By Joe Mazzella
It was over 30 years ago. I had graduated college with a degree in education but hadn’t been able to find a full time job as a teacher. Instead I was working as a substitute. One day I would be called in to work in an elementary classroom, on another day I would be at the high school, and on another I would be working all day in the special education classroom. Through it all, though, I tried my best to be a positive and uplifting teacher. I remembered the teachers I’d had growing up. Some were so good. They encouraged and praised their students. They made the work feel like a joy. I would learn anything for them. Others only criticized and reprimanded their students. In their classes I felt fear and resentment and learned a lot less than I could have.
On one day of substituting I was having a really good day. I praised one boy’s math answer and another girl’s English essay. I did my best to make each student feel seen and appreciated. At first the students seemed shocked by this treatment but soon they became happy and responsive. And at the end of the day a particularly shy girl stopped before leaving and said, “I wish you were my teacher every day.” Those kind words have stayed in my heart to this day.
I haven’t worked in a school for decades now, but I’ve learned one thing: We are all teachers in this life and we are all students as well. We learn from each other. It doesn’t matter what your job is, you are always teaching others with your words, with your actions, and with your life.
The question is: What are you going to teach? Are you going to help God teach Love and kindness and peace and goodness and giving and sharing and Joy? Or are you going to teach fear, anger, hatred, and misery? The choice is yours. I myself will always choose the path of Love, learning, and Joy. I myself will always choose to do my best to help God make this world the happy classroom it was always meant to be. May you do the same.