Tonight after dinner at Chipotle we all commemorated the last night of the “all staying in 1 1/2 bedroom apt. for a whole month” chapter of our lives by taking a midnight swim. Actually, I just photographed the whole thing, I didn’t feel like getting in the pool.
It was here that the boys invented a new Olympic sport. They learned to swim around in circles in the pool while holding their cigars in their mouths. Too bad they couldn’t have done it with beer in their hands too!
These are a few pictures of my new room. If you look really closely, you can see the bust of Homer.
All of my favorite authors, along with in-class notes from today:
The view from my desk window:
This was my first week at St. Peter’s. For any of you that have talked to me, you already know. I think that I may have found my dream job.
Sure, there are some trade-offs, like the fact that the school is 30 minutes from our new apartment (although I carpool with my boss so I don’t actually use very much gas), and the fact that I don’t get to order EVERY single book I want because the school is on a limited budget. Lately the copy machine has also been on the fritz.
But the benefits far outweigh anything bad or annoying. Take, for example, the fact that it is an Orthodox Christian school. Now, this doesn’t mean that all the teachers or students are Orthodox Christians- it’s about fifty-fifty, although everyone must be respectful of Orthodox practices. But every morning we have chapel for 30 minutes where we basically pray and sing the Psalms. Already I’ve found that this brightens my day and calms me spiritually.
The attitude of the kids is amazing as well. It seemed so novel that a few days ago, I attempted to explain it to Courtney. Instead of waiting for something to peak their interest, they assume that whatever is going to be said is pertinent and valuable information. At one point during one of our discussions, my junior highers were already pulling out their notebooks to take notes- before I’d even told them to.
The level of respect for teachers is also very high without being “despotic”. One of my 11th grade girls came into my class yesterday to ask if she could bring a drinkable yogurt into my classroom. Because of my “Flexing Poplars” experiences, I was immediately very suspicious. I answered coldly, “What does Mr. Smith (the principal) have to say about that?” I expected the answer would be evasive, but instead she looked me right in the eye and answered calmly, “Mr. Smith said that it was fine, but I wanted to check with you since I know this is your classroom.” My jaw just about hit the floor!
This level of respect is also made evident in that the children, no matter how young, must maintain eye contact with whoever is speaking to them. They also are not allowed to sit down when entering a classroom until the teacher requests it, and they must stand up if any other adult enters the room during class. It makes all of us teachers think twice before interrupting other classes, even for important things!
The parents are also equally as appreciative and respectful. Today we feasted on a 3 course lunch of grilled chicken salad, tropical fruit kabobs, bread hot from the oven and chocolate and zucchini cake, homemade by one of the parents and served “waitress style” by two of the students.
Then there’s the faculty. So far, I love each and every one of the teachers that I get to work with. Whenever we have good discussions in class, we talk about them over lunch, suggesting additional books and materials. Sometimes Fr. Jared (ex-Episcopal priest, now Orthodox catechumen) will even start conversations about Charles Williams or the apostolic fathers. All of the teachers are quite knowledgeable, not only in their field but in others as well. Even the elementary teachers spent their summer reading up on ways that they could improve their teaching styles.
Everyone is also more than happy to help out and fill in when needed. My boss, Brian Smith, always goes out of his way to make sure that things are running smoothly, and Annie the secretary can do pretty much anything she’s asked, still smiling cheerfully all the way. I’ve heard others say that this is the best faculty they’ve ever had the privilege of working with, and I don’t doubt it.
Add onto this the academic side of things. The kids are expecting homework, and haven’t complained yet, even when I assigned them 30 pages of reading on the first day of school. They learn Latin and Greek from Kindergarten on up, memorize so many Psalms that they will have the entire Psalter memorized by their senior year, and read all of the Great Books of Western Civilization. Personally, I get to teach an Ancient Lit class (Homer through Augustine), a Medieval/Renaissance Class (Beowulf through Shakespeare) and an American Lit class. I also get to teach a music elective and many many piano lessons.
Speaking of piano lessons….here is one of the students that I just started teaching. You would not believe this but…..he’s never had lessons of any kind before. In any instrument. The only music instruction he’s ever had is that he once “read a book” about music. There are times when I feel like I should be very afraid, as though I’m in the present of another Mozart.
See, because the thing is, he doesn’t know a single note to go along with what he’s playing. He made it all up. In fact, it’s so improvisational, he can never play it the same way twice.
Tell me this isn’t incredible.
So there you have it. My dream job. Hopefully you all can come and visit sometime!
Yesterday was Jesse’s and my two year anniversary. Boy, did that happen really fast! It seems like just yesterday we were packing our boxes and driving through the Texas desert towards Dallas.
Over a fabulous dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant last night, Jesse and I discussed what has changed between us in this last year. The reason is, things have. Big time. I could say that we’re still the same people, but I’m actually not sure of that.
I can only speak for what I see (Jesse will have to fend for himself on here if he wants to, I’m too ill-equipped to describe the deep recesses of his thoughts!). I know that over this last year, I’ve grown to respect and trust Jesse more than I thought possible. Part of this is due to moving away, as we’ve discussed recently with Mike and Courtney who have experienced the same thing. When you are alone in a brand new location, it brings you closer in a way that nothing else can. Moving brings with it a new sort of stress that throws all sorts of hidden emotions onto the table. Habits that were “annoying” but tolerable are amplified and, subsequently, dealt with. It’s because of this I felt that someone, somewhere, had pushed a fast-forward but on whatever growth we were experiencing in our first year of marriage.
And now I see Jesse in a different light. I have never seen him so confident, so full of life and energy for what is good and right. I feel blessed that I have been able to witness his transformation this year as he became not only more wise and learned, but more kind and caring. It’s hard for me to catch him at a time when he’s NOT doing what he should. He’s more humble and slow to anger than I’ve seen, more eager to help me and make life easier, more eager to love those around him.
As a result, we hardly fight at all and even when we do, it rarely lasts longer than an hour or two. For those of you that knew us last year, this is an amazing testimony to God’s gracious and loving care in our lives. I’m not going to say it happened magically; it took a lot of work, a lot of difficult conversations that I would have preferred to “avoid”, a lot of honesty about our own faults, but it was worth it. I remember a conversation that I had with Fr. Wayne over a year ago about marriage, in which he said that he and his wife hadn’t fought in over 20 years. I, of course, thought that that was the scariest thing I’d ever heard- without arguments, I thought, things are just getting swept under the rug! Fr. Wayne explained that instead of letting anything get to an argument, they both take a proactive role in being honest with one another.
At the same time that this was scary, however, it was also overwhelmingly appealing. Whenever Jesse and I argue, whenever I am cruel to him, I hurt inside, as though I am hurting MYSELF when I say the wrong thing. I hate having to be prevention oriented, because it means unpleasant confrontation when I’d rather be eating chocolate or watching a movie, but it sure beats the pain of separation and fighting.
So here’s a toast to our next year together. May it be as fruitful as the second and more. May we continue to serve the Lord and love others in all that we do.
Then:
Now:
Two nights ago we introduced Mike and Courtney to their first Dallas-St. Seraphim-young-adult-gathering.
Here are a few pictures (as always!):
