Practical Paideia

by Lindsey Ralls

Many schools have a Portrait of a Graduate, (though sometimes it’s referred to as a “Profile of a Graduate” ): a document that outlines what the school hopes to cultivate in their students by the time they graduate.

The challenge, of course, is that much like a strategic plan, a Portrait of a Graduate can easily be created and then quietly forgotten. It exists, it may appear in marketing materials, and it might even be referenced from time to time, but it is often neglected when it comes to the actual day to day activities of the school.

There are plenty of ways to keep that from happening, but I wanted to highlight just one: what I call The Principal’s Challenge.

The Principal’s Challenge is an optional summer challenge for our students that is intentionally aligned with our Portrait of a Graduate. Students choose one activity from each category to complete before the start of the next school year. Not every student participates, but around 30% do, and it is always encouraging to see them stretch themselves in ways they otherwise might not.

It also reinforces the important truth that learning can be joyful, and it doesn’t stop when students leave the classroom for the summer. If you’re interested in creating a challenge like this, here are some things to keep in mind:

• It’s can all just be books. While I love a good book as much as the next person (possibly more), be intentional about incorporating activities beyond just reading good books.
• Try to include one or two activities that requires them to do it with other people. The idea here is that they are challenging themselves alongside others. Building relationships…maybe even with peers they otherwise might not have considered.
• Include activities that gets them out into the community. If we truly believe in what we’re doing as classical Christian educators, then we need to share it with the community. It can be tempting to remain in our bubble, but that’s not what we’re called to do.

If you have questions about the challenge itself or about how we use our Portrait of a Graduate more broadly, I’d be glad to talk about either.