As any experienced teacher knows, the learning in a classroom goes both ways. For two graduates of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, the profound ways their students would help them encounter Christ ended up being the most memorable lesson of their year with the Seton Teaching Fellows.
For many STFs, one of the hallmarks of the year is teaching El Camino, the faith-formation program and curriculum commissioned by Seton Education Partners. The program gives fellows the tools to help children and their families “know, love, and serve Christ and His Church… and live as disciples in this world and saints in the next.” In the Bronx, STFs teach this program to students from the Brilla Schools Network who choose to participate in this optional program after school, enabling fellows to share the Gospel with as many children as possible.
Yet what Peter Zabinski and Evan Swanson didn’t anticipate going in was how much their students would share the truths of the Gospel with them.
Peter, from Isanti, Minnesota, attended the University of St. Thomas as a seminarian and now teaches fifth grade during El Camino after helping with the eighth-grade humanities and algebra classes during the Brilla school day. Evan, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, majored in philosophy and economics at the University of St. Thomas. He now teaches the eighth-grade boys during El Camino and fifth-grade math at Brilla.
Peter found out about the Seton Teaching Fellows program through the St. Thomas community – from which at least ten other past and current fellows have come – and has enjoyed learning about himself through teaching.
“When I entered the program, I had heard others say that you never realize how much you can love kids who can annoy you. I found teaching to be incredibly frustrating at times and also very life-giving at times,” says Peter. “Something I realized with El Camino in particular is that I need to prep and come prepared to teach, but a lot of how my lessons went had to do with my presence. Am I patient? Am I humble? I think every teacher has certain kids that latch on, and those particular kids, I can name 3 or 4, who benefit from my presence.”
Evan also loves teaching El Camino, not only giving the gift of his presence but receiving the gift of his students.
“El Camino is probably the best part of my day. Literally today, I was having a bad day at Brilla, and coming to El Camino energized me,” he says. “I can stand in front of these kids and I can be joyful.”
The students recognize the effort of these teachers to truly make lessons engaging. “He makes all the lessons fun that he plans,” says one of Peter’s students with a smile. “He makes them with jokes.”
The relationships built in El Camino are a cornerstone of the program and many fellows find it is their favorite aspect of teaching. However, teaching something as complex and deep as the Catholic Faith can also prove challenging. Peter explains how a lesson was derailed but became a beautiful revelation of his students’ hearts.
“About a month ago, we were talking about hypostatic union; these kids were obviously confused, and I told them this is not supposed to make sense, and we ended up scrapping the lesson about ten minutes in and had a really beautiful discussion about how Jesus was both God and man,” Peter recounts. “The kids talked and were extremely articulate and respectful about something they cared about. Ever since that lesson, they’ve really internalized that Jesus is both God and man. That was fun for me, and again, I didn’t really do anything. It was really beautiful to see that in my disciples, what was already in their minds and hearts. ”
Evan teaches the confirmation prep class since his students are in eighth grade – and almost all of them will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. He’s helping them understand how to be an adult in the Church and how to continue living out their faith once they leave Brilla and El Camino. “We talk about what that means and being an adult in the class,” Evan explains. “Taking ownership of your actions and how this can affect you and the Church.”
The spiritual gifts that come with teaching El Camino are profound—the teacher’s heart is not only transformed from sharing Christ but from encountering Him in others. Throughout his year of teaching, Evan explains how he was forced to reflect on his experiences and his own need for God.
“El Camino puts you in front of a lot of spiritual poverty. It makes you take account of what you’ve been given and recognize areas in my life where I’ve seen the negative space in me, how to teach, how to grow myself, and also the kids, in that way,” says Evan.
Like him, Peter sees teaching not only as a way to share Christ but as a way to encounter Him in his students.
“I remember I left El Camino one night feeling so resentful of this ten-year-old, and I went to adoration and was complaining. But God allowed me to see that He revealed Himself in that student,” Peter recalls. “Since then, I’ve been able to step back a little more and see God working throughout the day.”
As they receive God’s gifts in and out of the classroom, both teachers continue to share God and His Church with their students every day. Their students agree that these teachers radiate joy and constantly remind them of God and His love for them.
“One word for Mr. Swanson is fun,” says one of Evan’s students. “He taught us about God and how he’s universal. God loves everybody no matter what.”
Now there’s a truth students help their teachers encounter daily.
