Mondays with Mike: What Does Learning Feel Like in Lower School?

PCA Families and Students,

Over the last few weeks, we have been listening to what learning feels like from where our students sit.

This week, we’re in Lower School.

I sat down with several of our students and Mrs. Katie Brouse and asked some simple questions:

• What is hard right now?
• What can you do today that you could not do a year or two ago?
• What helps when you get stuck?
• How are friends and teachers helping you grow?
• And what are you learning about God?

Their answers were honest, funny, and thoughtful.

They talked about math problems that require more focus, writing that once felt overwhelming, teachers who help without simply removing the challenge, classmates who step in to help one another, and the growing responsibility that comes as students move from third through fifth grade.

One theme kept surfacing: growth often comes through doing something hard, receiving the right support, and discovering over time that you can now do something that once seemed beyond you.

I also loved hearing them wrestle with questions of faith—not simply repeating answers, but thinking about what it means that God knows them, sees them, is with them, and can be trusted when life is difficult.

LISTEN: What Does Learning Feel Like in Lower School?

These are formative years. Our students are building academic skills, certainly, but they are also learning perseverance, responsibility, friendship, courage, and how to understand their lives in light of who God is.

I’m grateful to our students for letting us listen in, and to Mrs. Brouse and our Lower School teachers for walking faithfully alongside them.

God bless you, and we’ll see you on campus soon.

Mike Runey
Head of School
Portsmouth Christian Academy

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