I have come to fall in love with teaching in Catholic schools. What are YOU in love with?...

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." - Pedro Arrupe

Monday, September 3, 2018

Slow and steady

"How do you like your new job?"

This is one of the first questions on my family and friends' minds that they inevitably asked me this week as the school year started up and we welcomed children through our school doors.

So far so good, I think. 

But, in all honesty, I don't really know yet. The truth is, it's only been a week with the students, two weeks with the teachers. The large parts of my job - student discipline and teacher observations - haven't really started yet. Most of my time thus far has been spent in meetings, working things out with the principal, fielding questions from parents and teachers, and doing many a lunch and recess duty. (So far I have loved lunch duty because I'm getting to learn the students' names.) In terms of getting in a groove or knowing my schedule, I simply don't.

But I am learning - learning names, learning routines, learning what's been done before (and figuring out what might need some tweaking/change), learning policies... 

And then I remind myself that I was at my previous school for seven years - I didn't get to know all of the families and students overnight there either. (It's just hard to remember that in the moment.) It's going to take time and effort... And that's something I'm willing to give because I recognize what an incredible community I am now a part of and how much I can learn from my principal and colleagues and, hopefully, how much I can contribute in return.

No one said change was going to be easy. But I have faith it's going to be more than just all right.

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