Ok...let me forewarn you that religion will be mentioned briefly. The connectedness of my experience at mass this morning and the life and work of educators is too immense to ignore.
In my first two years of teaching, I had the privilege to work in a Catholic middle school, teaching seventh grade. Anyone who has spent time with one, let alone 150 seventh grade students, can appreciate the challenges that accompany the daily task of reigning in the hormonal sea of middle schoolers and getting down to actually teaching. I'm making this sound worse than it actually was, but not by much. Those first years as a teacher were particularly enriching for me. I had a supportive team of colleagues who quickly became my friends. I had the joy of working with kids who were willing to explore, play, and have fun- all while learning. Even today as I see former students, there is the joy of reminiscing about a project or something they recall me saying or doing that I have since filed away in the back forty of my mind. I approached my career with joy then, as I do now, with a key point in mind: find God in every child. This is where today's mass connects to teaching. Father was emphasizing the importance of finding God in the people we meet each day, as hard as that may be.
I recall having to write my philosophy of education in my first course in education at Mount Mercy College. As a part of my philosophy that "Kids are always worth it," I also wrote about the importance of finding the "sacred worth" of each child. This was not a religious piece and I did not intend to employ a religious tone, but the words carry with them a certain element of faith. More important than any element of religion (whether or not it is your cup of tea) is the critical realization that good teaching, while rooted in strong classroom management and your knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, good teaching is the ability to reach each child. I have tried. I will continue to try. The relationship of teacher-student is too great to sacrifice to chance... "I hope these kids are better than last year's," "I wish they would just do their assignments," "I can't believe these quiz scores...don't they listen?!" We get out of our relationships what we put in to them. Perhaps not in quantity but in quality. This is where finding the sacred worth, the good, in each child is critical.
So, whether or not my priest knew how closely I was listening today, the message was clear. These next few weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break can be hectic, to say the least. The sun is usually breaking through when we get to school in the morning and is gone by the time we leave the building at night. The kids are ready for a break, teachers are ready for the end of the semester, and the excitement of the holiday's reaches a peak with the first lasting snowfall (unless that happened to you already or by some chance you live in a place where you escape it all together...lucky).
My goal for myself and my hope for my colleagues is that we all take time to find the good in ourselves, each other, and our students. Be thankful and catch them being good.
