St Teresas Academy - Avila Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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tanning on the roof. We remember friends and grades, but do we remember our teachers? We have seen them on good days; we have seen them on bad days, as they have seen us. We have seen them as formal lecturers in front of a group, and we have seen them in casual, one-on-one episodes. We have, at times, been angered by our teachers, as they have, at times, been an- gered by us. We have been stirred to ac- tion by the words of our teachers, and, we have stirred our teachers to awe if not action at some of our words! We have learned from our teachers as they have learned from us, and in this sharing, some of the distance between us has disap- peared. In our halls and classrooms, we share openly with friends, and teachers. In our halls and classrooms, our teachers become our friends. On the following pages, we have tried to capture the unique qualities of the teachers here at STA. We have tried to capture their humor, intensity, creativity, and care. So, turn the pages and take a look at our teachers. Then, take a look at yourself, and you may see some of their thoughts or words written indelibly across your mind. Take a look back and remember that what we glean from our teachers is not simply what we write in a notebook, or answer on a test, but, also what we hold in our minds and use in our lives. 16

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18 Teachers Discuss Methods and Goals The job of a yearbook is to faithfully preserve one special year for the people who experienced it. We wait anxiously to find pic- tures of our friends, the best dance of the year, the biggest sports event — and somehow we forget the one thing that brought us all to- gether. The work we do in the classroom and the edu- cation we strive to gain are the reason we are sharing those special times. But, you may say, we all know what goes on in the classroom. Even if we do, when was the last time you thought about how we do it and why? When you hear the word school” you may immediately have an image of students sitting at small desks, writing papers or taking tests. The teacher is behind a desk, too — a mas- sive desk that seems to sep- arate the teacher from the students. If that’s all there is to school, how does any learning ever take place and why do we bother repeating that same old pattern? Looking into classrooms at STA, few teachers were discovered behind those desks. They were standing at the blackboard, sitting in circles with students to dis- cuss issues or leaning over a typewriter to answer a question. When asked something more than Above Right: Mr. Steve Eaton de- monstates his ability to perform on the spur of the moment. When is this due?” or How long does it have to be?”, they talked openly about why and how they do their jobs. The reason teachers were here at STA was al- most overwhelmingly the students. Nearly every teacher mentioned the teacher student relation- ship as one of the unique as- pects of STA. Most teachers felt the key to that relation- ship was respect. As one teacher pointed out, gain- ing student respect calls for the same qualities as gain- ing anyone else's respect — kindness, compassion and humor. Other teachers mentioned knowledge of the subject matter and en- thusiasm for your material and your students. Main- taining respect was seen as essential also. Try to bluff it, or tell them something you don’t believe,” com- mented Ms. Kate Tumminia (English), ”and you’ll be sure to lose their respect.” What qualities should the student bring to the rela- tionship? When asked to define the ideal student Mr. Robert Cox (Social Studies) replied that the qualities he thinks are necessary are curiosity, self-reliance and responsibility. Ms. Arlene Hernon (Math) responded, (corn, on page 21) Right: Mr. Mark Fudemberg and Sean Rellihan find the time for a playful moment at the family pic- nic.