A Few Reflections From My First Year of Teaching

I started to write a blog on how to survive your first year of teaching and it changed so much when I started writing it. I ended up deleting it all and writing this instead:


Somehow I made it through my first year of teaching. Throughout the past five years whenever I told someone I wanted to teach, or took education classes, they always warned me about the dreaded first year of teaching. They always say things like, "just try to keep swimming", or an actual phrase that people say to each other. Looking back on my year I feel like it was more exciting than overwhelming.

There are many things I could write on what to do and what not to do, but I'm just going to talk about three of the most overlooked things that helped me have some success and deal with the stress of teaching. There are many good tips that you'll hear often (don't bring work home, stay ahead on lessons and grading, etc.) but I feel like the simple things often get overlooked.


1. Patience

I know this seems obvious, but just because it's obvious doesn't mean people practice it. Patience is key to dealing with high schoolers or anyone in your life. Patience is one of the keys of maintaining peace in your life. If any of my students are reading this, you know that you are a handful. I'll admit, sometimes I was too patient with people, but letting little things get to you is the start of a slippery-slope. If something happens in one class and you carry it with you throughout the day it's not good for anyone. Be understanding and realize there are more important things to worry about.


2. Care

Be authentic. Invest in your students and the people in your life and actually show them you care. I hope my students could tell that I cared about them and their sanctity. If you are a teacher, don't treat it as "just a job", but take every advantage you have to build healthy relationships with your students. Don't just learn their names, but get to know them, go to events they are in and pray for them. 


3. Trust

All of these tips assume that you are having consistent prayer and reflection time throughout the day. Trust flows from this prayer. If you have continual communication with the Lord and prepare for your days, trust that He and the gifts He gave you will pull through. That's true for any type of job you have. I'm not saying you can just wing things because you actually need to put time and effort into your work. I'm talking about a confidence in God and His goodness. There were many times this year where my pray did not seem very fruitful, but I always trusted that the Lord would continue to inspire me in many ways.


My first blog was much longer, but when I look back on my year these are what helped me survive.

7 Things to Have a Happier Life

These are things that have helped bring me joy, fulfillment and a deeper appreciation for the way God works in my life.

1. Reading

Whenever I talk about my love for reading I can feel my hair turning gray. Growing up my reading consisted of sitting in front of a TV for multiple hours reading the deals on infomercials I had seen hundreds of times (you can't beat the Magic Bullet). When I started to get in to my faith I realized there was so much I didn't know. I slowly started to buy some books and I realized my love for the Lord grew because I was able to understand Him more. It doesn't just have to be religious books, but getting in to the habit of reading for leisure and not for homework is always a rewarding feeling. You get to grow in knowledge of something and it helped me actually feel productive in my life. Instead of telling you how many things you can put in the Magic Bullet, I can bore you with what Pope Liberius said to the Arians in the 4th Century. Start reading for leisure a little bit every day. I'm no scientist, but I believe it will help you with your mental health.


2. Structure

It's amazing how much a structured life can bring physical, spiritual and emotional stability. Imagine that. (Work on your eating, sleeping, praying, working, leisure, etc.) 

3. Sick Fellowship

Finding hobbies in your life that involve other people is always a plus. I thought of some random examples in my life that have brought a lot of joy and good conversations. Since I don't "sport" well, these examples might seem odd. The first is frisbee golfing (I see your doubt, just let me explain). Frolfing is a nice way to get outside and do something without being in shape. Not only that, but you get to be with another person for an extended period of time and have a solid conversation while enjoying nature and finding discs you threw in the woods.

The next is actually Fantasy Football. There is a theme in these hobbies of not being in shape (you literally watch other people play sports). I just started this last year but it was a way for my family to connect since we live all over the US. It doesn't have to be Fantasy Football, but some kind of activity where you are able to talk trash (charitably of course) and do something as a family is always nice. It also made Sunday a day to relax after we had gone to Mass and watch our players constantly disappoint us.

Go out to eat with friends and just sit there and talk. Make this a weekly routine.


4. Comfortable Furniture

I don't really have to say anything about this.


5. Coffee

Like I said in my last post, I gave up coffee for Lent so this is hard for me to talk about. This was something I forced myself to like. I just started telling myself that I liked black coffee and drank it every day.  My relationship with coffee may or may not have gotten a little unhealthy. Luckily I learned how to limit that to just one cup a day. It's so nice to sit back and drink a nice cup of Joe and think about the deeper things in life. You don't have to drink coffee, but if you don't I'll probably judge you.

6. Gratitude

Looking back on my life I often realize how much I took for granted. The way my parents raised us to be children of faith and discipline. The Catholic education I received. Food. Clothes. Being born in 'merica. There are so many things that are just great. Be thankful for the little things throughout your day and recognize where these come from. This will help drive out negativity and bring peace to your life.


7. Not Being on the Internet

This is ironic because I'm on the internet right now and you are reading this on the internet. Close this browser right now and go do something. The internet is such a black hole. Those space phones are ruining our ability to have normal conversations with people. We can't sit for an hour without checking it. It's like our security blanket for avoiding conversations/ awkward situation. Embrace awkward situations. Go out and talk to people.

Coffee and Attachments

 Since it is a few days into Lent, sacrifices and attachments have been on my mind. I don't normally like to tell people what I give up, but my students were asking and I also kind of wanted people to hold me accountable in my sacrifice. This Lent I decided to give up coffee. I have thought about doing this for the past few years but I haven't been committed enough and I thought I was too reliant on it. I let it slip about a week before Lent during class and kind of felt obliged to do it. It has been a little rough, the first night I literally had a dream just about drinking coffee. 

I know it's bad to complain about your sacrifice and that's not what I am trying to do. What I wanted to talk about was using Lent as a starting point to push out attachments that you have in your life. This is always a time that reminds me how far I have on my journey. It should not cause me this much pain to go without coffee for 40 days. Sometimes I look at all the things that are hard for me to give up and I am given lies from the Evil One saying that it will be impossible for me to drop what I have for the Lord. He tries to use this as a barrier between the Lord and I.

We get scared to go to the Lord because we aren't perfect yet. I was reading a book called Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Michael Gaitley, and he gave an analogy about how we should be approaching the Lord with our attachments. He described it in terms of a dog and its owner. Since I had a dog that was rarely seen without a slobbery ball in her mouth, I could relate to this analogy. 

Gaitley said that when an owner is trying to get a ball from a dog, instead of just trying to go up and tug it out he is going to say nice things to the dog and bend down to his level. He will start petting him and loving on him and when the dog is not expecting it, he will grab the ball from his mouth. Like this dog that is attached to his beloved ball, the Lord calls us to Him even with our imperfections. Through His outpouring of love and grace He will slowly help us fight away these attachments keeping us from Him.

Don't wait to be perfect to run to the Lord because it will never happen. Run to Him with who you are and allow Him to help you. As it says in Mt 9:12, "those who are well have no need of a physician." The Lord came for the sick. Realize that by saying no to a cup of coffee or whatever you gave up, you are strengthening your will to say no in situations that will be much more harmful to your relationship with God.

Lent is always a good starting point to practice saying no to the comforts of this world, but it shouldn't end at Easter.  Hopefully the virtues you build will continue in your journey here on earth. I hope your Lenten promises have been going well and you have been able to see the fruit in your life.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

I thought I would try this out, seems to be what all those youths are doing these days. I finally figured out MySpace and I figured blogs would be a natural step from that. In all seriousness, I hope to add some thoughts that I have about life and the faith and practical ways to live it out. I chose "Love Without Limits" as the title to my blog in reference to St. Maximilian Kolbe.  Reading through his writings and letters to family and friends you will see that he will often pray that his love would have no limits. The Lord answered his prayers and worked through him even during his constant struggles with health. By the end of his life he had brought over 700 men to the monastery he started and had helped many reach a conversion through the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

I have a very strong devotion to St. Maximilian Kolbe and try as hard as I can to imitate his life. Whenever I examine my life and honestly ask if I have loved those I have interacted with, I am often faced with some harsh realities. Our lives need to be a constant surrender to love. It sounds cheesy and overstated, but this love that Kolbe desired was a love that embraced suffering and rejection. It was a love that was able to gaze upon another human being, no matter how obnoxious they were being, and not only meet them where they were at, but encourage them to strive for a deeper relationship with the Lord and the Blessed Mother.

I teach mostly sophomores in high school and there are so many different situations that come up throughout the day that I find myself losing patience and responding poorly or uncharitably. Sometimes I lose focus of the reason I wanted to teach in the first place. If I am not finding joy in the Gospel myself it is going to be hard for me to encourage someone else to find it.  This simple and constant prayer of Kolbe has always reminded me to trust in the grace of the Lord to get over my own selfish desires and vices. I hope the Lord blesses you with an intense love for Him and the people He puts in your life.