Treatise to Tired Teachers

Written to a friend (and fellow teacher) in the winter of 2019

"I am exhausted. I thought you ought to know.

It’s our third day back from a two-week Christmas break, and I am already on a different level of tired than I have ever been in my life. Right now, you can probably relate.

I’m writing you from our parish adoration chapel. I am asking the Holy Spirit to direct and guide these words, to write through me whatever you need to read...I am asking Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament, to enlighten these words so that you may be strengthened and encouraged, because word on the street is that you’re feeling a bit discouraged right now - particularly in your teaching.

I cannot imagine how difficult, how trying, how draining in every sense of the word this has been for you. I want you to know that my heart goes out to you for all the times that you’ve been hurt by a student or a coworker (because teachers get plenty of both); for all of the times you have witnessed or been the brunt of an injustice; for all of the times that you have felt alone; and for all the times you have been discouraged. It is such a sad place to be in, and quite a dangerous one to wallow in. My advice: NEVER wallow.

Think of the word “wallow” as the combination of the words “wade” and “shallow.” How often does Jesus call us to “wade in the shallows?” He doesn’t. On the contrary, He asks us to “put out into the deep.” He asks us not to trust Him with a little, but with everything. This is what you are striving to do in this mission. Always strive to be the best teacher you can be, but recognize that He is the source of every inspiration. As I tell my students: “He’s the real Teacher.” You are simply there to plant the seeds. What a relief! We are not God, and therefore we are not perfect; all we can do is our best and leave the rest to Him."