The Ontario College of Teachers affirms that its membership must promote and participate in the creation of collaborative, safe and supportive learning communities. They recognize their shared responsibilities and their leadership roles in order to facilitate student success. Members maintain and uphold the principles of the ethical standards in these learning communities.
This ethical standard of care is similar to the Catholic Graduate Expectation #7: A responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sacredness of human life. Catholic eachers must model Jesus Christ in their daily practice, in doing so we are able to teach our students positive leadership and life skills while remaining humble and compassionate.
In order to meet the OCT and the CGEs requirements I wrote did an analysis of the importance of liturgy in our public life. By elevating the secular space through Catholic symbol life can be transformed which creates a framework for transforming the classroom and the lives of my students.
Church and School
People are liturgical creatures in that they live by routine, rituals, practices and habits that give form to their days and lives. The word liturgy derives from the Greek word leitourgos -- a person who performs a public duty, a public servant, or simply work. Despite some cracks between public Catholic education and institutional Catholicism, schools continue to provide a vibrant liturgy for the students, teachers, parents, and administration by blending both sacred and secular acts like prayer and work; anthem and songs; fellowship and timely order.
By elevating the sacred and marking secular acts with Catholic symbols (i.e. prayer tables, rosary clubs, the liturgical calendar) Catholic schools can be both instructive and spiritually transformative. Just as like with the first Christians, teachers should remember that the transformation in Christ through liturgy is not magical -- it is mystical and gradual -- touching the hearts and minds of our students, and all educational stakeholders, through what we do by faith within our schools and by our Christian example.
