Guest Post- Passionate Pedagogy by Amber Thompson

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Cary Academy, in Cary, North Carolina to attend the Southeastern Brain Conference. I embraced my inner-nerd, the girl who would go to school forever if it were financially and logically feasible, and headed off to Cary. I listened to some incredible speakers, heavyweights if you will, in the world of creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking in our 21^st century educational system. Two days and 16 pages of notes later, my brain was overflowing with ideas and my heart was overflowing with passion to share this knowledge with fellow educators and parents alike.

The conference affirmed that we, at Shannon Forest Christian School, are on the right track. The paths and plans that we so prayerful forge for our students are gently guiding them down the right road, the road to a successful future. We constantly strive to provide our students with a comprehensive education that will equip them with the tools they need to live as critically thinking, creative members of society. While we do not want our students to be cynical, we want them to think critically and creatively, while asking questions and searching for answers. Questions are wonderful as they provide the opportunity to practice critical thinking. Our students should be allowed to ask questions and they deserve answers; however, sometimes it is important to allow those students to discover those answers on their own. Learning persistence is sometimes painful, perhaps not in the physical sense, but most definitely in the emotional sense. Failure is never pleasant, but it is necessary and inevitable. We must show our children that successes are so much more fulfilling when they are earned, often at the expense of our failure. History is littered with failures that eventually morphed into monumental successes.

Recently, my 4-year-old daughter and I were watching the 2012 running of the Ironman Triathlon, the grueling physical contest which includes 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full marathon. My daughter's attention was immediately riveted on the television. The athletes were amazing. Each has his or her own reason for completing the competition. Each had a specific training method. Each had his or her own mental battles to work through, physical and mental demons to fight. And yet they persisted. Whether they finished 1st or just minutes before the official cut off, they finished with smiles and cheers of victory. The competition was fierce but it was far outweighed by the encouragement and support of the fans and other athletes. In many ways, my daughter’s educational journey will be much like a triathlon- a long, strenuous battle with extreme highs and devastating lows. Persistence will be necessary for her. I so passionately want her to attain those necessary skills that will allow her to take her failures and work harder to achieve successes beyond her wildest dreams. She, along with every other student that walks the halls of Shannon Forest Christian School, will follow her own path, with her individual dreams, failures, and successes. And they all are gaining knowledge and skills daily that will in turn allow them to impact the world.

I am honored to work with our future leaders every day. I am thrilled to see their achievements and humbled by their failures. They will be doctors, nurses, educators, businessmen, politicians, attorneys, social workers, architects, graphic designers, and so much more. Please join me in equipping our students with the proper tools- tools to allow them to think creatively and collaboratively, tools to help them think critically and thoughtfully, tools to help them ask questions and discover answers, tools to help them embrace their failures with grace instead of shame, tools to help them change the world.

Amber Thompson is Shannon Forest's Registrar and College Counselor. She joined the SFCS team almost a decade ago as a middle school teacher. After the birth of her daughter (Kaya is currently in the K4 Program at SFCS), she moved into the School Support/Guidance Department. Amber's husband, David, currently serves as the Athletic Director at SFCS.