SEEKING PEACE AND JOY- SISTER GREGORY—SUMMARIZED SORT OF
So...looking back I sometimes wonder if I had a huge advantage over my fellow students because of the time I spent with Sister Gregory before my Freshman year? Heck yes...but not for the reasons some would think. When it comes to math, Ihave a gift—well it’s not a gift really—it’s just that I’ve never been afraid of it. By the time I started school that year the shock of having to perform algebra in public was behind me. SisterGregory was world famous for assigning students to work on problems at the board in front of your peers. I’m pretty sure everyone eventually got a problem they couldn’t solve and stood there sweating until chalk stuck to their fingers and hatred entered their soul. Maybe this was like the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness, because often you could see students looking to see if the person next to them was finished and could nod slightly as you moved forward in completing your equations. In short, I didn’t think this was the most fair way to treat my classmates but it did give us all a common challenge and maybe it was a way of reminding us that we were all in this together and maybe it was just a form of using guilt because Catholics are the undisputed all time champions of using guilt.
Anyway, I have come to take this tutoring much as the quarterback on the football team getting special assistance or instruction on how to grip a football or position his feet. These things give. Him an advantage over an offensive tackle in knowing how to pass , but give the entire a better chance to succeed.
Anyway , if you are a classmate of mine reading this, I hope I tried to help with my skills enough during high school and some of you didn’t need it.
Now to the heart of the matter..
The Value of Teachers in Seeking and Joy
The good ones give you concepts. Concepts give you models to choose from in picking paths needed to approach existing challenges. Having choices leads to peace and applying these choices to solve barriers is a source of joy. Secondly, if you observe the teacher you can learn how to find the gifts in others or meet people part way in discovering their talents and provide support thus giving that person their own set of new choices. Understanding this process is a great source of joyful experiences. Knowing that the work needed to solve a single problem will pay off for many people and many problems (to me) means that learning about many things will always pay off over and over. This type of investment is worthy it and again another source of peace.
Sister Gregory never once said “look what I have taught you.” And this let me view. Things as things I had learned. She didn’t open up my head and pour stuff in (although there were times I wish she could have done that because it would have been a little bit less painful.
Some of you have. Had the actual Sister Gregory experience and I hope you experienced her in just a little the same way I did. Others have had other teachers who have given you much the same. Experience. Even more wonderful some of you have been the teachers that. Have provided this type of experience to others and I can’t say thanks enough for your efforts.
Now before I wrap this up, I do have to admit my algebraic way of viewing the world has not helped me learn everything Iknow. For example, Two red solo cups full of Boone’s Farm wine does not equal one serving of fruit. Booking a mime troop for an assembly at the school for the blind might not be the best use of an all school event budget.
You don’t have to use your valuable. Time looking for people’s faults s long as one or both of their parents or in-laws are still alive—someone else has that covered.
Oh and if by chance someone is really dragging your dream down by pointing out your physical appearance don’t fret it. It is truly. What’s on the inside that matters and your left kidney is gorgeous.
Anyway that’s about it for. Now...Sister Gregory May show up again,
Amen! but thank you Sister.
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