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| Me on uniform |
The idea of being responsible for somebody's education terrifies me. I feel like it is too much of a burden. I have worked before and my work does not involve a lot of people. I was just responsible for myself.What a shift of perspective becoming a teacher was.
Being a student teacher(take note i am still just a student teacher) teaching 80 or so High School students a day and looking at them...And thinking how will I be good enough for them? When i feel like i have really nothing valuable to give. But sometimes light shines through and you get a chance to laugh with your students, they look at you, they get involve and you all of you in the room are one. The vastness of the burden i feel inside becomes bearable. Hey, let's just have fun okay? And not take all of this so seriously. So what if what you can give may not be that valuable enough? Give it anyway. And so what if my feet hurts from running all day(I really need new shoes. Why do i love wearing heels?). And so what if i wake up at 4:30 everyday just to be on time for my early class at 6:30 am. Crazy school schedule! Sometimes i really wish to be the principal of this school where i am deployed. I will change a lot of things! Why are some of these students not in uniform and why are they allowed to get out during class hours? Can somebody please tell me?
And so what if i am still learning how to be responsible. It is not easy to create a Lesson plan every single day.
These students they treat you like equal. I have no problem with that. But sometimes it gets too much and you get to scare them with a minus point. It's crazy how they get so easily scared with a minus point.
And now because i am tired thinking of all the things i needed to do for Monday. I get to surf the net and then i watch this: Youtube Link << click that for the youtube link. I cannot upload the video. I do not know why.
Education is not an end in itself. It leads out or calls out or revolts the truth of who each person is as a creature of God. Education is essential so that we can go on and become truly who God wants us to be. We don't want to make the mistake of thinking that education makes us good. It doesn't. Some of the most educated people in the world have figured out ways to do some of the most destructive things in the world. Whatever we achieve in education becomes a means for us to transmit the goodness that God has given us. The awareness of being recipient of gift shapes our response. And that response is radical gratitude.
How are we to live this radical gratitude? By giving ourselves away. Radical gratitude is this emptying out of ourselves for the good of a village, of a people, of a nation, of our own family. The key to existence is self gift. When we give ourselves away, we truly exist. And that is what education at its best! Helps us do well. Namely to live, to truly exist by giving ourselves away. And when we do not give ourselves away, we edge closer and closer to non-being.
Education is a vehicle to which we reach a deeper understanding of life. And the deepest understanding of life is unity. Awakening from sense of separateness is what all of us are called to do. And with our vehicles of degrees and diplomas we have the means to grow in the sense of unity and to strengthen the oneness with other human beings in the universe. And so what are we to do? How are we going to live? James Moore sums it up in his lovely gospel.
Touch somebody's heart with your life.
Touch somebody's heart with yours.
Share the gift or your love with everyone you meet
Touch somebody's heart with yours
Touch somebody's life with your life.
Touch somebody's heart with yours.
Share the gift of your love with everyone you meet.
Touch somebody's life with yours.
My dear friends, that's radical gratitude.
-Sister Teresita Weind, SND
transcript by me :)
