Three Realizations

This past fall, after spending one day a week in kindergarten, I have come to these realizations about teaching:

Some of the greatest joys of teaching come from outside the classroom. This shouldn’t have phased me, as some of the greatest joys of working with youth come from witnessing their love for one another outside of bible study. Seeing kindergartners be happy, help each other, be kind, outside of the classroom, when adults aren’t always 10 feet away, is fantastic. I was able to supervise recesses, skate with the kids, and go to Burnaby Village in the fall term. I got to see kids pick each other up when they were down, literally, make sure everyone got to see whatever incredibly interesting thing was being observed, and forgive each other in November for things that would brand someone as mean, and very likely elicit spontaneous revenge in September.

I could be happy as a teacher. It is not my dream job, but it could become my ideal career if law enforcement doesn’t work out. I was worried when I began in my school in September that I would be terrible in a school setting, and my efforts in the SMCBA would be all for naught. Instead, I discovered that I can get along with teachers as well as any other group of rational adults, and spending all day with kids does not lessen my enjoyment of them, as long as there is a schedule of things for them to do.

It isn’t hard to express God’s love to children. Stressing WHY they need to love one another is a very simple way to do so. Adding a faith perspective to reading, or art, is not difficult, and not only by having faith themed books or projects. In every subject we can talk about the gifts God has given us, and about the inherent dignity in our individual strengths, whatever they may be. In art, we can teach the great Christian artists of history, and explain why they dedicated their labour to God. With books, we can read fictional and non-fictional stories of people who love God, as well as stories that exemplify virtue, whether explicitly Christian, like the Narnia books, or simply inspired by the great Christian traditions of our culture, like Harry Potter.