What Does It Mean to Educate the Whole Person?

In high school, my father and I decided to restore a 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle. First, we improved its appearance by removing the rust and adding other features that gave it a muscle-car feel. We added air shocks to lift the back end. We added chrome rims with racing slick tires along with glass pack mufflers that gave the car a low growl.

 

Next, we focused on engine performance. We replaced the stock two-barrel carburetor with a Holley four-barrel carburetor for more horsepower. Under normal performance, the first two barrels, or primaries, power the car.

 

The magic of a four-barrel carburetor is the other two barrels, or secondaries. When you need high acceleration or power, they open and deliver more to the engine. The mechanical roar of the engine as it delivers the extra gas/air mix is a beautiful thing.

 

Well, the first two barrels – the primaries – worked just fine on my car. But the other two barrels, or secondaries, would not open properly. We spent weeks trying to figure out how the engine could access that extra horsepower, but we never could. Though my car looked fast, it underachieved and never reached its full capacity.

 

At Malden Catholic, we educate the whole person so every student can reach their full potential. We believe every student has been created with God’s unique gifts, and they will only reach their full potential in an environment that is designed to allow the whole person to perform.

 

“The Spirit is calling us, as Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools, to implement challenging academic and co-curricular programs that promote the development of the whole person” (Partners in Mission, p. 18).

 

As we strive to educate the whole person, we look to challenge them in the following areas:

The question that Malden Catholic Education asks is not “What does a student need to know?’ but “Who is this young person coming, and how do we nurture the gifts and talents they have been given to prepare them for a life of purpose? “We prepare students not just for college, but for life.

 

I sold my underperforming 1972 Chevelle when I went to college. I graduated, got my first teaching job, married, and began raising a family. During this time, I visited my father regularly, though we never spoke of the car again until years later.

 

One day, out of the blue while we were visiting, he said, “I finally figured out why that carburetor didn’t work. We didn’t have the right secondary spring installed.”

 

He handed me the spring kit that had been in his garage from all those years ago. I opened it and out fell several springs that had never been touched.

 

“Dad, don’t you think it is a little late to figure this out? It was like twenty years ago.”

 

He laughed and said, “Keep those springs; you never know.”

 

Those springs symbolize untapped potential. They remind me of a car that looked like it had it all together but underperformed. Educating the whole person ensures this scenario does not happen to our students.

 

I have said many times that when an excellent education is combined with a community of faith that educates the whole person, a young person’s full potential is released, and it is a beautiful thing.

 

I appreciate your support as we endeavor to educate the whole person,