I wanted this initial post to be an introduction- who am I and why is this blog relevant for religion teachers and Catholic school teachers? Well, here’s why. I still remember my job interview for my current classroom teaching job. After 45 minutes of chatting about literature and methodology, I was asked a question that would change the direction of my life and my career:
“Are you Catholic?”
When I responded yes, I was told that I would be teaching 7th grade religion in the fall. Suddenly I was a catechist; a job I had never expected and was not trained for.
The last eight years of teaching religion have been both incredibly humbling and incredibly rewarding. I now teach 7th and 8th grade religion in the same school where I started my teaching journey and have learned so much about my personal faith story along the way.
My name is Emily, and I am a middle school teacher in Central Washington State. Born and raised in
New Jersey and a product of 13 years of Catholic education, I packed two suitcases and left the East Coast in the summer of 2008 to embark on my own teaching adventure. I’ve been teaching reading and religion ever since, and lovingalmost every minute of it. After getting over my culture shock of living in a mostly rural farming community, I fell in love with a wonderful farm mechanic, got married and decided to make the Northwest my home.
Teaching religion has enriched my life and faith so much, but I often find myself frustrated by the lack of professional development and resources for the Catholic school religion teacher. I want this site to be a place for learning, sharing and growing in our mutual faith and profession. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more or contributing to this learning community
Hello! I am a grade 8 Religion teacher at Ecole Holy Cross in Prince Albert, SK. I came across your website while researching some ideas for a Living Saints project. I wanted my students to start thinking about the ordinary people in their lives who live or have lived saintly lives instead of having my students research an existing Saint. It looks like you may have posted some ideas for a living saint project in November of 2015 but the link is no longer available. Would you still be willing to share your ideas? Thank you!
Hello Charlotte,
I’m so sorry to have just seen this comment now. In transferring my site to a new platform I seem to have lost the posts about living saints. I will update that as soon as possible and get it reposted. Thanks for the heads up!
Emily