Sacred Sharing of A Catholic Secondary School Teacher. By: C.C.

"I try to help students see God in everyone and everything and to help them follow the example of Jesus Christ. I don’t think I could ever teach in a school where I’d be discouraged, or even not allowed to talk about God. Young people need to come to better know God and what better way for them to do that than in a community setting through their daily education." (Nadia)

Nadia, the wonderful teacher and I, on my wedding day

    The second contribution to the focus on Catholic Education is a sharing from an interview with a Math teacher at Cardinal Ambrozic Secondary School, and one of my dearest friends. Nadia agreed to speak to me in a more formal manner than most of our many conversations surrounding the faith and education in general.

   I have known Nadia since I was eleven years old and have journeyed with her throughout our school days at St. Patrick Elementary School, and then onto Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary school.

   Our best memories include many wonderful times as teammates throughout our competitive soccer careers, venturing to Italy for a tournament, and appropriately getting lost among tourists while praying in St. Peter's Basilica;which resulted in getting reprimanded by our chaperoning mothers. It was then at the Vatican where Nadia told me that she would most likely grow up and become a nun. I spent my first year of university as her roommate, was a bridesmaid at her wedding (she didn't become a nun after all), and our friendship continues to grow.

     Nadia's faith has always inspired me. She is a year older than me, and has always be more than ten steps ahead.  In matters of faith Nadia was always a sound mentor to me, and though I stumbled and stumbled away from the path of righteousness, Nadia was a stable, sturdy, companion through it all. 

    We both felt called to the vocation of teaching and Nadia quickly found a position within the Dufferin Peel District School Board, and I with the Public sector. We are both Catholic educators, yet sharing different experiences based upon where we teach.

   While the Catholic education system is often the brunt of much criticism, I find it rather important to highlight the small seeds being planted. These are seeds of hope that can attribute to the fostering of faith in staff and students alike. I am grateful that my friend agreed to take some time to embrace writing (as she'd rather be crunching numbers) and share....

Why do you see Catholic education as important?

     I think it is essential to be able to talk about God and Catholic values and teachings with my students. Many adolescents are not being taught a lot about the faith at home and I’d venture to say that most do not attend mass or participate in religious activities regularly. Many students are curious as to what the teachings of the Church are and how they apply to their lives and society. We often have very rich and meaningful discussions about various aspects of life and about the events happening throughout the world. Without God there would be nothing. 
   I try to help students see God in everyone and everything and to help them follow the example of Jesus Christ. I don’t think I could ever teach in a school where I’d be discouraged or even not allowed to talk about God. Young people need to come to better know God and what better way for them to do that than in a community setting through their daily education. I think the activities that go on in a Catholic school are invaluable for students and hopefully will lead them to be more charitable and to think about the common good of all people as they become adults. For example, at our school we have the following activities each yea  Grade level retreats (done with each religion class),  March for Life in Ottawa “Thinkfast and Day of Service" , Each month classes go to help out at Dr. Simone’s warehouse, Masses/liturgies throughout the year (opening and closing of the school year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.)

           

What are things that you do in your Math classes to incorporate the Catholic faith?

-  Reading the “life of a saint” at the beginning of each class. Then we discuss what the saint did in his/her life and how we are supposed to follow his/her example. This often leads into discussions about how life was during different historical periods, how the church is run and how it has changed over the years, miracles, the process of canonization, Catholic teachings and values, etc.

- During Advent and Lent we read daily reflections about the liturgical time of the year and its importance and relevance today in our live

- I have a quote of the day on the board– many of which are from saints or the Bible. Otherwise they always reflect Catholic values and how we are called to live.I make sure that students treat each other with respect and if they are rude to someone I make them apologize sincerely. I try to foster a supportive and welcoming environment and often times students will clap for their peers who provide solutions on the board.

What are the challenges of being a Catholic School educator today?

Having to defend why our system should receive funding from the government. Some students complaining about having to take religion courses each year – the court ruling about also not having to participate in retreats / liturgies / masses may also become a problem.

What are things (if any) you’d like to see changed?

    I have only taught in two Catholic high schools. However both of them just had either someone come around to distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday, or classes come down to the chapel to receive ashes after a reading was done over the PA system. We often have grade / whole school assemblies for other things so I really think that on Ash Wednesday there should be a Mass where the whole school gets together.