As we left the mission on our way to the school for the first time, I recall sitting there thinking to myself, "What am I getting myself into?" The night before we were told about what to expect from our class, and, to be honest, I was slightly worried. However, I did my best to remember what we were told. My classroom partner, Bill Butterfield, and I made our way toward our classroom and, as we walked in, we saw a room of kids sitting quietly in their seats. We met the teacher, Mr. Hairsine, and I was impressed with his classroom management. When kids were talking out of order he would sit there without saying anything. The students soon realized that they were not getting any attention and immediately stopped talking. I realized that he was practicing the virtue of silence. Silence is golden, while duct tape is silver, and in this case, it truly was.
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| Mr. Garesche teaches his students about the Holy Rosary |
Mr. Hairsine and his fellow faculty members also practiced several of the other virtues in his classes. As we watched the class with each subject and teacher we saw the same thing. Patience. At times, all of these teachers had it rough, but they had to ignore the snide remarks from the kids and continue on with class. When teaching class, each teacher had an idea of what they hoped to accomplish that day and had a plan to make sure each student could reach that goal. After introducing the concept and handing out the worksheet, the kids were so excited that questions were spurting out of their mouths. Most of the students would raise their hands, but many others would start yelling without being called on. The teacher would tell the student they need to raise their hand quietly and wait to be called on before talking. The teacher would wait patiently until the student would finally raise their hands and correspond with the rules before being called on. The amount of time it took for kids to finally listen to the rules and wait patiently to be called on seemed interminable, but the teacher would sit there and wait patiently for them to do so. These teachers really did not care how long it took but would wait until their students chose to obey the rules.
Patience is something I have not really needed to use much, but during this immersion my personal patience has been tested. I have never needed to exercise much patience other than waiting for a test grade or a cast list to be posted. However, during the week, a situation arose with a particular student that caused me to lose my patience and speak harshly to her. I realize that I could have handled myself more appropriately because it caused quite a ruckus. However, realizing my mistake, I confronted the problem in a mature way and now things are better than ever.
Long story short - be patient! There are times when you need to really bite your lip and buckle down. These kids are absolutely amazing and have great potential, but, just like me, they just need buckle down and put their heads in the books.
With Respect,
James Stupar '14
P.S Shout out to my family and friends back home in Pittsburgh who are praying for my friends and me on our journey. Also, a special shout out to Miss Corda for literally changing my life in Kindness Club.
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| James Stupar '14 (far right), with his fellow "Noblemen" (L-R), John Wolfe '14, Nick Walnoha '14 and Bill Butterfield '14 |
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