We are a couple of days into Week 8 of Term 2. WOW. Now, I'm going to remind you that I am teaching primarily juniors (16 year olds) and a couple of seniors...and they can be really rude. Surprised? I'm not. However, it's been discouraging, especially right before Thanksgiving. No, I didn't feel like a complete failure or like giving up, but I felt hopeless in a way. I know all of us, whether you're a teacher or not, can feel that way at times. Nothing that I was saying or doing was making them interested. I shouldn't say that for each and every student, but for the majority, that's how it appeared, and still appears. It appears that I am a fool for even trying to get the message of the gospel across to these teenagers. They're rude to me, rude to the bus driver, and rude to the few that want (at least they appear like so) to be over at St. Paul's. I am trying to focus on the positives, but it's really difficult when they act uninterested, test every ounce of my patience, and then stand up to leave when we still have 5 minutes left of class time left. Today not a single student said good-bye to me after I reprimanded them on their behavior. Yup, teenagers...
Since Advent has begun, I have changed the format of our prayer. Rather than having them stay seated, I have a new space for prayer where I placed the Advent wreath where we gather around and remain standing for a reflection and prayer that I have the students lead. To help them prepare, I have a Jesus stocking, and I have encouraged them to do random acts of kindness as a way of thanking Jesus for all of the gifts He has given us and to prepare our hearts for Christmas. I made up little slips of paper for them to write down their "gifts" to Jesus. After Christmas, we will read all of the things they did out of preparation for Jesus coming into their hearts on Christmas! A dear friend of mine from back home shared prayers and challenges that she wrote with her friend for her fellow peers and teachers for morning prayer at her high school. They are beautiful! Starting tomorrow I will post them on my blogs so you can say the same prayers and be challenged to do the same random acts of kindness. Thanks Nicole!
I know that I am a champion (thanks to Katy Perry-kidding)! I am running after Jesus and doing my job as best as I can with His unfailing help. There is no sense in being discouraged because we never truly know what seeds are being planted on the hearts of the people we encounter...hopefully good seeds! I can't help but want all of my students to know the joy of having a relationship with Jesus and to experience that for themselves. All in all, I want this world to be a better place. I want all people to be good to one another out of their love for God. It's less about about doing and more about being, and I'm striving to portray that. Our good works should be done not to earn his love and mercy, but rather as natural responses of our love for God, in thanksgiving for what He provides us and the grace we receive through prayer and the sacraments. I want to start a fire! Not literally, but spiritually! As St. Catherine of Siena said, "If you are what you should be, you will set the world ablaze." Again, maybe I'm not going to see that "fire" right here and now in 2nd and 3rd hour class. I can't honestly say that I was the best student at all times in every single religion class that I ever took. So, I need to be patient, and wait for the Lord to work on them, but especially me. Shoot, this must be how God feels when He listens to some of my prayers...
So, if anyone has any great techniques for presenting how awesome living a moral life is since I am finishing the term with Morality, let me know.
Happy Advent!
Come, Lord Jesus!
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