First Few Weeks Of Teaching, Or, Ask And You Shall Receive

I've been teaching 7th Grade for two and a half weeks now.  I've had a tumultuous start to the school year.  I've faced difficulties in various ways.  In this particular classroom, there are huge gaps in reading and writing skills, familiarity with vocabulary, ability to focus, and in many other areas.  Although there are many other challenges, I'll leave it at that for now.

Amidst all of these difficulties, I've repeatedly felt ill-equipped for this venture.  I've been most concerned at reaching those of the students who are struggling to learn, especially in the context of trying to reach them while I'm simultaneously trying to teach more gifted students.  I've been facing these challenges in the context of suspecting that I am better suited to other types of educational work.  Upon expressing this suspicion to one of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with whom I live, he reminded me, as a way of helping me to see the need to do the work I am called to do right now, "Christ is in those children."  That is to say, he was echoing, paraphrasing and summarizing a dialogue which, at Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus said that He will have with certain people after they die.  Jesus will say,

'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.  Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'

Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?   When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'

And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

I have long tried to keep these Scripture verses prominent in my mind.  I have tried to let these verses guide what I do, who I choose to help, and how I choose to help them.  It has long been very important to me to aid poor persons, and to do so as well as I can.  Thus when this Brother reminded me that Christ is in these children, I was distraught at the probability that I would not be teaching all of these students as well as they need to be instructed.

Often I hear justice described as persons being accorded their human rights, being given what they need to develop to their full potential.  I've long regarded education as a human right; I've long considered it crucial to someone reaching his or her full potential.

Always justice is defined as all persons receiving their due.  Everyone, regardless of their social standing and economic status, are entitled to what they require to grow.  Impoverished persons must get what they need. 

Thus, being reminded that Christ is in these children, whilst simultaneously knowing that they must receive the best education they can get, and while also feeling ill-equipped to reach all of them, I was extremely distressed.  I was so upset that I thought that I wouldn't wish such angst upon my worst enemy.  At times when I was praying, I was weeping into my own lap, begging God for forgiveness for how I would not be educating these children the way they deserve to be taught.

I prayed repeatedly and persistently.  However, I was not praying obediently and openly; I was not praying for what I needed to do the duty set before me.   Rather, I was praying narrow-mindedly, seeking an escape.  I was seeking to relinquish the reins which had been handed to me.  And I was repeating these petitions, rejecting my duty, in sets of three, over and over.

On a following day, once I was back at the school, at one point I was sitting at the back of the classroom while one of the other teachers taught a lesson.  As I sat looking over the children, into my mind came the phrase, "Take care of my sheep."  The children are God's sheep, to be instructed in His ways.  I realized that I was being told to care for them and nourish them so that they will be brought up in ways such that they will come to live lives which will be pleasing to Him.  I took it as a response to the insistent prayers I had recently sent up to God.

Later that day, after we had eaten lunch, the students were exercising in the gym right after lunch, as they always do.  As I walked along the side of the basketball court, looking out at the children exercising, kicking soccer balls, punching volleyballs into the air, and throwing basketballs at the baskets, again I was instructed.  Into my mind again came the phrase, "Take care of my sheep."

This time the phrase hit me with a poignancy which I had not felt the first time because I had not been aware of the full extent of its meaning.  I had not realized how I was being rehabilitated, because I had not realized how I had fallen.

Once I heard the phrase the second time, in its repetition, I recognized its rehabilitative effect upon me because the repetition echoed its repetitive use in Scripture.  To draw back and provide a fuller, more appropriate context, first let us revisit the night when Jesus was betrayed and handed over to the authorities who tried Him and sentenced Him to be crucified. 

Jesus had explained to Saint Peter relatively early that night that he would betray Him.  As is recounted at Matthew 26:34-35, Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."  Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!"  

Later that night, after Jesus had been arrested, Peter had followed Jesus to the building where the council was meeting where He was being tried.  As is described at Matthew 26:69-75,

Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."  And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."  And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."  After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you."  Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man."  And immediately the rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."  And he went out and wept bitterly.

Countless times, in thinking about how Saint Peter had denied Jesus, I thought, "This is all well and good, but, quite simply put, I will never deny Christ.  It just will never happen.  I am never going to do that." 

However, I have not yet fully related all of the Scripture passages which will give the full context for how I felt when I heard the repetitive reply to my insistently disobedient prayers.  I felt distress at hearing the repetitive answer not because the above Scripture passages reminded me of the similarity of my denial of Christ with Saint Peter's denial of Christ.  Rather, I felt dismayed because the repetitive reply to my persistently disobedient prayers echoed another Scripture passage; in being reminded of this next Scripture passage, I was made aware that I had denied Christ.  

After Jesus was crucified, and after he then rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples.  At one point he met them on a beach.  They ate together.  As is related at John 21:15-17:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"  He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."  He said to him, "Feed my lambs."  He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"  He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."  He said to him, "Tend my sheep."  He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"  Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."  Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."  

In asking Peter three times if he loved Him, Jesus was rehabilitating him.  In effect, Jesus was freeing Peter of having denied Him three times.  

Thus, in hearing the words, "Take care of my sheep" the second time, I became aware that I was in need of being rehabilitated.  I became aware that in how I had asked to be freed of these, my present, duties toward these children in whom Jesus Christ is present, I had been denying Jesus.  Jesus had even forewarned me that I would deny Him, and still I insisted that I would not.  He had given me the Scripture passage in which He had told Peter that Peter would deny Him, and in which Peter insisted that he would not deny Him.  Through these Scripture passages, He had already predicted that I would deny Him, and I too had insisted that I would not deny Him.  And I had indeed denied Him by seeking to be free of these, my present duties.  

Thus, when I was there in the gym, when I heard in my head the words "Take care of my sheep" the second time that day, I was reminded of how Peter wept bitterly when he realized he had denied Jesus three times.  My eyes began to well up.  I thought, "I cannot weep here and now.  That would be inappropriate.  I cannot think about this right now."  

You might be able to predict what happened next.  The Lord is faithful to those who love Him, and will come to those who faithfully seek Him, and will take care of them.  Next I heard in my head again the words, "Take care of my sheep."  Again my eyes began to well up.  Again I thought, " I cannot cry here and now.  I cannot think about this right now." 

Later, speaking further with that same Brother, the one who had reminded me that Jesus is in these children, he addressed my concerns.  Responding to how I felt ill-equipped, he noted that Saint Peter was charged with being The Rock upon which Christ built His Church, yet Peter was merely a fisherman.  Saint Peter could have seen himself as being unqualified to do what Christ had called him to do, yet he accepted the vocation to which God had called him.

That same Brother also noted that he could see Jesus laughing.  The Brother suggested that perhaps Jesus was saying about me, "Here he is asking for forgiveness, when he's doing the very thing that I have been calling him to do!"  At that I laughed.  Perhaps I was laughing at my own stubbornness, at my insistence upon perceiving myself at being unable. 

Some time ago I read that the duty to God is contained in the present moment.  I have been trying to live my life in a way which reflects that truth.  I have been attempting to internalize that sentiment, such that hopefully my life provides an example of following one's present duty.

In the midst of trying to accept and perform my present duty, I have felt overwhelmed by all that I am being called to do.  On certain school days, I have felt overloaded.  Feeling unable to process everything that has been required of me, I have felt at times that I have been shutting down.  Conversely, at other times, I have felt pressed beyond my limits.  Consequently, this past Friday, I felt that I was on the path to going thermonuclear, in terms of responding to problematic scenarios in ways which would not reflect magnanimous patience, but which would rather be reflective of having too short of a fuse.  In such tendencies resurfacing in me as of late, I am reminded that I have wished to write here that I do not wish to deceive anyone.  Therefore, I will put it bluntly: I am no saint.  The events of the last month bear such witness, full of evidence showing unfortunate tendencies in me, showing me up as the weak creature that I am. 

Exhausted and drained, feeling like I had no resources with which to enable me to respond to situations appropriately, yesterday I went to noontime Mass downtown at St. Peter's in the Loop.  After Mass, I entered the confession booth.  My voice a gravelly, monotone drawl, I related to the priest how I had regressed, how I had started reacting to challenges in ways I thought I had shed years ago.  I definitely appreciated how he was sympathetic; he shared how he understood such challenges, given how he too used to teach.  He directed me to pray for the grace and the strength from God to empower me to do His will, to do this work which He has called me to do.

I left the Church and made my way to Wrigley Field, where I bought a ticket to watch the Cubs play the Braves from the upper deck.  I'd arrived at the park so early that I took a walk.  I got a slice of deep dish pizza at a restaurant I'd patronized on a visit to Chicago 6 years ago.  Then I went to a cafe and got a cupcake and a glass of milk.  Feeling ill-equipped for the challenges I face, I wept as I sat there in that cafe and ate my cupcake.  I headed back to the stadium.  While I purposely went to the game in an attempt to do something fun, I didn't have as much fun as I felt I could have had; I was preoccupied with the challenges facing me.

At one point in the last few days, I thought of "The Serenity Prayer," as it is often called.  For those of you who don't know it, in that prayer, one implores God, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  I believe that an angel or a saint or the Holy Spirit shared with me that because I am teaching middle schoolers, they are going to misbehave.  Being human beings, and more specifically, being early adolescents, they simply are going to misbehave.  Here is simply stated a fact.  However, at the same time, I can--indeed, I must--deal with such misbehavior.  God grant me the serenity to accept their nature, and the courage to help them, and the wisdom to know when each is called for.

Such was one helpful train of thought I recently have had.  This morning, however, I received inordinately helpful guidance, direction which illuminates and steers me simultaneously in multiple ways, overlapping with a synchronicity which seems brilliant, yet is also beautifully, strikingly exquisite in its simplicity.

This morning as always, upon waking I read the Bible.  I chose to read Matthew 5 for its particular emphasis on encouragement in the face of adversity.  Initially I had thought it would be most helpful since, at the beginning of that chapter, the Beatitudes offer such strengthening counsel.  Yet I received enlightening guidance once I reached the end of the chapter.  At Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus explains,

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.  For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Right after I read these words, I thought, "Another similar statement could be, 'If you only do what you want to do, what credit is that to you?  For even the worst of sinners do that!  Murderers and thieves do only what they want to do."  And then the necessary following implication sprung into my head, "You must do more than that.  You must do the will of your Father, who is in heaven.  And usually that requires doing what you do not wish to do."  

Next I realized that this line of thinking applies not only to what I am called to do presently, in my current duties.  I realized that it also applies to what I am being called to do after this current year.  In attempting to discern what I'll do after this current year, I've been reading a book entitled "Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making" by a priest named Father Timothy Gallagher.  In it, Father Gallagher describes how one must be willing to do whatever God is calling one to do, even if it might not be what one initially envisions for oneself.  Indeed, most likely God is calling each of us to a vocation which we don't at first foresee.  When I read this portion of the book, I despaired, and essentially thought that I might as well give up on trying to discern what God wants me to do after this year, since, I felt, I didn't have the requisite mindset to be able to discern His will.  I was too resistant to my life looking too different from how I'd been imagining it.  I hadn't been willing to do whatever He truly wants me to do--even if it is a vocation I might not have been wanting to undertake.  He calls us to be productive in ways we might not choose if left to our own devices. 

Next I thought that essentially God has been asking me, both in my current duties, as well as in my discernment for what will come after this year, "Can you please be productive, even though you don't want to be?"   At the school where I am teaching, when a student is not behaving properly, we ask the student, "Can you please be productive, even though you don't want to be?"  

At the school, I've been finding myself unable to cope with these childrens' inability to focus.  Yet given my inability to focus on what God wants me to do, now, and into the future, how can I lose my patience with these children?  How can I refuse to see past their transgressions, when I simultaneously, and thus quite impossibly, ask God to forgive my sins?  This I know would not happen, as Jesus tells us, right after instructing us to say the Lord's Prayer, he tells us, at Matthew 6:14-15, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  

Suddenly it all became clear to me.  I saw that amongst my duties, I must ask these children to be productive.  In following my instructions, and in following my request to do what they might not want at first to do, they will provide to me the example I need.  They will teach me how to follow God's instructions.  They will teach me to also be productive even though at first I might not have wanted to do so.  

Do not think that teaching is the most important thing that I have come to do.  I am to ask these students simple questions.  Most important among the things I have come to do is to cultivate, and, I do humbly pray, prepare fertile ground in their minds, hearts and souls.  There the Holy Spirit will do the most important teaching.  I am not fit to untie the sandal strap on Him who will do the most important work here.  

I have come not only to teach.  I have come also to be taught.  I aspire that in all humility, I may be fertile ground, Lord, for what you have to teach me, and for how you are to shape me.  Lord, let it be done to me not as I will, but as You will.  I am the servant of the Lord.  Let it be done to me as You say.  Amen. 

First Day Of School

Today was the first day of school at the Catholic middle school where I'm teaching on the south side of Chicago.  At times last week I was so anxious about this coming school year that I literally wouldn't have wished such feelings on my worst enemy.  With the goals of not having a cerebral hemorrhage and not having a heart attack, last Friday night I prayed in earnest and consequently, I tremendously calmed down.

Thus, all things considered, I was relatively calm today.  I woke up at 5:15 a.m. and read the Bible for an hour as usual.  Later I wheeled the garbage bins out to the curb, since that's one of the tasks assigned to me here in the faith-based community in which I'm living with some of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.   Next I sat down to a bowl of cereal in the kitchen.  At 7:00 a.m., the Brothers and I gathered for morning prayer, as we do every weekday.

After morning prayer, I gathered my things and headed for the door.  As I walked through the living room, my fellow community members wished me well on my first day.  I walked out the door.  I stood on the stoop and I realized I didn't have the keys to the car.  I turned around and headed back into the house.

As I entered the living room, one of those same community members asked me, "How was it?"

I replied, "I figured out that I'm not going anywhere without the keys to the car!"  I headed back upstairs to my room, retrieved the car keys, and I was on my way.  I had an uneventful 15-minute drive on surface streets from the house to the school.

Arriving at the school, I had a fairly mellow entrance into the classroom.  The other teachers and I had spent all of last week preparing our classrooms and reviewing school procedures, so we were ready for today.

At 8:20, the kids stopped exercising in the gym, as they lined up in preparation to head upstairs for school.  We walked the students upstairs and into the classrooms.

I'm teaching 7th Grade.  One of my fellow teachers, Mark, will be teaching Math, Social Studies, and Religion.  Another of my fellow teachers, Alison, will be teaching Science.  I'll be teaching Literature as well as Writing.  The entire 7th Grade, which is composed of 30 students, roughly equal numbers of boys and girls, is seated in one classroom. 

Once we got the 7th graders seated in the classroom, we began our day.  For the most part we reviewed procedures with them today.  We also helped them to get to know us in easygoing fun ways.  First Mark, Alison and I introduced ourselves.

After some brief announcements, I reminded the students the format of morning prayer together.  Almost all of the 7th graders attended this school last year, so they have been very familiar with morning prayer at the school.  As in all Lasallian gatherings, a prayer session begins with the prayer leader beginning, "Let us remember..." and the rest of those present completing the sentence by praying aloud, "...that we are in the holy presence of God."

Next a prayer, or prayers, of various lengths are said, usually out loud.  I noted to the students that those prayers in the middle of the prayer session could be the same as the ones said the preceding day, or they could be different ones.  I added that the important thing was that whatever one prays, it should be heartfelt and prayed with sincerity, since Jesus reminded us of the importance to pray earnestly.

After those prayers, the prayer leader begins, "Saint John Baptist de la Salle..." and the others present ask that saint, "Pray for us."  At this school, next the prayer leader begins, "San Miguel..." and the others implore that saint, "Pray for us."  Finally the prayer leader begins, "Live, Jesus, in our hearts..." and the other persons pray aloud, "Forever," finishing the prayer session. 

After our morning prayer, we had the students play a game to get to know us better.  We gave them sheets with grids on them.  Each square contained a fact about one of us.  However, the students had to determine, or to guess, which of us each fact described.  We gave them 20 minutes to work in groups collaborating to decide who they thought each fact described.  As I was circulating around the room, greatly enjoying watching the students trying to ascertain which of us teachers was the subject of each square, more than once I thought of saying to the other various adults in the room, "I think I might be enjoying this activity more than they are!"  I was anonymously described on the sheets as one who has "eaten goat" (which I did when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco), as one who has been to Iceland, as one who has worked in a McDonald's, as one who used to collect postage stamps, and as one who is the youngest of three children. 

Then Mark reviewed with the kids the system of "classroom economy."  We're continuing a system which has been used in years past at the school through which kids, by behaving well, can earn classroom currency, which they can then redeem for various benefits, including getting to listen to music while reading, or getting to eat at certain times when they normally wouldn't be eating.

Next Alison reviewed classroom procedures with the students.  First she had them read the policies.  Then she had them gather in groups and work together to determine the right answer to questions as she quizzed them.  I enjoyed seeing her transform what otherwise probably would have been a dry, boring activity for the kids into one which energized them with the motivation of competing against each other, and had them scrambling to find the right answer. 

Soon after that, we had the kids taking reading tests to gauge their reading level, and to check to see if their reading level had changed over the summer.  When the kids weren't taking the reading tests, I was helping them find books to read in the school library based on their reading levels from last school year.  I recommended the book "Tuesdays With Morrie" to a couple of kids, and both of them decided to read that book.  I'm excited to be placed at this school because the kids read for well over an hour during each school day.  

At the end of the morning, Mark ran a session on how we can build community in the classroom.  He directed the students to answer a number of questions on paper about how they would like to be treated, how they imagine we as teachers would like to be treated, and about the importance of rules, and about which specific rules are important to follow.  I was most pleased to see that students had written that an important rule is to treat others as you would like done unto you, as Jesus directs us to do.  I'm also thrilled to be teaching at this school since it instills these true Christian ethics in students. 

In the early afternoon, the school day came to an end.  The first day of a trimester at our school is always a half day.  Thus, the students headed home in time for lunch.  I'm further grateful to be teaching at this school since 98% of the students qualify for the government's free and reduced cost lunch.  I'm happy to be trying to help teach impoverished children, to be trying to help poor folks, as Jesus taught us to do.

I'm glad to be trying to live my faith in my everyday life, including in my work.  I'm grateful for this opportunity for so many reasons.  I cherish the opportunity to serve, especially to serve those who don't have a lot.  I feel such fulfillment in helping people who are struggling.  As I help others, especially those who are disadvantaged, I feel such joy inside myself.  I'm so thankful that I'm helping impoverished children in a classroom.  It looks like it's going to be a wonderful school year. 

Site Visit

After I accepted the invitation to become a Lasallian Volunteer (LV), the Director of Lasallian Volunteers called me to discuss my site preferences with me.  After accepting the invitation, before we spoke again on the phone, I had a few days to think about what I wanted to get out of the program.  Thus I felt that I had gathered my thoughts enough to be able to explain well to the Director the kind of experience I hoped to have as an LV.

I considered the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the religious order which founded the Lasallian Volunteer program.  The Brothers have taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to God.  However, they don't live in monasteries.  They live in houses much like anyone else does, yet they live in Christian faith-based community with each other, sharing prayer and fellowship together.  Given how I've enjoyed spending time with people who have consecrated their lives to God, I told the LV Director that I had a very strong preference to live in a community with the Brothers.  I want to see what it's like living as the Brothers do, rather than live in a community composed solely of LVs, as a small number of LVs do.

I also told the LV Director that although I had indicated on my application that my first choice would be to teach ESL (English As A Second Language), I had thought further about work positions and had decided that my first choice would be to serve as a high school teacher, and that my second choice would be to serve as a middle school teacher.  Since I had interviewed to be an LV, I had thought about how in a previous job, I had expressed uncertainty about my ability to do certain tasks well, which had led my supervisor at the time to say to me, "Don't give me that Scarecrow from 'The Wizard Of Oz' routine!"  After I had interviewed to be an LV, I had started applying that advice from my former supervisor, trying to shed my uncertainty, and instead telling myself that I was able to teach high school or middle school. 

As the weeks after the interview passed, the LV Director contacted me from time to time to update me on the process of selecting a site for me.  At one point, she contacted me and informed me that the site selection process had narrowed the options for my site down to three possibilities. 

A short time thereafter, she informed me that the principal of a middle school in Chicago soon would be contacting me.  Within a week or so, perhaps in the middle of April, the principal called me.  We had a pleasant conversation, which I took as a good sign.  He told me that he would be in touch with me. 

At the end of April, he invited me to come visit the school.  He asked me when and for how long I would like to visit.  I told him that I wanted to visit the school as soon as possible for a few days.  He purchased the tickets and less than a week later, I was flying to Chicago in early May. 

I landed at O'Hare in the afternoon and took the subway's blue line into the city.  The principal had arranged it so that a teacher picked me up from a stop on the blue line to drive me to the community house.  In the small world in which we live, as we chatted in the car, we found that one of his best friends had served with me in the Peace Corps in Morocco over the last couple of years! 

I enjoyed my stay at the community house.  Two LVs in their first year of service, Whitney and Megan, had been living in the house thus far during their year of service.  At the end of their first year of service, during this summer, they moved to the other community house which is across the alley separating the two houses.  They'll live there during the second year of their service, that is to say, for the next 12 months.  I enjoyed talking with Whitney and Megan, who are very friendly and happily answered my questions about serving as LVs and about living in the community. 

The first thing in the morning, at 7:00 a.m., the Brothers, Whitney, Megan and I gathered for morning prayer.  We read aloud together out of the Shorter Book Of Christian Prayer, reading mostly Psalms, and at times other Scripture passages as well. 

After the brief morning prayer of about 15 minutes, most members of the community gathered for breakfast in the dining room.  There's a fair supply of cereals, as well as oatmeal, toast, English muffins, and coffee to be had in the house. 

At the community house, we also gathered for evening prayer.  Technically it is late afternoon prayer, given that we met for evening prayer at 5:00 p.m.  Evening prayer is substantially similar to morning prayer. 

Immediately following evening prayer, we shared dinner together in the dining room.  One night during my visit, we had gumbo! 

During my site visit, when I wasn't at the house, most of the time I was at the school.  I had a long enough site visit that I was able to spend three full days at the school.  It's a small school, only serving kids in grades 6, 7 and 8.  There are only about 28 students in each grade, so that each grade is entirely contained in its own classroom.  The vast majority of the pupils are of Mexican heritage.  Well over 90 percent of them qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch.  Given that the school serves so many poor children, I had been looking forward to going to the school. 

From the moment I stepped onto the floor on which the school is located, even before meeting any of the staff or students, I had a good feeling.  Then once I started meeting the children and teachers and other staff, I felt even more comfortable and excited to be there.  The kids are fairly well-behaved and are exceptionally respectful.  I found the teachers and other staff to be friendly and happy to answer any questions I had. 

Once the school day got started, I got to see first-hand how each student reads 90 minutes each day, a practice I think is wonderful.  The principal had me sit with individual students who were reading, confirming their accurate pronunciations when they seemed uncertain, encouraging them, and correcting some of their mistakes as they read. 

The principal also asked me to teach the 8th grade religion class one afternoon so he could see how I would interact with the students.  Since the students were about to start learning about Pentecost, I decided to teach about Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit down upon the Apostles.  I started off the lesson asking the kids what types of events worry them, and how they react to such events.  Then I asked the students how the Apostles felt right after Jesus had been crucified.  A student replied that the Apostles were worried.  I had a student read the Bible verses in which Jesus had assured His Apostles that He would send the Holy Spirit upon them.  Then I asked for a half dozen volunteers.  I had the six or so students come to the front of the class and they and I took turns reading aloud as we made our way through the second chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, in which Luke the Evangelist recounts how God indeed sent the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, strengthening them and enabling them to do great things.  After we had finished reading from the Bible, I referenced and called upon the Scripture passage to illustrate how God wants us to trust in Him, and that when we do, we are empowered to do great things for Him. 

After the class, a teacher asked me how the lesson went.  The principal happened to be passing us at that moment.  I deferred to him.  I responded, "You'll have to ask him."  I was glad to hear that he was pleased with my teaching style, how I involved the students in the lesson, and how I handled unexpected occurrences during the lesson.  He noted that in my interactions with students, it helps how I speak with energy and show animated facial expressions, tendencies which I hadn't considered as being helpful when I teach. 

While I was glad to hear that the principal had been pleased with my teaching style, I was still concerned about being able to teach well.  Thankfully, he gave me a couple of fantastic books to read, "The Essential 55" by Ron Clark and "Teach Like A Champion" by Doug Lemov.  After reading them in May, June and July, I recommend them both, as they contain very helpful tips about teaching.  In the first book, Clark tends to focus on getting kids into the right mindset for school, both for studying well and for behaving well both in and out of school.  Lemov shares his observations of how outstanding teachers convey knowledge and cultivate reasoning skills, and also how they manage their classrooms well.  I found both books to be insightful; after reading both of those books, I'm less anxious about teaching.

I'm excited about the coming school year.  I'm looking forward to teaching.  And more specifically, I'm glad that I'm going to be teaching at a school where poor children attend.  I'm also glad to have co-workers who share my Christian faith and who are trying to express their faith by caring for others, especially those who don't have a lot.  I'm happy to be trying to live my faith, being supported by those who share it and hopefully supporting them too. 

Invitation To Become A Lasallian Volunteer

In March this year, my first-choice volunteer program, Lasallian Volunteers, accepted me. Yet I feel I should back up to give some context of how I came to apply to be a Lasallian Volunteer.

When I was living in Morocco and working there as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the field of Youth Development from 2010 to 2012, I experienced spiritual changes which helped me gain clarity about the kind of life I want to live. While I lived in Morocco, I had a lot of free time. I tried to make good use of my copious spare time, using it to read the entire Old Testament, then the entire New Testament, then all of the Old Testament Apochrypha. I also gradually read all of "The Imitation Of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, which many feel is the most treasured text in Christianity after the Bible.

Amongst the other Christian writings I read while I was in Morocco, I read "Celebration Of Discipline" by Richard Foster, as well as the accompanying study guide which Foster also wrote. In those books, Foster discusses spiritual disciplines which can help place one before God, which can help focus on God, which can help one commune with God, including prayer, study, meditation, fasting, simplicity, solitude, community, worship, celebration and service. As I read these books, I came to realize that Foster was describing elements of my life at that point in Morocco which I had been enjoying.

Of course I had been enjoying serving impoverished persons through my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I had long found fulfillment from helping poor people in a variety of ways, so it came as no surprise that I found satisfaction from serving poor persons whilst in the Peace Corps. 

I had been living simply as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I didn't miss the paycheck I used to earn as a lawyer, nor did I miss the possessions I had shed just before moving to Morocco. Indeed, as I progressed in my Peace Corps service, and came to rid myself of more property, I grew to want to give away even more possessions. Not only did I want to live even more and more simply, I wanted to do so as I simultaneously knew that to do so is an attempt to practice a spiritual discipline.

Before I had read Foster's writings on the spiritual disciplines, I had known in a general sense that the spiritual disciplines present worthwhile spiritual practices. After reading Foster's books, I came to be aware of why they are helpful to one's spiritual development. I further became aware of their importance in my life, and how they relate to each other. I appreciated his exposition on the spiritual disciplines, since upon reading his writings, I was better able to organize my thoughts regarding my spiritual journey and the facets of my life which I hoped to retain in my life once I left Morocco.

Soon after reading these two volumes by Foster, I read Thomas Merton's autobiography, "The Seven Storey Mountain," in which Merton describes how he came to be a Trappist monk. It occurred to me that as a monk, one can live a life of service, and also of solitude, yet also of community, a life which is especially conducive to prayer, meditation and study of The Word Of God.

Accordingly, once I left Morocco, I visited monasteries on my way back to the USA. I enjoyed my stays at Glenstal Abbey and at Mount Saint Joseph Abbey in Ireland. Even moreso I enjoyed my stay at Belmont Abbey in the United Kingdom. There I stayed inside the abbey with the monks for a week, unlike how I had stayed in the guesthouses at the monasteries in Ireland.  From those monastery visits, I found that I enjoyed the company of persons who have chosen to live their lives consecrated to God. 

After having invested my extensive free time in reading which helped me to identify the kind of spiritual life I wanted to live, and after having stayed at and otherwise visited monasteries, I arrived back in the USA in late November 2012 intentionally looking for specific kinds of opportunities to serve others. During my time in Morocco, I enjoyed spiritual community with other expatriate Christians who were also living in Morocco. I would meet up with them for Bible study, sometimes as often as once a week. I cherished the fellowship we shared as we supported each other in our faith as Christians. As much as I enjoyed the fellowship with them, I also knew that I needed more spiritual community than weekly Bible study sessions. I concluded that I wanted to live in a Christian faith-based community. Thus, I arrived back in the USA seeking opportunities to serve poor persons while living simply as a member of a Christian faith-based community, perhaps as a member of a volunteer program.

Although I started looking for such opportunities about a week after I arrived back in the USA, initially I could not find them. I searched intermittently for brief periods for such opportunities, not consistently searching for them partly because I was especially occupied given that Christmas was soon approaching. Even though I had not been persistently looking for these volunteer programs, by the time New Year's Eve arrived, I was starting to despair that I would not be able to find a way to continue serving poor persons while living simply in a Christian faith-based community.

Then right around New Year's Eve, while doing an Internet search, I found the website www.catholicvolunteernetwork.org. On that website, I found numerous opportunities to volunteer. I found full-time options and part-time options. I found chances to volunteer abroad or in many states in the USA. I found programs offering positions where one could teach, be a social worker, volunteer in a soup kitchen, and serve in many other ways. I found programs where volunteers work in connection with friars and sisters. I found programs where volunteers could get health insurance, room and board, and modest living stipends. In short, I found so many volunteering possibilities that I had to start prioritizing which programs were most appealing to me.

Soon I had developed a list consisting of a few tiers of programs with progressively later deadlines. I applied to the first three programs at the top of my list. I filled out long applications with dozens of questions which called for short answers. I asked former work supervisors, pastors and a co-worker to write recommendations for me. Once I had submitted the applications, I began to wait.

After perhaps a couple of weeks, I heard back from Lasallian Volunteers, which was my top choice. They wanted to interview me! I was glad to get this news. I knew that Lasallian Volunteers was a staff organization which was founded by the Brothers of the Christian Schools to run a nationwide network of volunteers. I knew that Lasallian Volunteers places volunteers in positions where they serve impoverished youths, often in educational settings. I wanted to teach. I had enjoyed teaching as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. When I was applying to the Peace Corps, I enjoyed being a teacher's assistant to a teacher who was teaching ESL (English As A Second Language), and I also enjoyed tutoring people in ESL during that same period. When I was a lawyer, I always enjoyed educating people about the law, which had led me to want to teach in the Peace Corps. So I was excited to interview for a chance to become a Lasallian Volunteer (LV), since I knew that as an LV, I could probably not only teach, but also be a teacher for poor kids. And I was excited to interview to be an LV since LVs live in Christian faith-based community, most of them with Brothers of the Christian Schools.

In preparing for the interview, I learned about Saint John Baptist de la Salle, who founded the religious order known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He was a French priest who lived from 1651 to 1719, who did much to further education. While preparing for the interview, I read about middle schools and high schools affiliated with the Brothers, schools which are often called Lasallian schools, and which serve impoverished youths. I also read about other types of sites where LVs serve, including educational centers, a family therapy center, and a retreat center. I also read about the array of positions in which LVs serve, including in the position of teacher, tutor, social worker, campus minister, recreational activity leader, retreat facilitator, and development assistant. On the Lasallian Volunteers website, I also read about LVs who were serving. In all that I read, I got a positive impression of the LV program. As I read LVs' blog entries, I could tell that LVs are happy. As the interview neared, more and more I wanted to become an LV.

The interview lasted over an hour and a half. The interviewer asked me a variety of questions, which tended to revolve around faith, service and community, the main pillars on which the LV program is based. After the interview, I wanted to be an LV even more.

In the days after the interview, I tried to busy myself as I wondered about the status of my application. After a couple of weeks, which seemed much longer, I got word that I was invited to be an LV!  I promptly accepted the invitation to be an LV.  I was happy that I had found a way to continue serving impoverished people, while living simply and living in Christian faith-based community.  I was set to take the next steps on my spiritual journey!