For the vast majority of my 36-year high school teaching career, I have intentionally taught the “bookends.” As a Social Studies and English teacher, I looked forward each year to teaching both the incoming Grade 8s and the outgoing Grade 12s. When I transitioned into a more full-time administrative role nearly 25 years ago, I continued (with the exception of the past three years) to assign myself at least one teaching block—oscillating year to year between a block of Social Studies 8 and a block of Geography 12.
While I have taught the full gamut of courses in both subject areas over the years, it is safe to say these are my two favourite classes to teach. Grade 8s enter high school wide-eyed and full of life—ready to embark on a new adventure and game for anything. You ask a question, and (literally) all 30 hands fly into the air. It does not hurt that the curriculum for Social Studies 8 is packed full of juicy content, and that they genuinely enjoy the material. However, what I love most about teaching the 8s is their willingness to take risks. Their approach is more often than not “Ready – Fire – Aim,” yet they are undeterred if their answers are even slightly off the mark. They have the confidence and gusto to forge ahead anyway.
That same ‘devil-may-care’ verve is sadly more reserved among my senior students. However, what I enjoy most about teaching them is the maturity and sophistication they bring to their learning. Thirty waving hands may not greet me when I pose a question, but I can literally see them thinking in real time. Their synapses are firing as they attempt to piece together previously learned information—analyzing a question before answering it. It is a far more nuanced and cerebral approach. At this level, it becomes about metacognition—the awareness and understanding of their own thought processes—that I find fascinating.
As an official member of the Old Guard (grey in hair… long in tooth… steeped in more experience than I might care to admit), I like to think I approach each new school year with the same lens I had in 1989—when I first entered the classroom as a wide-eyed, 22-year-old neophyte. While the colour has long since left my hair and I have packed on more pounds than I care to count, I still see glimpses of that younger version of myself when I look in the mirror and answer the call each September. Though, hopefully wiser, I still cling to the same youthful enthusiasm—the belief that I can make a difference. If I am gutturally honest, this is what keeps me answering the bell.
When the Admin Team was building the timetable last spring, I asked Mr. Adams to assign me a block of Geography 12. My wife still does not know I am teaching this year. If she did, she would not be too pleased. That said, despite the many pressures of my role as President, I think she would also be the first to admit that teaching—working with my small but merry band of B-Block Geography 12 students—will bring me the greatest joy for those 75 minutes, two to three times each week for the next nine months. It is their engagement in the class, and with the course content, that continues to stir in me a deep sense of awe for the vocation I’ve chosen and the countless blessings my craft—and God—have bestowed upon me.
As we all—students, staff, and parents alike—answer the bell for another school year, I humbly ask you to pause and look into the mirror. And as you do, I invite you to reflect on the following Franciscan Blessing:
A Franciscan Blessing
May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths,
And superficial relationships,
So that you may live
Deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that you may work for
Justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears,
To shed for those who suffer pain,
Rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand
To comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you
With enough foolishness
To believe that you can
Make a difference in the world,
So that you can do
What others claim cannot be done,
To bring justice and kindness
To all our children and the poor.
Live Jesus in our hearts… Forever!
Stephen J. Garland
President – St. Thomas More Collegiate
