July 2022

by Emily

Phew! What a busy time it has been! June and July were packed full of exciting events in both the primary and secondary schools and culminated with the completion of Term 2 (of 3) of the 2022 academic year. As we round the final bend for this school year, we have had to say goodbye to several friends and colleagues who are moving on to other countries or other career endeavors, including the now former Head of Primary, a beloved music teacher, and a wonderful teaching assistant who was in Kyler’s class last year and Eden’s class this year. While it is always sad to say goodbye, we are grateful for each person we have come to know here and the time that we have shared with them.

One of the highlights of the past month was watching our children perform during their music evenings. Ezra’s class performed on June 29, and Eden and Kyler’s classes performed on July 27. For the music evenings, each grade performed several songs that they had learned in music class throughout the term, and it was a joy to see their joy in making music. One of the songs performed by Ezra’s class was “Good Job” by Alicia Keys, a beautiful song written for the frontline workers during the COVID pandemic. Ezra was fortunate enough to have a small solo part during this song, and we are constantly amazed at her bravery and confidence as she grows in her love of singing. Kyler’s class performed several songs including “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars and the classic “I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy.” As a result, we can often hear him in the shower or from his room upstairs belting out with wild abandon, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, WHERE?!, down in my heart, WHERE?!” Although he doesn’t share his older sister’s focus and dedication when it comes to singing, he loves music and luckily has not yet learned to be shy about singing as loudly as he can. Eden, on the other hand, remains the most reserved of the three, and nervously stood halfway behind her classmates during much of her class’s performance. Nonetheless, she smiled when we clapped and gave her thumbs up at the end, so I think she enjoyed herself, and I am glad that she had to opportunity to feel proud of herself for even standing on the stage.

Another highlight of this term was Sports Day! Sports day is much like what we might call field day in the US, but it is focused on track and field events, which here they call athletics. The secondary school had their sports day on July 8 followed by the primary school sports day on July 22. Both sports days were held at a local stadium, which meant transporting students, teachers, and equipment to and from the stadium on these days, which was no small task!

To encourage community and comradery, students at Lighthouse are assigned to one of three houses upon admission. The names of the houses—Fidem, Spero, and Amare—come from 1 Corinthians 13:13 and translate to faith, hope, and love. For sports day, students were encouraged to dress in their house colors (red, blue, or yellow) and earned points for their houses by winning or participating in various events. This friendly competition added an extra element of excitement as students created their own banners, cheers, and flags to support their teams. The secondary students were particularly enthusiastic about representing their houses and showed their enthusiasm with body paint, matching t-shirts, and accessories. In the end, Spero (our house) won the day for the secondary sports day, while Amare won for the primary sports day. Even with this focus on house spirit, individual students were still recognized and cheered for their performance in their respective age and gender divisions. Our own children finished well in several events, including Ezra getting 1^st in the 80 meter, 2^nd in javelin, and 2^nd in long jump; Kyler getting 3^rd in the 60 meter, 3^rd in 200 meter, and 1^st in shotput; and Eden getting 1^st in the 200 meter and 1^st in long jump. For any of you who missed the sports day videos posted on Facebook, click on the links and photos below to have a look!

Lighthouse Primary Sports Day – click to view video

Lighthouse Secondary Sports Day – click to view video

The event this term that was the most exciting—and labor-intensive—for me was Mental Health Awareness Day on July22…which I stretched a bit into Mental Health Awareness Week.  Some months back, I suggested that we do something with the secondary students to recognize World Mental Health Day in October. However, because the upper secondary students (grades 11-13) will no longer be on campus in October due to exams, we decided to have our own mental health day in July. The goals for Mental Health Awareness Day were to educate students about mental health, to promote the importance of caring for one’s mental health, and to reduce the stigma often associated with mental health concerns. The last goal was particularly important because as I have continued working with students here, it has become increasingly apparent that there is a huge cultural stigma in Mauritius around mental health, and even acknowledging any type of mental or emotional difficulty is avoided.  Although the bulk of the activities for Mental Health Awareness Day happened on Friday, homeroom lessons throughout the week were geared toward discussing and educating students about mental health, and during the mid-week assembly a special colleague shared her own story. There was also a fun house challenge during assembly to “stomp out” stigma. The week also included an art contest and a poetry slam competition in which students were encouraged to demonstrate the week’s theme of “Express Yourself.” The poetry slam competition was preceded by a poetry slam workshop presented by the Mauritian poetry slam champion, Lafleur Malade.

On the actual Mental Health Awareness Day, we set up various stations for students to learn more about and reflect on their own mental health in fun and creative ways. This is what took the bulk of the planning and preparation, but thankfully I have wonderful colleagues who helped organize everything so that it could all run smoothly. Even still, in the evenings leading up to Mental Health Awareness Day, I was washing rocks, partitioning 25kg (55 lbs) of rice, sorting balloons, counting chalk, and cutting paper leaves—among other things, to ensure that we had everything we needed and were properly organized to make this event a success for roughly 200 secondary students. In the end, I think fun was had by all, and I got reports from group leaders and colleagues about important questions and thought-provoking discussions that would not have happened without creating the space and opportunity for these conversations to occur. The day ended with displays of the artwork that students had created as well as the poetry slam finals. It was awesome to see so many students engaged and cheering each other on as the poets shared their personal thoughts and feelings.

Aside from the encouragement of seeing students openly engaging in discussions about mental health, the week also brought to light a number of challenges that students are facing. As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, we gave students a mental health questionnaire to screen for various types of mental health concerns and to provide the option of reaching out for support. There were a number of students who were identified as having serious thoughts or actions related to suicide and others who identified struggling daily with feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, overwhelm, or depression. Some students included comments such as, “I feel like I’m suffocating,” “It’s hard to accept myself,” “My family doesn’t like me,” or “I don’t know what to do.” Many of these students explicitly asked for help, and I have begun—with the help of the other school counselor, to sort through these responses and make sure that we reach out to every one of these students. We have also begun and will continue to make contact with students who expressed high levels of distress to offer further support. The idea of following up individually with each student in need can feel daunting. But the good news is that we have already connected with many of them, and I believe that it’s worth doing everything we can to ensure that students know that they are seen, heard, and loved just the way they are and to offer help and hope wherever possible.

It’s been a good couple of months. Nonetheless, we are grateful to have a few weeks off now to enjoy a bit of respite and renewal before heading back in for our final term. We hope that you all are also able to find rest and renewal for your body, mind, and soul.

Other news:

In other news, we also celebrated Kyler’s 7^th birthday in July. He had an iron man cake, his favorite foods, a new snorkel mask, and lots of lego time!

With peace, love, and gratitude from Mauritius…

May 2022

In this blog post, we decided to explore the children’s views on our lives in Mauritius by asking them a series of questions. As you will read, their responses are deep and insightful and will definitely let you know that life on a far away tropical island is, well, completely normal and uninspiring. (Lol!)

Question 1: What do you like about school?

Eden: That I have friends. That I have teachers to learn.

Kyler: There’s a doggie, and I like petting Caramel and playing with friends. [Note: Caramel is a dog that hangs around school. No idea who she belongs to, but the kids have named her Caramel and pet her every day. She is also fat from all the food scraps.]

Ezra: I like that there are lots of friends to play with. The teachers are nice. There’s a giant jungle gym. The food is good.

Question 2: What is the best part of Lighthouse School?

Eden: Fantastic Friday! On Fantastic Friday we play on the playground, and sometimes we do stuff different like go on a treasure hunt like we did for pirate day.

Kyler: Going to Daddy’s classroom and playing football [aka-soccer]. I like having daddy’s classroom where I go to school.

Ezra: Art, music, playtime, and numeracy, literacy, and IPC, and friends. [Note: Numeracy is math, Literacy is reading and writing, and IPC is a combination of history, geography, and science. So basically all the subjects.]

[Note: Eden and Kyler’s classes have both been learning about islands and compass directions, so the teachers arranged a treasure hunt on campus. They got to dress like pirates and use maps to find a hidden treasure!]

Question 3: What are you learning this year?

Eden: About islands. I learned about pirates and that some pirates are bad and steal stuff. I learned to write with full stops [aka-periods] and finger spaces, and I know how to draw in the lines. I learned how to read.

Kyler: About “ie” words like lie and spies. I forget what else.

Ezra: Myths and legends, measurement and reading a 24-hour clock, multiplication, map and coordinates, about lines in art, and preparing to sing for a music evening in music class.

Question 4: What would you tell someone who was coming to Lighthouse for the first time?

Eden: It’s fun.

Kyler: The playground is up high, and I would show them.

Ezra: That it is a nice school, and it’s a Christian school

Question 5: What is your favorite thing to do outside of school?

Eden: Play games and video game, watch movies with popcorn, go to the beach, play with friends, riding scooters.

Kyler: Go to the Casela, go ride cars and scooters, play with the puppies at home, go to the beach, go to other people’s houses, watch Sonic the movie. [Note: Casela is a nature/safari park, and riding cars means little electric cars that you can rent for children to drive at a local mall.]

Ezra: Casela, gymnastics, McDonalds, the cinema, the beach, having play dates

Question 6: What is the strangest thing about Mauritius?

Eden: It’s so tiny.

Kyler: When we went to a hike we saw race cars. That was weird. The seven colored earth.

Ezra: That you can rarely see cats, and that there are a lot of stray dogs. Tiny roads.

[Note: When we went out for a recent hike, we stumbled across a bunch of race cars and drivers parked by the hiking site. We had no idea what was going on, but turns out we stumbled upon the Mauritius Motor Racing Club’s championship race at La Pipe. We didn’t actually get to see the race, but when we left, they had to let us out of the police barricade that separated the cars/drivers from the public access. We came before the barricade was up with no clue. The seven colored earth is a tourist attraction that Kyler has only seen in photos…so…I guess that’s strange too?]

Question 7: What is the thing you like most about living in Mauritius?

Eden: That we have upstairs and downstairs [in our house].

Kyler: We get to go to Casela, and we see Ms. Sunitha and Ms. Opaline [his teachers]. And we get to learn about kindness.

Ezra: Dogs. McDonalds. That there’s a nice school called Lighthouse.

Question 8: Is there anything you miss about the US?

Eden: Yes. All my toys and that I miss Pepper and Mr. Kitty [our pets]. I miss the top bunk.

Kyler: Yes, my friends. Our house and our neighbors. Going to the zoo.

Ezra: Lunchables, school, friends. Cheerios that don’t taste horrible.

Question 9: What is your favorite thing about Mauritius?

Eden: That we have parents that let us go to school to learn. I am thankful I have parents because some other people don’t.

Kyler: Going to school

Ezra: Beaches, friends, birthday parties with friends, and having puppies

Question 10: What is your favorite Mauritian food?

Eden: Samoussas

Kyler: Samoussas

Ezra: Not-spicy roti and samoussas, and mine frite too!

Question 11: What do you think is different about Mauritius than the US?

Eden: That there’s not Carowinds.

Kyler: It’s a smaller place, and it has tiny roads.

Ezra: They don’t have a lot of toy stores, and they have different foods.

Question 12: Anything else that you would like people to know?

Eden: I like that there are a bunch of dogs because some are friendly and we make friends with them.

Kyler: I like eating pizza and mac and cheese and spaghetti, and I like sleeping. Mommy and Daddy are the best parents ever.

Ezra: You should come to Mauritius!

And there you have it folks! The pensive reflections of our children. Notice that even in asking about what is strange or different about living in Mauritius, no one mentioned different languages, odd-looking Hindu idols, friends from all over the world, different clothing and cultures, being surrounded by an ocean, or even the eternal summer weather. To them, this is all just part of everyday life. We hope some of these responses brought a smile to your face, just like they did ours!

Other news and updates…

The government recently starting offering the Pfizer covid vaccine for children ages 5-11. As such, our children were all able to get their first does of the vaccine and are due for a second dose in July.

A few weeks before our last term break in April, someone dumped a pair puppies at the school. They were receiving minimal feeding and care, but it was heartbreaking to see them so skinny and penned up (to keep them out of classrooms). We were concerned about what would happen to them over the four week school holiday, so we decided to take them home and foster them during the break. They needed medical treatment and proper feeding and grooming, but now they are doing much better! We hope to find a new permanent home for them soon.

Ezra recently had the opportunity to join Emily in singing at Community Baptist Church. She loves to sing and did a great job. We are so proud of her!

The home church that we attend at Mr. Ashley’s house is also growing and several people were baptized in the month of April. We also had a fun celebration of Easter with the home church on Lighthouse’s campus.

March 2022

By Emily

Next month will mark a year and a half since we arrived in Mauritius. So much has happened in the last year and half, but as always with the passage of time, it’s hard to believe it’s been that long and that we are almost halfway through our initial three-year commitment at Lighthouse. Last year at this time, things looked a lot different as we were in the beginning of what ended up being a three-month, nationwide lockdown. This year, we are on the verge of completing our first trimester of school, which has been fully in-person with the exception of the first two weeks. Although covid is still present and has led to rolling absences of both students and staff, all in all it has been both exciting and gratifying to have all of the students back on campus. The past few months have been full, but they have allowed us to learn, laugh, and grow in relationship with students and co-workers in a way that was not always possible during the 2021 school year.

Some of the most gratifying experiences for me have been seeing students smiling and enjoying each other’s company as they play together during free time or during any of the many school-sponsored events, such as a sports, clubs, camps, Pi day (in honor of March 14th…3.14), and National Day (in honor of Mauritius’s independence). By the end of any given school day, students are often covered in sweat, dirt, or mud from the various activities and excursions on and around campus. Don’t get me wrong, students complete academic learning as well. But this unique mix of academics and experiential learning contributes to making Lighthouse such an unusual place. Students learn not only how to succeed academically but also how to explore and engage relationally and physically with the people and the world around them.

I admit that on paper this sounds too good to be true. I will also admit that sometimes things don’t always live up to these ideals. That said, I can attest that when I talk with students one on one, again and again they say that they like Lighthouse because of all the fun activities. They also talk about liking the green campus with the space and opportunity to be outside. And for some, especially those who come from difficult home situations, they say that Lighthouse is a safe haven. They talk about being able to just relax and be happy with their friends in a way that they can’t be at home. They talk about feeling cared for and supported by individual staff members and peers in a way that they don’t always experience in their personal lives. They talk about how nice the teachers are.

As a counselor, I have spoken with many secondary students, and I can assure you that there are many students who are carrying heavy personal burdens. These burdens are the things they don’t talk about—the things you don’t see behind their smiles. Although I am generally good at drawing professional boundaries that allow me to sit with people who are hurting without becoming overwhelmed myself, sometimes I am still overcome by the magnitude of it all. A few weeks ago was one of those weeks. I found myself coming home mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted in the evenings, and in the mornings, I just prayed for the strength to hold whatever was shared with me that day. Despite it becoming overwhelming at times, I am grateful for the trust that these young people are willing to place in me as more and more of them have started to seek me out voluntarily for support. Within the past week, I had one young man admit that he hasn’t told anyone else about his struggles while another young man said that I was only the second person he had told. Often these same students avoid eye contact when they pass me on campus, but every now and then I catch a glance in my direction or a slight nod as I walk by. Other students have gotten more used to my presence on campus and openly greet me or smile and wave when they see me.

When I reflect back on where I was at the beginning of 2021—struggling to find purpose and not knowing what I was doing here, it is amazing to see how things have changed. As I have mentioned before, I think the confinement period last year was important because it reminded me to focus on our family and to assure that my own children were receiving the care that they needed as they adjusted to a new school in a new place. This year, I feel like the doors have been opened for me to focus on serving others by using my gifts and talents to care for those outside of my immediate family. And with this renewed sense of purpose has come renewed energy. Even during the times of overwhelm, I take rest in knowing that this work is bigger than myself. I take time to recharge and refocus knowing that the students who have come to trust in me count on me to be a safe and stable presence in their lives. This sense of purpose keeps me focused and determined to keep going and keep giving in whatever way I can.  

Who knows what the next few months or the next year will bring, but for today I am grateful just to be here and to have the opportunity to help students on their journeys. Before we came, we were asked during our TeachBeyond orientation to pick a verse or verses that had meaning for us related to our call to serve in this way. I chose Isaiah 61:1-3, with the most meaningful part for me being, “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted” (NIV). If nothing else happens here, I pray that I have been or will be able to bind up at least a few of the brokenhearted people I will encounter during our service. I know I won’t be able to help everyone, and I won’t get it right every time. Nevertheless, I press on, confident in my path and purpose, and thankful for every day and every opportunity to connect.

Other news and updates…

On February 7th, students finally had their first day of in-person schooling for 2022 after a cyclone delay. Our favorite students wore their uniforms proudly, including the youngest who was in uniform for the first time.

Also in February, we celebrated Eden’s 6th birthday! It is amazing to see her learning and growing into her own person, and we had fun celebrating her birthday with a unicorn cake, of course!

November 2021

By Emily

November 26^th was the last day of school for the 2021 academic year. This year consisted of 8 weeks of in-person learning, 14 weeks of online learning, and 14 weeks of hybrid learning. Class schedules changed five times throughout the year, meaning that (with a family of five) we juggled at least 25 different schedules over the past 11 months. Individually, I have been a parent, teacher, chauffeur, homemaker, counselor, friend, wife, and colleague, among other things. It has been a year like no other and has required an extreme amount of adaptability, resilience, and fortitude.

All of this has made me so thankful that we have spent the last year at Lighthouse. Through it all—COVID, confinement, staff changes, student concerns…everything—I have witnessed a community of individuals who never stopped giving and loving no matter the stress or challenges they were facing. This has been true of our children’s primary teachers who have loved and welcomed our children in such an amazing way that despite moving to a foreign country and starting a new school our children are thriving, happy, and LOVE school. This has been true of the secondary teachers who, despite having to constantly adapt and carry the burden of extra classes when coworkers were ill or in self-isolation due to COVID, stayed positive and kept going. This has been true of the administration who have had to navigate government directives that sometimes changed without warning while managing an enormous load of student and staff concerns. This has also been true of the students at Lighthouse who have continued to care for each other and approach each new day with excitement and perseverance despite the circumstances. Indeed, Lighthouse is a special place.

When we began this journey, our vision and mission was simple—to follow Jesus’ command to love one another (John 13:34) and to do that in a global context using the gifts and talents that God has given us. While I can’t speak to how well we have accomplished our goal—as the saying goes, “You’ll have to ask my neighbor”—I can say that I am grateful to be part of a community that seems to share the same vision and mission. Loving others is at the core of what Lighthouse is all about. From the way the staff interacts with students to the way that students (and staff) are encouraged to interact with each other, the goal is always to show love and to use our gifts to serve others both at the school and in the larger community.

This love has been especially evident to me as I have served on the student care team for the past several months. We have negotiated many difficult situations and student concerns, but the discussion always comes back to one question: how can we best serve this student? And even more so, how can we serve them in the most loving way with fairness and grace? I’ll be honest; this is not an easy question. And often we don’t all agree on the best course of action. But we listen to one another, offer different perspectives, and do our best to make the decision that will best serve each individual student.

My role in these decisions is often to meet with a student individually to assess for any mental, emotional, and personal challenges that may be getting in the way of their academic success. In a nutshell, my job is to get to know them and to advocate for them when needed. Sometimes these encounters lead to ongoing meetings to help support a student through whatever challenges they may be facing, and sometimes they are just one-time meetings. Out of roughly 190 secondary students, I met with 31 this year or roughly 16% of the student body. Most of those students (over 75%) were Mauritian. While that may not sound like much, I count it as a great success, especially given that I didn’t start until July and was only able to be on campus one or two days a week.

One of the joys of my role has been checking in with new students who often transfer from government schools and who tell me that Lighthouse is “amazing” and “the best school I’ve ever been to.” A student who was leaving Lighthouse also told me that “everything” about Lighthouse was good and that there were “too many” good things to name them all. To me, this is a testament to the loving community that Lighthouse is intentional about creating—an environment that these students do not experience in government schools. A similar sentiment was shared by a secondary teacher who left Lighthouse upon receiving a position at a government school only to ask to return in 2022. Despite higher pay and the promise of tenure and government benefits at the government school, this teacher said that there is no place like Lighthouse and that his heart remained here. Another Mauritian teacher commented that this teacher will be told that he is crazy to leave the safety of a government position but that people just don’t understand Lighthouse if they have never experienced it. This is a special place.

Another reason that I am grateful to be serving in my role as a mental health counselor at Lighthouse is because the more I learn about mental health care in Mauritius, the more I see the challenges that exist. First, mental health is still highly stigmatized in Mauritius, perhaps due to a culture that often does not discuss problems openly. I have seen this time and time again especially among male students who tend to say that everything is fine despite the fact that they are failing or that something tragic has happened in their life. The argument I hear is that they would rather just focus on the good things. While this may not be a bad philosophy per se, it does get in the way of them being honest with themselves about what they are really experiencing. When I questioned one student in particular about why Mauritians seem to deny being affected by things, he answered plainly, “Because we don’t want help.” The irony is that as our discussion continued, this student actually asked to continue meeting with me because he recognized that there might be some benefit in addressing his concerns. But he is not alone in having difficulty receiving or asking for help. There seems to be a sense of shame associated with needing help, which is why I always try to give students a choice about whether to continue meeting with me because my goal is never to force or shame anyone into addressing anything.

Another challenge to mental health care in Mauritius is that there is very little regulation of the practice of psychotherapy. Even though government entities exist on paper to regulate the practice, the reality is that many people practice as psychotherapists in Mauritius without having received the proper training and supervision required by most international standards. At best, this can result in care that is costly but unhelpful to the individual seeking support. At worst, it can be dangerous or even deadly if certain warning signs or diagnoses are missed or ignored. I have met with a few students who see or have seen therapists in the community, and more than one has commented that I was more helpful than their community therapist. While I am glad to be helpful, it also makes me concerned about the services they are receiving in the community. All this is to say, there is a genuine need here for mental health support.

The school year ended online again (thanks Delta variant), but Lighthouse was still able to hold various graduation and recognition ceremonies outdoors with limited attendees. First, Eden and her peers in the Reception class had a ceremony to mark the end of their preschool year and their promotion to Grade 1 where they start wearing uniforms and are officially in the primary school.

Then, Lighthouse also held a special ceremony for two students with learning differences who have completed their studies through the first ever alternative program at Lighthouse. These students, Kaushav and Shekeena, had the opportunity to not only learn academically but also to learn practical skills that can help them with future employment. They assisted the kitchen, administrative, and grounds staff at Lighthouse; they learned carpentry and painting skills in the woodshop; and they completed internships at a local store to learn retail skills. Both of these students have been at Lighthouse for many, many years. During that time, Kaushav has struggled with a blood disorder that requires him to get weekly transfusions, and Shekeena’s father passed away. Through it all, Lighthouse has loved and supported them. When Kaushav was a baby, his mother never would have imagined her son standing in front of a group of people and giving a speech in English. She also shared that Kaushav loves Lighthouse so much that he would cry everyday during confinement because he just wanted to go to school. Both Kaushav and Shekeena’s mothers spoke about their gratitude to Lighthouse for all of the care their families have received. I witnessed this care firsthand not only from staff, but from students.

While doing a class program about test anxiety in September, I inadvertently called on Kaushav to read aloud to the class. I had never met him before, but I soon realized who he was. Before I could intervene, the student next to him read and whispered the words to Kaushav without missing a beat. Kaushav repeated the words out loud to the class, and we moved on. It was impressive how Kaushav’s classmate stepped in to help without hesitation. But what was most impressive about this situation was that no one—and I mean, no one—in the class smiled, laughed, or even made a sideways look. It was as if everyone understood that we take care of each other, and that was it. When I saw Kaushav later, he gave me a big smile and waved. I couldn’t help but think that my “mistake” was not really a mistake at all because it helped him feel included and let him know that I saw him and valued him as part of the class just like everyone else.

By far the most exciting ceremony of the year was the graduation of Grade 13 students who will now go on to university or job training. The reason this was so special is because the class of 2021 is the first graduating class from Lighthouse Primary and Secondary School. As I have shared before, the school was founded in 2009 and has grown exponentially, adding more grades as the students moved up. There were eight graduates, two of whom have been at Lighthouse since Grade 1. Although COVID restrictions limited the number of attendees, the children and I were able to watch the ceremony live streamed online. The focus of the ceremony was less about academic achievements and more about the sense of community that the students have experienced at Lighthouse and the character that they have developed. The highest award given was in honor of a student who has demonstrated Lighthouse’s core values of grace, resilience, care, integrity, curiosity, and citizenship and who sought to serve God and the community in a practical way. Indeed, it was a very special occasion at a very special place, and at the close of the ceremony, I couldn’t help but feel honored to be part of such an awesome community. (To watch clips from the ceremony, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgBqjtRaZTM )

This year, 2021, has definitely been like no other. But despite the ups and downs, I can say with confidence that I have no doubt that this is the place we were meant to be during this time. It has been a reminder that when we live with purpose, peace will follow.  

Other happenings:

Primary Science Fair

In October, Ezra participated in the science fair at the primary school. Her experiment was to learn which type of chocolate melts the fastest. There were so many entries that the original venue for the fair had to be expanded, but everyone did a great job and Ezra had a blast!

Field Trip

Also in October, Ezra’s class went on a field trip to the local science center, and I was invited to go along as a chaperone. Ezra was super excited for me to go with her, and her classmates seemed equally as excited. As we moved through the exhibits, students kept running up to me saying, “Miss, look at this!” and “Miss, what is that!?” Their welcome and excitement to interact with me was heartwarming. It reminded me of our first visit to Lighthouse and how the students didn’t seem to know a stranger.

Divali

November 4^th was Divali, the Hindu festival of light. This being our second Divali in Mauritius, we were prepared for the strings of lights and fireworks, but we were especially grateful this year to receive Divali treats from our Hindu neighbors. Aaron received a few from students last year, but to receive this traditional gift from our neighbors was especially meaningful because it signified that they see us as part of their community and wanted to share their celebration with us. We hope to return their kindness by sharing Christmas treats with them this year.

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebration was smaller this year and a few days late since we had school and graduation on Thanksgiving Day. But we still enjoyed our “feast,” as the children called it, and took turns sharing what we were thankful for. What a blessing this year has been!

Farewell for 2021. We hope 2022 is filled with peace, love, and gratitude for all of you!

October 2021

By Aaron

At the end of each year, Lighthouse students go on a multi-day camping trip. The excursion is both eagerly anticipated and somewhat angst-inspiring for students. Students buzz with excitement at the prospect of a change of scenery and a break from academics. Some enthusiastically discuss the possibilities while others quietly worry about being away from the comforts of home and facing the unknown.

The camps are done by grade, and each grade, accompanied by a group of teachers, does something a little different than the others. My homeroom class, Grade 10, stayed in a Catholic center on the beach in Riambel, a small town in the south of Mauritius. There were no tents – everyone slept in dormitories, so our trip qualified more as a retreat than as camping. All the same, the experience turned out to be exactly what the group needed.

Grade 10

Each grade-level at Lighthouse consists of one or two “classes.” The students in each class spend the majority of their days together and each develops its own pervading outlook, group dynamics, and energy. My homeroom class, Grade 10, which I share with the talented and kind Ms. Emma (who teaches math), has more than its fair share of brilliant and dedicated artists, academics, athletes, and leaders. In fact, when it comes to leadership, despite being one of the smaller classes, Grade 10 has had the highest number of students apply for and gain school leadership positions. However, they are also the most reserved and least transparent group in the school. They are a class of islands, unique and wonderful but also standing alone.

Friendships in Grade 10 are usually limited to pairs or trios, and many are candid about having no close connections at all with the other young people they spend most of their waking hours with. Most have spent years together, but familiarity has not bred comradery. Of course, feeling alone at fifteen is a common, if not universal, right of adolescence. But the depth to which it defines this group is unique. With this observation in mind, my fellow chaperones and I looked forward to this year’s camp trip as an opportunity to build relationships with and among the students of this fragmented class.

The Trip

During the three days of the trip, only the first day went mostly as planned. The vans dropped us at the top of Black River Gorges where the temperature was easily ten degrees cooler than at the school. Drizzle and a strong, steady wind chilled our exposed limbs as we began the six-mile trek down the mountain.

Sunshine and exercise soon warmed us up as we walked, jogged, and climbed our way down. During our hike we were greeted by an abundance of scenic overlooks (including one from the top of a waterfall). Near the end of the hike, sweaty and tired, the students were excited to find a river to jump into.

That night after settling into the dorms and eating dinner, we kindled a fire on the beach and made smores. Since we didn’t have any matches, we had to light some kindling on the stove in the kitchen, put it in a pot, and run the pot to the beach to start the fire. We also had to ward off one student from using his spray deodorant to help fuel the blaze.

On day two, we were supposed to go to Roche Qui Pleure, a landmark on the southern coast where the waves pummel the rocky cliffs and shores. We were to take public transport to the location, but it happened that no buses ran the route from the retreat center to the cliffs. So, several campers familiar with the area suggested a local waterfall instead. After a cursory Google search of the site, off we went on foot.

The images on Google did not prepare me for the actual size of the waterfall. Water crashed over dark geometric columns of stone down into a bottomless pool. One by one, daring students took turns plunging off of the rocks and splashing down into the pool. For a few, it took almost the whole visit and the encouragement of their peers to finally work up the courage to jump.

The third and final day we deviated from the menu and treated the students to bacon, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast. This broke the rules a little, but the students loved it.

After breakfast, having packed our belongings and cleaned, swept, and mopped the dormitories, we mounted ourselves and our things onto the waiting bus. We were scheduled for yet another test of our courage. We were supposed to cross a 1100-foot Nepalese rope bridge in Valee Des Couleurs. However, instead of testing our mettle, we ended up testing our adaptability.

The bus roared down streets, pop music blaring, as riders talked, slept, and played games. After some time, Ms. Emma noticed that we were taking a rather indirect route to the rope bridge. However, it wasn’t until we were half-way up the island that we asked the driver where he was taking us.

“To the school,” he replied matter of factly.

“What? No. Pull over!” we demanded. There had been an error (it was later confirmed to us that the driver had been at fault). It being too late in the day and us being too far away to make it to the rope bridge and back to school on time; we would have to continue to the school and wait there.

Up to that point, the trip had been a resounding success, and my fellow teachers, Ms. Emma and Ms. Anais, and I were determined to end on a high note. So, we decided on an alternative activity: McDonalds. It was an incredibly popular decision.

Small victories

The great thing about these camps is the small but real differences they can make in the lives of students.

The trip brought the individual islands of Grade 10 closer together so that loose acquaintances were strengthened into genuine friendships. I watched as pairs who never talked at school chatted during free time or laughed over a game of cards. Student groupings mixed, changed, and grew.

Following the camp, my co-chaperones and I received an email from the parent of one of our campers, a kind-hearted young lady who was new to the school this year and who had been quietly struggling to adapt. The parent expressed how, on returning from the trip, her daughter felt like she had finally found her place and that she now had a small group of friends and a sense of belonging.

Another young lady described to me how this experience helped her find connections with classmates she had shared class space with for years but had, until that point, never gotten to know. At one point, when she felt overwhelmed; she was surprised at how her classmates rallied to support her.

The camp also inspired boldness. A shy, sarcastic young man who normally spent most of his time in front of a screen distinguished himself by engaging in every activity without fear or hesitation. He was one of the first to jump from Rochester Falls. After the camp, his mother emailed to share that this young man had thoroughly enjoyed the experience and that he had come home with a bit more maturity than when he left.

There were others who, for personal or medical reasons, had never been away from their families overnight. Each one did well and returned home much more secure in their independence. These and many other small victories and moments of growth are what make camp special.

For me, this time with students was a refreshing chance to engage with them outside of the framework of academics, and to take a moment to enjoy them as young people apart from the classroom. It was also gratifying to witness how a change of scenery, some time together, and the chance to challenge themselves germinated the seeds of camaraderie, boldness, and maturity that will continue to shape them as the they become adults.

September 30, 2021

By Emily

As I write this, it has been thirteen weeks since I started at Lighthouse. It is amazing how quickly the time flies and how much has happened since then. I continue to meet with students one or two days a week to provide mental and emotional support, some for ongoing sessions and some for single check-ins. For every student that I mark off my list, it seems that there are at least two more in need of follow-up or support. While it can feel a bit overwhelming, I remain grateful for the opportunity to be there to help and to do the work I love. I have worked particularly closely with several of the upper secondary students in grades 11 and 12 as they begin their transitions to adulthood and prepare to face significant decisions about their futures. In this, there has been some sense of urgency as the grade 11-13 students are no longer on campus after September 30^th. The reason for their early departure from campus is what is known as “study leave” or the period during which students are studying and sitting for Cambridge International exams. The whole system is foreign—literally—to us as Americans, but essentially, in the Cambridge system students do not get credit for just completing secondary (or high) school. In grade 11, they must pass IGCSE exams in each subject to earn the basic credentials needed to show secondary-level competency, similar to a high school diploma, which is required for most jobs. Then in grades 12 and 13, students must pass advanced exams in specific subject areas in order to be considered for university. As you might imagine, this means that there is a lot of emphasis, and stress, related to these exams.

In order to help students manage some of their exam stress, the other school counselor, Ms. Hilary, and I prepared a classroom presentation about exam prep and test anxiety to share with the grades 11, 12, and 13 students. We began with an icebreaker activity in which students shared anonymously their worries and fears related to exams. The activity allowed students to recognize that they are not alone in their worries and helped normalize some of their feelings. It also helped demonstrate the magnitude of the pressure that many of the students feel, not only about passing exams but also about not wanting to disappoint their parents or let anyone down. Then, Ms. Hilary presented some exam taking tips specific to the Cambridge exams and provided encouragement as they “finish the race.” Lastly, I shared various calming strategies with the students that they can use to help manage their anxious thoughts and feelings during the exams. The students were engaged and receptive to the information and several commented that it was helpful to know that they are not alone in feeling stressed and anxious.

While I have been busy helping upper students prepare mentally and emotionally for exams, Aaron has been helping them prepare academically while managing hybrid learning with his lower secondary students. Aaron has been particularly encouraged lately by the level of engagement that his grade 9 students have shown in regard to the class novels they have been reading. Since the Cambridge exams are heavy on writing, literature and reading are not something that the students have had much exposure to historically. But as Aaron says, strong readers make strong writers, so it has been one of his goals to incorporate more reading into the English curriculum whenever possible. Thus, this recent engagement by students in the class novels and their willingness to read and discuss the texts have been especially fulfilling for Aaron. A highlight came when a student who had previously been uninvested in the class got into a debate with his peers about a novel and was using the text to cite his various points and counterpoints. Aaron just stood back and let them debate, marveling in a moment that seemed highly unlikely at the beginning of the year.

There have also been opportunities recently to engage with the students in more fun ways. One opportunity came a few weeks ago when Aaron participated in a staff versus students football (aka-soccer) match after school. Our kids and I watched from the sidelines along with a group secondary students who made up the cheering section. It was a great experience for all involved—although I think most of the staff were a little sore the next day! All in all we have enjoyed learning, growing, and interacting with the students and staff at Lighthouse as we do our best to serve God personally and professionally here in Mauritius.

Other news:

Sharing at Mr. Ashley’s Church

Our friend and neighbor, Mr. Ashley, recently asked Aaron if he would share the message one week at Ashley’s home church. Aaron chose to share about Paul and Silas from Acts 16:19-34. Aaron reflected on how it was Paul and Silas’ choice to put someone else above themselves that ultimately led to a change in the story and saved the jailer’s life—not the miraculous earthquake by God. In other words, they could have just walked away, but it was their ability to step away from focusing on themselves that made all the difference. There was an unusually small group in attendance the night Aaron shared, but it was a poignant lesson for everyone nonetheless.

Puppy Farewells

As most of you know, we have been fostering puppies since June. But the time has come to send them to their permanent homes. Bean, the male puppy, left two weeks ago, and this weekend Pumpkin, the female, will be relocated to her new home. It has been emotional to say goodbye to the puppies, but we made sure that we had a going away party before Bean left (complete with puppy party hats) and have shared lots of cuddles and love. It will be especially difficult to say goodbye to Pumpkin because she has been with us since she was a week old and is essentially our baby, but we know this is best as we won’t be able to care for her long-term. And they will be staying in the same neighborhood so we may even get to visit them every now and then.

Snake!

For those of you who aren’t on Facebook, we had an uninvited guest in the house recently. It was mid-morning, and I walked to the kitchen sink to wash my hands when I saw a SNAKE right there on the kitchen counter! Needless to say, I screamed and jumped back. Ezra was having an online class meeting at the dining table nearby, so I knew I needed to get it out of the house. Despite feeling panicky and shaking I managed to direct it to the floor and force it out the door with a broom. Apparently, it was an Indian wolf snake, which is nonvenomous, but still scary enough. The Mauritians claim this is very rare, so hopefully it won’t be back!

The Tallest Peak in Mauritius

We have made several hiking trips over the past few months, including one to the iconic Le Mourne. We were only able to go about halfway up Le Mourne before the trail became too dangerous for children, but it was still a fun and educational trip as we discussed with the kids the tragic story of why the mountain is called Le Mourne and the history of slavery in Mauritius (and America). It’s a story worth googling if you are interested. At a slavery memorial (pictured below) near the public beach at Le Mourne, there is a quote by Richard Sedley Assonne inscribed on a circle that reads, “There were hundreds of them, but my people, the maroons, chose the kiss of death over the chains of slavery.”

Despite not making it to the top of Le Mourne, we did make it to the top of the highest peak in Mauritius, Piton de la Petite Riviere Noire. It was a 14km hike through deep mud that took 5 hours round trip, but it was worth it. Despite being a little afraid of the steep final ascent, the kids did great. We made it and enjoyed the views with our picnic lunch at the top.

With peace, love, and gratitude from Mauritius!

May 31, 2021

By Emily

May marks the third month of round two of coronavirus in Mauritius, and our lives have continued largely unchanged. We remain at home most of the time, busy with online schooling and daily routines, although we have had the opportunity to go out on a few family excursions (photos below). Still, we remain mostly isolated from the new friends and acquaintances that we have made here due to coronavirus restrictions keeping schools, churches, and beaches closed. In this period of extended separation, I have felt prompted to look inward—as if I’ve been granted a carefully planned pause to assess the well-being of myself and our family.  

As I reflect on our family, I recognize that although the time spent with our children during home learning has been challenging, it has also been truly a blessing to be able to interact more closely with them and to watch them grow and learn. Both of the younger two have started reading in the past few months. Kyler, being a grade ahead, is a bit more advanced in the words and sounds he is able to read than Eden, but it has been a joy to see both of them develop as beginning readers and writers. Meanwhile, Ezra has been blossoming in her French language skills as she absorbs French vocabulary and phrases with ease. I admire her courage and determination to learn, and I often overhear her challenging herself to respond to the teacher’s questions on Zoom only in French, rather than in English like many of her fellow foreign language learners. Getting to spend time with our children and to truly see their strengths and personalities has reminded me of the importance of paying attention to who our children are instead of who I imagine them to be. And although this phase of confinement has in some ways limited our external experiences, I am grateful for the ways in which it has reminded me to look more closely inward at our family and to see the beauty that surrounds me every day.

This time of reflection has also made me more aware of my own thoughts and feelings—one of which is an old familiar feeling bubbling to the surface. The feeling has come on gradually and has been precipitated by several recent events that have served as reminders of how sadness and impermanence are an inevitable part of life. One such reminder came in a casual conversation with Mauritian friends as they talked about upcoming birthday and anniversary celebrations with their extended families. As they spoke, I smiled politely and listened, but in my core I felt it—the loss. While choosing to follow the road less traveled and pursue a calling to serve halfway around the world has many benefits and blessings, it also comes at a price. Part of that price is sacrificing time with family and loved ones who are not here with us. There are no holidays with extended family or birthday and anniversary celebrations with grandparents, aunts, and uncles. There are no spontaneous visits or traditional home-cooked meals (unless we make them ourselves). And while we certainly do our best to keep traditions in our immediate family and to develop new ones, sometimes it’s just not the same.

I can remember vividly how this feeling of loss hit me many years ago while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chad. It was our second Thanksgiving away from the US. For our first, we were invited to the US Ambassador’s residence as newly sworn-in Peace Corps volunteers to celebrate the holiday. As you can imagine, the ambassador had a personal chef and access to most of the necessary ingredients to make a proper Thanksgiving dinner. We feasted, swam in the ambassador’s pool, and were invigorated by the excitement of the experience. The second Thanksgiving, a year into our service was a vastly different story. We were not granted permission to travel into the capital for the Thanksgiving celebration with the ambassador, and thus, we were left to spend the holiday on our own. With no electricity, cooking over a charcoal fire or a single propane burner was a process, so we certainly would not be having a proper Thanksgiving dinner or anything close to it. In fact, we rarely even ate meat unless we bought it already cooked from a market vendor. And rarest of all were potatoes. We could buy a variety of white sweet potatoes in Chad, but regular potatoes were hard to come by. So that Thanksgiving, as the weight of it all hit me and the loss washed over me, I remember lying on the cement floor of our mud brick house and sobbing as I moaned, “I just want mashed potatoes!”

It seems comical now to recall that story and to picture myself crying over mashed potatoes, but of course, it wasn’t just about potatoes. It was about everything those potatoes represented for me. It was about the loss of tradition, the loss of family, the loss of comfort, of normalcy. (Perhaps some of you have experienced similar emotions during the year-long pandemic.) While I haven’t had my mashed potatoes moment here yet, I recognize that familiar feeling stirring inside me as time ticks on. It’s like an old friend that is inextricably part of this experience. The irony is that when the time comes to leave this place, I will also mourn the loss of all that I have come to love about being in Mauritius.

Another reminder of loss has come in a more unexpected form. Our friend and landlord contacted us about a week ago and told us that even though he has not had the house we are living in on the market since we moved in, a persistent potential buyer contacted him about possibly purchasing it. In the course of our conversation, our landlord made it clear that he did not feel comfortable considering the sale without speaking to us first, and he assured us that he would not sell unless the buyer agreed to let us continue renting if we wanted to stay. Because he has become such a good friend to us, we were happy for him and the blessing a potential sale of the house could be for him. So, we offered our support and made sure we thoroughly cleaned and tidied the house for the best possible showing when the buyer came to look at it. But as people who just recently sold the only house our children have ever known and said goodbye to almost everything including our pets to move to the other side of the world, the thought of possibly having to move out of the house that has become our home and refuge in this foreign land was overwhelming. It was an unanticipated reminder of everything we had to leave behind to take this step forward. Ultimately, it was a reminder that growth and grief are undeniably intertwined. As of now, it is too early to know what the future will hold, but we remain prayerful that God will grant whatever is best for our landlord and his family and that we may find peace in whatever comes.

In the last week, we also learned that one of the TeachBeyond families who recently moved to Mauritius to serve at Lighthouse has decided to leave at the end of this school year in November or December. Their decision to go is personal and has nothing to do with the school, but it was yet another reminder of the impermanence of all things. In all of this, I have been reminded that things are just things and that all of life is temporary. Furthermore, as many of us have come to realize over the past year, it is easy to live under the illusion of permanence when our lives and relationships remain consistent and familiar. But when that consistency or familiarity is lost, whether to a pandemic or a move or anything else, we start to realize how much we rely on this illusion to help us feel safe and secure. It is only after the illusion is stripped away that we are forced to question—what do I cling to? And why?

These are tough questions that we must all face at some point in our lives. Letting go is hard, but if we never let go, we can never fully live. As I have pondered these questions over the past month, a few verses have come to mind. I have included them below, but the summary is this: May the peace of Christ be with you to assuage your fears, comfort your sorrows, and compel you to live a life of love, humility, and kindness. Until next time…

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze. […]

¹⁸ Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.”

-Isaiah 43:1-2, 18-19

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. – John 14:27

⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:5-8

⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4: 8-10

²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
    the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
    and he guided them to their desired haven.

– Psalm 107:28-30

Other photos:

April 30, 2021

By Aaron

I am annoyed. No, I am offended as I tirelessly click through to yet another mediocre student response, this one even more underwhelming than the rest. The crease in my brow settles in as I process the wreckage of ideas clumped across the page. The time it will take to untangle the knots and provide a meaningful postmortem to the author will be more than he took to write it in the first place. After a string of unimaginative thinking and off-topic analysis, the toxic voice of frustration whispers to me, “You know you clearly explained this assignment! They all practiced the skills. These students just aren’t trying hard enough. In fact, this work is not just lazy, it’s downright disrespectful.”

Beneath my annoyance at my students, my true unhappiness is with myself. I know deep inside that student failures are ultimately teacher failures. It feels like their mediocrity on this one assignment is a painful reflection of my own mediocrity as a teacher. The truth is that a large part of my self-worth is tied up in doing well at my job. Of course, to be fair, some of the students’ work was truly insightful and interesting. And honestly there’s only so much you can expect from young teens. Not every assignment will reap thoughtful scholarship on par with that of serious-minded graduate students. Sometimes good enough is good enough.

But it is not good enough.

And so the very next class, the students rewrite. I explain what excellence should look like and that I expect it of them. It requires me to revise my lessons, conference with students outside of class, and regrade work. It requires the students to put in much greater effort, attention, and time. It takes days, but in the end, the students’ work is undeniably better overall. But was it the right decision?

The unrelenting drive to do better empowers us and gives us agency. It holds us accountable for being our best selves and pushes us to reach personal, academic, and professional heights that might otherwise be out of our reach. But it can also destroy our peace and exhaust us.

Take for example a young woman I’ll call Erica. Erica is a natural and aware reader. She recently explained to me that she was finishing a book in spite of its insipid characters because she found the narrative arc intriguing. Erica is insightful, quick to smile, and presents as easygoing and competent. She also misses a day of school almost every week because the combined pressures of her school life and home life make her feel like she cannot function. Despite her academic abilities, she feels crushed by the course load and expectations of school. Earlier this year, I noticed a painting she had done for art class. It was the face of a woman, turned slightly and wearing an indistinct expression. The work was rendered in purples and blacks, the background fractured.

Erica is not alone. There are plenty of students in the middle and upper grades that have felt themselves crushed by the drive (or push) for excellence. These students’ struggles often remain invisible until they publicly panic over a lower-than-expected grade or are found crying outside of a classroom. Some just give up, certain that they won’t be able to live up to the standard of excellence that others expect of them, or that they secretly hope for themselves. 

I empathize with these students. My own need to achieve some elusive form of professional excellence has resulted in years of long, focused days at work and nights, weekends, and summers dedicated to improving my presentation, behavior management, lessons, and units. Family, hobbies, and sleep are all sacrificed to this pursuit. Contentment is traded for stress. And yet there is never a breakthrough moment, never a point where I can stop and say, “I made it!” That’s the trap of chasing your best. You never achieve excellence; you can only pursue it. Because you can… Always. Do. Better.

So why not let good enough be good enough? A colleague friend at a previous school was skilled at this. Work didn’t stress him because he set firm boundaries on his time. He arrived on time and he left on time. Grading happened during school hours and his lessons and units stayed consistent from year to year, cutting planning to a minimum. His experience and natural, easy control of a class made him better than the average teacher, but he never had to be the best. Students liked and respected him, and because he knew how to let good enough be good enough, his students weren’t stressed either. He had balance.

But just as striving for the best has its costs, so too does giving up the struggle. I was recently considering easing my expectations for one of my classes. A good number had struggled to put in the effort and produce the quality of work required to meet expectations. Several “A” students found themselves with unflattering grades. Asking a lot of students runs the risk of producing resentment in some. Sensing a growing discontent among the students, I decided it was time to let good enough be good enough. Perhaps I had been unrealistic in my expectations, but the decision to abandon those expectations left me dejected. As I walked to my classroom, mind made up, a young man from that class stopped me to compliment my teaching. What did he like about it? The expectations.

Reflecting on this young man, I noticed something I had overlooked and discounted before. Each time I refused to credit his incomplete work, noted where otherwise good work could be better, or demanded more effort, he worked to meet those expectations. And he was not alone. Most of the class had slowly begun to put in more effort and turn in better work. While I was working on giving up on excellence, they were working on living up to excellence. The cost of letting go would be their success.

I never relaxed the expectations for that group. Of my five classes, they now have the second highest average grade. I envy people like my colleague who can find personal balance and contentment in their work. However, when it comes to school, good enough never feels good enough, not when doing just a little bit better might yield a better result. But I wonder, at the end of this endless pursuit, will I be glad for it? I can’t say.

With peace, love, and gratitude from Mauritius…