The Next 180 Days

Today I finally logged into this page and it greeted me like a friend whose face I haven't seen in some time. I meant to write a reflection at the end of the school year about my first year teaching, again when I came back from my adventure to Chile and Peru, at the end of my time in California for the Fides et Ratio seminar, and I thought time and time again this summer how I would sit down to write, but I never did.

The end of the school year was just that--the end. There was no big hoorah celebration or sigh of relief that it was over. The year came and then it went. I learned more in my first year teaching than I have most years in my life. If I just bulleted a list of things I undeniably learned more about this year, the list would look a little something like this:

• You have to be willing to give before you can ever expect to receive. 
• Scheduling and planning looks different to everyone. 
• I had no idea what the words flexible or communication really meant.

Chile and Peru I can only describe in pictures...

In California, I had the opportunity to attend a literary seminar. I was able to spend a week of my summer reading and discuss books with a group of about thirty other teachers, professors, and a few others. Among the thirty some odd books I read, I was pleased to find many of the books to be books that I had read throughout my education at St. Edward's on the list including: "The Power and the Glory", "The Diary of a Country Priest", and many of Hemmingway's short stories. We also worked through some of St. Augustine's "Confessions" as well as Woodrow Wilson's campaign speeches. I enjoyed my week discussing literature at a round table again. I was taken back to the many wonderful discussions and lectures I had the opportunity to be a part of at St. Edwards--I'm biased, but never have I ever met a more intellectual and motivating group of individuals as I have in the English literature department at SEU. As a teacher, I aspire to emulate the stimulating dialogue that my professors were capable of facilitating in our classrooms. 

As I begin this new school year, I look forward to the days ahead. I know that I will face many challenges but that in each of those I will also be given the opportunity to grow as an educator and more importantly as a person. Here's to the next 180 days.