Cissy Lewis | Blogger: December 2017

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

St. Francis - In Giving, We Receive

St. Francis of Assisi reminds us that In Giving, We Receive. That phrase may seem at first glance a total contradiction, but some of my sweetest memories involve my receiving as a result of my giving. I remember one of my mentors told me the summer before I started teaching that there were only two things I needed to know to be a successful teacher: “You have to love your subject, and you have to love your students.” In short, you have to be passionate about what you teach and whom you teach. Teaching is a relational affair among teacher, student, and subject matter. You give a great deal of yourself, of course – your knowledge, your expertise, and your care. But no matter how much I have given, I have received even more – trust and gratitude from my students, a deepened understanding of both the literature I have taught and the students I have mentored, and something I didn’t originally anticipate - a deeper understanding of myself. Teaching has been a profound gift that has enriched me in every way possible – and given me gifts beyond measure.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Benedict - Serious Faults

In The Rule of Benedict, when Benedict discusses serious faults and subsequent excommunication from the community (in this case, the monastic community), he reminds us that we all make mistakes and transgress against our communities and, consequently, often need time “to decide if being out of the community is really what [we] want, really what [we] need, really what will bring [us] happiness “ Time for reflection and self- examination can give us the opportunity to explore with focus and conscientiousness what we need in order to lead us back in the community with renewed commitment and vigor. Hence, the value of sabbaticals or long vacations or discernment retreats. As Sister Joan Chittister says in her commentary on the rule, “a human being needs help to be a human being.” We need one another in community.

About Me

Cissy Lewis, an award-winning educator, has been involved in schools all of her life. As an eleven-year-old, she started her first school in Santiago, Chile, teaching reading and writing to children who had no school options. She comes from a line of educators – her mother earned a Ph.D. in political science in an era when few women were earning advanced degrees, and her grandfather taught Greek and Latin.

She started her teaching career at The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas, where she taught English in both the Upper and Middle Schools. At The Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, she was honored with the Best New Teacher award. At the Castilleja School, she twice received the Distinguished Teacher Award.

Cissy Lewis held leadership positions at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and at The Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. At Baylor, she joined the administrative team, initially as Dean of Girls and then as Assistant Head of School, to help the school implement the transition from an all-boys school to coeducation. At Castilleja, she was academic dean, Head of Upper School, Assistant Head of School, and interim Head of School. Her responsibilities included oversight of the daily academic operations of the school, and coordinating the recruitment and hiring of new faculty. She also oversaw curricular review, the faculty evaluation system, and faculty professional growth.

Ms. Lewis attended Mt. Holyoke College and subsequently received bachelor’s degrees in both biology and English cum laude from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. She pursued graduate studies at The Bread Loaf School of English where she received her M.A. and was honored as Class Marshall. She also earned an M.Ed. at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where she was influenced by Carol Gilligan’s groundbreaking research as reflected in her seminal work In a Different Voice, and focused on the psychology of adolescence and the education of girls.

Ms. Lewis has served on the Board of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California, and The Carey School in San Mateo, California. She enjoys reading, hiking, yoga, and travelling.