will always be a flashing light to plague the dozing conscience of mankind. His goodness was not found in a passive commitment to a particular creed, but in his active participation in a life saving deed; not in a moral pilgrimage that reached its destination point, but in the love ethic by which he journeyed life's highway. He was good because he was a good neighbor.
Choice then is goodness in action, the livability of the Christ-led life, Matthew 25 in summation.
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.
So today, how will we be a good neighbor? What choices can we make to reach beyond ourselves to help those in need?
If you are looking for ways, let me offer you a choice. Join our learning community in supporting the students in Kalapata, Kenya, through our partnership with World Vision. Our goal is to reach out and walk beside 150 students in Kalapata. As a school, we are journeying this next year with 16 students, one chosen for each classroom to learn and grow together. Now, 134 God-made lives are waiting to be your neighbor; learn more and prepare for our Chosen event launching on Monday, January 22nd.
