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What We Stand For

One of the greatest challenges facing public education is the ability to develop the values of a democratic free society. Our community reflects both ethnic and cultural diversity. The values emphasized in the Community of Caring are compatible with diverse cultural perspectives. Five universally accepted values of caring, responsibility, respect, trust and family comprise the core of the Community of Caring process which reflects and enhances our Catholic faith. To learn and develop values, students must be aware of their own behaviours and their effects on the people—at home, at school and in the community. The core values empower students to behave responsibly and to become caring members of their community, giving back to their society.

Caring

Caring is rooted in our emotions or feelings, and it leads to actions of tenderness and protection. The opposite of care is disregard. It is important to care for others and ourselves.

Responsibility

People who care must be willing to take responsibility. That means they are accountable for their actions, enjoying praise when things go well and willing to accept blame when things go wrong. Accepting responsibility is a sign of maturity; it can be frightening, because as I am responsible, I become vulnerable to criticism.

Respect

If I take responsibility for myself, I must respect you as someone who can and should do the same. When I respect you, I care for you as someone who is valuable in your own right. Self-respect and respect for others go together. Self-respect means that I matter and that I have to live with the decisions I make.

Trust

When people responsibly care for and respect each other, trust develops. Trust implies dependence. If I trust you, I acknowledge that I need you for something, often support. Trust also involves expectations. Thus, trusting people means counting on them, depending on them and expecting them to deliver.

Family

We first acquire our values in families, from the people with whom we live. Our choices about love and sex create new families. We understand family to be the community that raises children and the kind of community they may create themselves one day. Family stability, responsibility of family members to each other, mutual respect, trust and caring among family members are ideals worth working toward.

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