Controversy: A Way of Life for the School Leader

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

March 18, 2018

Sometimes we create controversy. Sometimes it finds us. Such was the case with the national call for school walkouts for school safety and gun control.

Everyone is for school safety. The controversy lies in the call for gun control and in the political groups behind the school walkout movement. Some parents and staff support more gun control; others do not. Most Christian school leaders do not wish to support many of the political groups behind such calls, nor do we want our students manipulated or class time lost. At the same time, we do want to take advantage of every teachable moment, give our students an opportunity to express themselves appropriately, and ensure that our worldview teaching is practical, timely, and relevant.

What could we do? We could take the stance that our students would not participate and that those who did would face school discipline. We could ignore it and see what happened — a bad idea. We could embrace the walkout and encourage students and staff to participate, as many public and private schools chose to do.

Each school will need to determine what approach fits its mission, values, culture, community, and context. As you consider your approach — and as you navigate the inevitable controversy — perhaps the communication we sent to our parents outlining our goals and response will be helpful.

Dear Parents,

I am writing to update you on our response to the tragic school shooting in Florida and the call for a National Walkout. As I indicated in my previous communication, my Senior Administrative Team and others took the time to prayerfully, thoughtfully, and thoroughly consider how, as a Christian school, we should respond. I also solicited the wise and godly counsel of our school board. As we considered the appropriate response, we had several goals:

• Honor Christ in our response.
• Respond in a biblically informed manner.
• Respond consistently with the school’s educational mission and values.
• Demonstrate our vital partnership with parents.
• Help our students develop a biblical perspective on how to appropriately process issues of this magnitude with Christlike love and empathy, and to grow in their understanding of what it means to be a Christian citizen who engages appropriately in civic life.
• Protect academic time while giving students opportunities to express themselves in a manner consistent with the We CARE model.¹

Accordingly, we developed a three-part response.

A Special Time for Voluntary Prayer

Upper School Prayer Time

Following chapel, a senior student addressed the Upper School and invited those who wished to gather for a time of silence, vigil, and prayer. This time was not about politics — it was a plea to God for help in ending school violence. She memorialized each victim in Florida and concluded the vigil with a short prayer. The theme was loss, mourning, and empathy for the victims of this and other school shootings. Students who did not wish to participate were directed to their grade-level commons.

Middle School Prayer Time

Students had a few minutes to transition to the courtyard. Once gathered, a teacher led a time of prayer focused on empathy and on the families and communities affected. Students who did not wish to participate were directed to their grade-level commons with teacher supervision.

A Voluntary Educational and Discussion Forum

The goal of this voluntary forum was to help students better understand the complexity of the issues surrounding school violence from a biblical perspective, and to understand how, using the We CARE model, students could communicate effectively, listen actively, respect differences, and enable resolution. Students who did not wish to participate were directed to their grade-level commons with teacher supervision, or arrived late that day. Specific questions were directed to the student’s principal.

Prior to the discussion, the moderator reviewed the We CARE model and shared the community norms for addressing controversial issues. He presented statistics from national polls on Americans’ views of the causes of school shootings.

A faculty panelist read the Second Amendment, explained why it is part of the Bill of Rights, and described how different sides of the gun control debate interpret it today. This was a fair and balanced presentation.

Our Director of Guidance and Counseling discussed the characteristics of various school shooters to broaden understanding of the relevant facts. He then focused on our community’s ability to support struggling students and emphasized the importance of making counselors, administrators, and teachers aware of any concerns. He also addressed the mental health dimensions of these situations.

Response to the National Call for a Walkout

A nationwide school walkout was called to protest school shootings, with some participants encouraged to appeal to state officials for changes in gun laws.

This event was neither affiliated with nor endorsed by our school. Recognizing that some parents wished their child to participate and others did not, we followed all existing policies governing excused and unexcused absences. Students who wished to participate were required to have parental permission, submitted in advance. This was treated as an excused absence, and all related school policies applied. Students who left campus without parental permission received an unexcused absence, and all related policies applied accordingly.

We believe this three-part approach met our stated goals: honoring Christ and responding in a biblically informed manner; maintaining consistency with the school’s educational mission and values; demonstrating our partnership with parents; helping our students develop a biblical perspective on processing difficult issues with Christlike love and empathy; helping our students grow in their understanding of Christian citizenship and civic engagement; and protecting academic time while giving students appropriate opportunities for expression consistent with the We CARE model.

If you have specific questions, please contact your child’s principal.

I wish to thank my team and members of the school board for their wise counsel in helping to craft our response. We are blessed by such capable, godly leaders.

I invite you to pray with us that God will honor this process and cause much good to come from it.