"The race is not to the swift, but for those who endure to the end (Ecclesiastes 9:11), so we, together with our students, run with patience the race set before us (Hebrews12:1). I invite you to journey with Lake Union educators, students, parents, constituents, pastors and leaders, on this upwardly advancing path," writes Lake Union Education Director, Ruth Horton.
As I drew closer, I was jolted by the blast of a start signal, and in a flash eight men sprinted down the track. The excitement of seeing an unanticipated track race on this balmy Sunday could not be easily contained. No sooner had the race begun, when one of the competitors bolted from the middle of the pack, exploding ahead in a flash, leaving even the second closest competitor in a distant second spot.
I later learned that this sprinter had been a state and national track and field champion! In the ensuing decades, I’ve reflected on that 100-meter dash. What did it take to win so decisively? What kind of experiences punctuated the beginning from the crouch start position, to the start phase with acceleration, to maximal speed, to deceleration? What mental re-wirings transpired at the pit stops and restarts? And too, what does it really take to make it to the finish line … so distinctly ahead of the pack?
The race of life, and I would add, our journeys toward excellence in education, are often not that flash dash, but are punctuated with dots and bends, peaks and false starts, pauses and restarts. Along the curvy paths of attending to students’ cognitive load in the face of mental health strains while building support and connections, providing equitable learning spaces, attending to the short- and long-term development of our youngest students, and keeping abreast with ever expanding philosophical re-awakenings from the “Science of Reading” to forays into Artificial Intelligence usage and related classroom policies, we maintain our focus on “the most noble work given to human beings — building [champions] soldiers for the Lord Jesus Christ.” (E. White, “Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students,” page 166)
On that track, the Journey to Excellence with children from early childhood through grade 12, a shared trust is ours, to introduce and reflect Jesus through a distinctly Seventh-day Adventist education, punctuated along spiritual, intellectual, mental, social and physical pathways converging to develop whole, balanced students.
What an honor and privilege is ours — to minister to and teach our children and youth! We know well that the family is designed to be the first school and we humbly, yet confidently carry forward the baton that has been carefully passed to us on this dash.
In seeking to Inspire, Transform and Empower, our early childhood through grade 12 education system provides a carefully crafted, biblically guided, developmentally appropriate, and research-informed program of studies.
As you delve into this issue of the Herald, which highlights the early childhood education program here in our union, I encourage you to look closely at the confirmation we have from Ellen White of providing care and developmentally appropriate learning environments for younger children, thereby supporting parents today, particularly mothers who have to return to work to support their families.
Read about the development and recent growth of early childhood program offerings, the attention to programing for our younger students, training for early childhood education teachers and directors, our LUC Early Childhood Advisory, recently developed and impactful resources for our educators, staff and students, and more. And, too, see how God rewards the called.
The race is not to the swift, but for those who endure to the end (Ecclesiastes 9:11), so we, together with our students, run with patience the race set before us (Hebrews12:1). I invite you to journey with Lake Union educators, students, parents, constituents, pastors and leaders, on this upwardly advancing path.
And, oh! I’ve been married to this lightening-rod former track and field athlete for some decades now.
Ruth Horton is Education director for the Lake Union Conference and has been married to Michael Horton, pastor of the Chicago Heights Emmanuel Church, for 36 years. Together they have three adult sons and two adult daughters.
