While thinking about my philosophy of education, I was taken back to a time when I was helping my daughter edit one of the essays she had written for a college application. As I read her work, I was surprised to find that she had included words that I had repeated to her and to my son each day before they left for school throughout their elementary years…
Listen to your teachers, be nice to your friends, and do your best.
How could my daughter have chosen these simple words to be included in the same piece of writing that contained quotes from wise, influential individuals such as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.? After a great deal of contemplation and soul searching, I came to the realization that although my words were quite simple, they could also be viewed as profound. They had become the core of all that I believe as a parent and as an educator. I now realize that each day, I transform these words I spoke to my young children at home into the words that reflect my goals and aspirations for my middle school students at St. Aloysius.
Listen to your teachers…has become…Learn all that you can from the people who surround you each day in this caring Christian community.
Be nice to your friends…has become…Treat people with the dignity and respect they deserve, as we are all God’s children.
Do your best…has become…God has blessed you with many talents; use them to the best of your ability in all that you do.
I see each school day as an opportunity to serve the Lord as I serve the students as a teacher at St. Aloysius Catholic School.