Jonny and Lisa Lobel

Last month was delightfully frantic, mostly because of two huge BMA events: Maturita (graduation exams and ceremonies) and Drop It, a student conceived and organized retreat.  These are representative of the two pillars that support our school.  On one side, excellent academics, a chance to speak English each day with native speakers, and comprehensive preparation for university are what draw students from across our region.  Equally important are the family atmosphere, the openness, the love for discussion and hard questions, and the students who reach out to one another in kindness.  The former is the impetus, the latter the catalyst.  Maturita represents the culmination of why students embark on the BMA journey. The student retreat embodies what they experience here.

Unlike their American peers, most European students prepare for cumulative, mostly oral, exams during their last year of high school.  Each country has a slightly different system.  In Germany it is the Arbitur; in the U.K., Leaving Certs; and in the Czech Republic, Maturita.  It marks a cultural first step as an adult, an entrance into the ranks of society.  Student prepare for months and such is the fearful and respected place these exams command in the national psyche that they will remember their grades and topics as long as they live.

In the Czech Republic, four subjects are chosen in advance by each student. Czech Language and Literature, which includes a written component, and a foreign language, usually English, are compulsory.  Two additional subjects are required and can be in any course offered at the school.  Most students at BMA choose from among history, social science, geography, chemistry and math. ( Two chose Information Technology, exclusively taught by me!)  Students receive a list of twenty-five topics in each subject and spend most of the winter preparing for exam day when they randomly select one of the topics and make an oral presentation before the commission, a board of teachers which includes an external examiner.  Needless to say, the pressure is on.

The pressure was on me too, as the homeroom teacher for this class.  My responsibility has been to usher this class of students through that perilous trench that divides students and scholars, children and adults.  During past Maturita exams, I simply sat with my colleagues and to administer the English and I.T. exams.  This year, I observed every exam, my Czech language facilities roaring, and played the role of student advocate while the commission deliberated over marks.  I left the week exhausted, mentally and emotionally.

The students shone, perhaps more than any class before them.  They presented themselves with creativity and professionalism in every subject.  Their command of English far outstripped the external examiner, an English teacher at another high school.  I taught my first year at BMA the same year this class arrived.  The transformation, though nearly imperceptible in transition, is stunning when viewed as two extremes.  Upon arrival, they were almost too terrified to speak a word of English with me.  I have just related their departing state.  In the beginning, they were children.  Now, they are competent, accomplished adults.  The list of universities to which they have been accepted is highly respectable, including both international and Czech institutions. This is the academic success of which we are so proud.  This is why we now, in our sixth year of operation, have twice as many applicants as places.  This is excellence.

Yet, for all the excitement over that pillar of excellence that seems to define our school, there is another ballast that is more deeply affecting BMA students and Czech society: social and spiritual development.  In preparation to deliver the closing Maturita speech at the town hall in front of my students, their families, friends, and my colleagues, I considered not only the academic progress over four years, but the enrichment of kindness, compassion, and vision for the future.  The most important investment we make at BMA is borne out in the character of our graduates after they have been challenged by a loving community pointing to a loving God.  With this in mind, I prepared the following speech and delivered it in Czech:

The year was 1940.  Hilter’s blitzkrieg flattened everything in its path, including France, the once proud British ally.  Britian’s new prime minister knew that soon German Luftwaffe bombs would be raining down on his people’s heads.  Rather than fearfully try to appease the Nazi leader as the previous prime minister had done, he stood and stoically gave his people hope.

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour.”

Winston Churchill.  Was he destined to be the savior of the modern world?  He was a child with parents who didn’t care, an academic failure, and a failed politician.  Yet, he was a gifted and intelligent man who recognized and took hold of the hour for which he had been destined and shined the lights of vision and hope when there was none in the darkness at the coming despair.  Destiny?

Many people would look at this group of talented students and tell them that if they just believe in themselves, anything is possible.  They can achieve their dreams!  I believe this.  The talent and ability of this graduating class may surpass any previous class at BMA.  They have raised the academic standard to an unprecedented level.  Their natural ability will certainly carry them to achieve whatever the wish.  Yet, I believe there is more.  I believe that these st

udents were created for this hour and that there is a plan for each one that surpasses personal achievement.  Recognizing and taking hold of that plan, that destiny, is the challenge for each one.

This year we read Paul’s letter to the church in Emphasis.  He wrote, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…”

There is a God who loves you, wants to know you, and has a plan for your life.  I am praying that you will know him, know his love, and take hold of his plan for you.

We no longer face the threat of a raging dictator with Panzers.  Instead, we face a more sinister darkness of apathy and cultural erosion.  The heart wrench of broken families, corrupt government, visionless youth, plague our society and threaten to swallow our future.

You are gifted men and women.  You are not longer children who need to have excuses signed by your parents.  You are no longer the scared first years who did not want to talk with their English teachers. You have taken your first step this week as adults.  I believe you were destined for greatness at this hour.  Many of your generation are afraid to lead.  You will be the leaders in your families, your communities, and your country.  What will you do with the time that was given you?  Will you live for yourselves or will you give compassion to a hurting world?  Will you complain about the corrupt leaders, or will you lead when no one else will?  Will you walk on your own, or will you answer the call of a God who loves you?

My hope is that generations of Czechs will look back and say that this generation was the finest hour!

As soon as the Maturita festivities ended, I joined a group of thirty underclassmen at Drop It, the weekend retreat.  The minority of Christian students at BMA planned this as an outreach to their classmates.  It look place at a mountain cottage and included loads of games, activities, and spiritual presentations.  Building on their successful prototype retreat last year, the organizers invited students from the local youth group and from another high school.  High school students working hard to accept and love each other is an aberration in the Czech Republic.  At BMA it is routine!

The weekend was a blast.  We played ultimate Frisbee and an insane night game where teams had to search all over the surrounding mountainsides for clues and be the first to reach the goal.  I especially enjoyed just being part of the group without any responsibilities as students completely ran the show.  There were some beautiful moments as the group discussed what the hands of God look like and what that means for us.  The entire weekend embodied the holistic social and spiritual development that makes BMA unique.

I’m more excited about BMA than ever and, though I am going to miss the student who have just graduated, I’m expecting great things for next year’s first year class, for whom I will be the homeroom teacher!  Twenty-five new, scared students will arrive without an inkling of the transformational experience ahead.

1st Year BMA Students at the "Drop It" weekend retreat

Students at the "Drop It" weekend retreat