Beyond the Schoolhouse

Beyond the Schoolhouse

In a 1936 address on education, Albert Einstein quoted an old saying: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” It is an interesting perspective. I have studied and written on educational philosophy and outcomes, and I am inclined to agree. Our systems for the application, acquisition, pursuit, and transfer of knowledge exist as a means to an end. What ultimately matters is not merely what you learned or how it changed you, but how you use that knowledge and transformation to positively impact others.

We do not heap up vast amounts of information for its own sake. Like land, money, or any other resource, knowledge is only as useful as the outcomes to which it leads. Consider the parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16. The master commended him for his shrewdness in using the resources entrusted to him to bless others and thus secure his own future. In fact, Jesus makes the application even more direct, “Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” (Luke 16:9). Resources are not ends within themselves; they are means to an end, and our stewardship determines what that end will be. Accordingly, education imbues students with both knowledge and wisdom they can use to enrich the lives of others. As they do so, they are themselves enriched, because “he who waters will also be watered himself” (Proverbs 11:25).

Graduation ceremonies often use the term “commencement” to indicate that the event marks the beginning of the rest of the graduates’ lives, not just the end of a course of study. The biggest test is never one you take in school—life is the real examination. We want the young men of the ChASM Project to ace that exam, living beyond the schoolhouse as godly husbands, fathers, and leaders. These are long-term outcomes, but we can set good examples and help them develop the requisite skills along the way through preparation and engagement. 

Everything in life prepares you for what comes next. In the United States Marine Corps, you are not promoted because of what you have already done, but because of the Corps’ confidence in what you will do—your ability to lead at the next level. I recently earned my Ph.D., which afforded me some time to reflect on my educational journey. Everything from high school, through the Marine Corps, my bachelor’s degree, my master’s degree, my executive certificate, and now my doctorate has pointed in the same direction. Everything I have learned and done—including my professional experiences—has been aimed at the ChASM Project, regardless of whether I recognized it at the time. Everything was preparation, and preparation matters because it shapes your actions. 

Preparation shapes action, but engagement is where it takes place. We do not exist in isolation, and we expand our influence and increase our impact the more we are engaged with others beyond the schoolhouse. I try to set the example of that in my own life. I am active in my church and community, but I have recently expanded my engagement even further. I had the opportunity to speak to a local public school board regarding some important policy decisions they were facing. I have also had the opportunity to consult with two Christian schools and serve on the advisory board of one of them. This is the type of leadership example young men need so they have a pattern to follow in their own leadership journeys.

For a ChASM boy, commencement is not the end of the journey, but the beginning of the rest of his life. God created the young men of the ChASM Project to lead beyond the schoolhouse in their families, communities, workplaces, and churches. That kind of calling requires a serious commitment to preparation and engagement. It is important work, and I am excited to be a part of it.