RAMÓN: Turning the page in education

(Photo by James Ramos/Herald)

Most people consider the first day of January as the start of a new year, but for me, the first day of school has always felt like the real beginning of a “new year.”

Growing up, I looked forward to each new school year and the promise of what it might hold:

• Making memories with friends;
• Learning new things; and
• Uncovering who I would be by the end of the year.

After finishing school, I eventually found myself serving as a middle school English teacher at two Catholic schools right here in the Archdiocese. My calendar over the past several years remained centered around the school calendar, and my questions every August remained the same. What students would pass through my classroom? Which lessons would I prioritize teaching that year? And most importantly, what was that school year going to teach me?

Learning from the students I taught was key to my “success” as an educator. Throughout my years of teaching, I realized that although I could teach the students a great deal in the realm of English and grammar, these lessons paled in comparison to the lessons they taught me. Young people have a unique way of seeing the world that is often much simpler than we as adults are capable of, and I have benefited from the shift in perspective that they have offered.

Recently, I heard the Lord calling me to take a step back from the classroom so that I could work with a different set of youth: the youth currently at-risk or involved in the juvenile justice system across the Archdiocese. 

I have been fortunate enough to volunteer with Special Youth Services for two years at the main intake and processing center downtown and have met countless young people through my experiences with the weekly Bible studies in this facility. I have been profoundly impacted by the stories of these youth and the experiences they have already had in their short time on earth.

From processing intense grief and loss to grappling with guilt to accepting God’s mysterious and immense mercy and building the habits for a new way of life, it is obvious that these students are a profound source of wisdom, especially in the spiritual realm.

Opportunities for learning abound in these facilities, and I have benefited from applying the lessons learned from these youth to my own spiritual life.

With all of this in mind, I can’t help but think of the Child Jesus in the temple, “sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions,” and how those who heard him were “astounded at his understanding and his answers” (Lk 2:46).

At the start of this new school year, I encourage us all to pray and reflect on this image of the Child Jesus in the temple. Let us not miss any opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus — present in the young people around us — and learn from them as we do from our Lord. 

Mónica Ramón is an associate director for Special Youth Services.