Dear Trinity Families and Friends,
We are blessed to be involved in the process of the formation of your children.
Today’s world is information obsessed. We are flooded with information from friends, media and other outside sources, and we form a belief based on those communications. However, when new information comes our way, we assimilate it, and that becomes a new experience. Contemplation of the word “information” leads us to explore the root: formation.
for·ma·tion/fôrˈmāSH(ə)n
noun: the action of forming or process of being formed.
Formation takes time. Formation happens in readings and discovery, in placing our children in a setting where they gather information, discover and form ideas based on what they believe from prior knowledge and making mistakes. Formation is understanding, empathy, and taking complete ownership of something. Formation is cultivated over time. It is particularly drawn-out for young children whose world tends to be self-centered and controlled by developmental factors.
As instruments in the formation of your child, we must consider that formation occurs best in an environment of understanding. To understand another person, we must temporarily set aside our wants and needs. When we come to understand another person, it does not necessarily mean we agree with their mindset, but we must be willing to accept that they may hold views and opinions very different from our own. We grow up in different environments, with different influences and experiences that shape and form our opinions and view of life. We cannot know someone until we first try to understand the world from which they are coming. To that end, the world we grew up in is very different from the one which our children are experiencing. Parenting does not come with a manual, but one thing has guided me well: by not focusing upon my world and instead seeking to understand the other person’s perspective, I believe I become a better listener, a much better parent, and ultimately better able to be a positive impact of formation.
“Good Judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment “ Rita Me Brown.
With warm regards,
Mark Ravelli / Head of School
Trinity Episcopal School
720 Tremont Street Galveston, TX 77550