An ode to our Catholic school teachers

By PAT ARENSBERG
For The Catholic Week
As I write this column we are on the eve of the first full day of school in our Catholic schools. I know that all teachers work hard and all teachers should be applauded. However, in this space I want to thank those who enter into our schools as ministers of education.
Our teachers go into their classrooms with a particular curriculum that they are obliged to teach. It is concrete and it is set. However, our teachers are not just communicating data and facts. Catholic school teachers are poignantly aware that there is much more at stake here. There are souls in the balance. The way the chemistry teachers treats their students will have a great impact on how those students understands the material and themselves. The way the math teacher takes time out of his or her schedule to help a student who is struggling communicates love to that student.
When a history teacher has to correct a student for a uniform violation, the very way he does that is either affirming of the person (while correcting the problem) or it is not affirming. When a teacher in a Catholic school acts, it is the Church Herself that is acting, especially in the eyes of the students. The very best of our Catholic school teachers understand their role in the salvation of their students. Every time a teacher prepares a lesson, corrects behavior, encourages effort, gives permission for the student to go to the bathroom or any other myriad of things a teacher does, that teacher is aware of the possible eternal consequences.
Our students want to be cherished. They want to be challenged, but guided and assisted when necessary. Our teachers walk the tightrope of how to discipline with love and how to have high expectations without making the ends seem out of reach. All teachers do this, but teachers in a Catholic school do this while realizing that in the eyes of their students they are representatives of the Church.
It is a heavy responsibility. Our teachers are best when they pray for their students. Let’s be our best and pray for our teachers and thank them for all they do.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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