"She is a friend of my mind."
This quote was my favorite (one of many) in the readings. Reading it made me reflect on my 7th and 8th grade teacher, Sister Loretto. Sister incorporated teaching poetry in our class and made it a substantial part of it. This had to be courageous. No other teachers covered poetry, and, those were the days of strict, hierarchical, truly "by the book" instruction.
Sister Loretto taught poetry very creatively as well. Not only did we read it, but also we recited it in poetry competitions or acted the verses if we could. This was one of the great learning experiences of my life. It instilled in me a great, lasting love of poetry and allowed me to appreciate English (and language in general) in a more profound way. Further, it opened my mind and spirit to a keener perception of the world, whether it was "stopping by the woods on a snowy evening," viewing "the daffodils," or "crossing the bar." (The above picture depicts shelves with poetry books!)
Another gift Sister Loretto imparted was the poetry of the psalms. For a young lady, seeing the Bible as beautiful, spiritual writing rather than a heavy, ponderous, unapproachable book was a tremendous awakening. Sister's teaching truly followed the path of humanization on many levels.
Another thought arose as I was reading. This was triggered by the stories of Howie and the graduate student's dad. For me, these demonstrate how fundamental it is for teachers and students to look beyond the surface of people and not to judge, not to judge ever, those who we truly don't know. This is even more of an imperative for teachers in a Catholic environment, where it is a spiritual mandate to view students with the deep spirituality emanating from compassion. The nun didn't know the full story of Howie; the son angrily and judgmentally wrote of his dad. In the first case, the nun's understanding of Howie increased expotentially when she learned of his circumstances. In the second case, I believe the son's perception of his dad would improve if he truly knew of the father's early background (not specifically mentioned) which may have been filled with abuse or neglect.
The overall readings and in particular these stories illustrate that valid, full information leads to true understanding. True understanding then leads to the spiritual view of the individual, the totality of the soul and being.
You caused me to remember so many great women of the Church who formed me in my early education. Women who were amazingly creative, bright and caring. They fostered the types of environments in their classrooms that made me love learning and God! That's rather impressive. I think particularly of Sister Rita, my 8th grade teacher who now, very elderly, still sends me notes telling me she prays for my life and ministry. She taught Math and Religion (interesting combo) and somehow made both very appealing. But beyond that she seemed to have a great intuition about when stuff was going on in kids lives beyond the classroom. What a gift such people have been in our lives!
ReplyDeleteGreat closing paragraph! I very much agree, true self-understanding will take us directly to a view of ourselves and lives as totalities. Just as your discovery of an appreciation for the beauty of the Psalms unlocked the truth about Scripture, the beauty of the Truth gives us to know and understand God.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how real and vivid those youngest, most life-forming memories are to this day, especially those revolving around a caring moment with a teacher. We must all have ours or we would not likely have chosen this vocation. Sister Loretto's humanizing influence has created ripples that even now are being passed beyond your own circle of influence. Somedays I feel that I am channeling Mr. Ordowski.
ReplyDelete"She is a friend of my mind." What a great quote from the reading! As I reflect on this quote, it reawakens the idea that we as educators are the students' companions on this journey to truth and knowledge of themselves and God. We must befriend their minds and souls, and a part of that does involve creative risk. Sister Loretto's courage to walk with you on the path toward appreciation and spiritual understanding of the Bible and our faith is a reminder of what we are all called to do in this ministry.
ReplyDeleteThat last paragraph really made me think about Howie's situation and the proverbial "opening of the eyes" the nun had upon learning of his predicament. We are in unique positions as educators. If we are willing to open our hearts, our eyes and our minds to situations like Howie's (which happen in almost every school), we can really continue to do God's work on Earth and help these children reach their full potential.
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