T is for...Teaching

In America today, 3 out of 4 K-12 teachers, is female. Think about your favorite teacher growing up. What qualities made them so great? My favorite teacher was my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Sipe. I still remember vividly. It was my first year at a new school after moving across the country for the 2nd time in 3 years. What I remember most, is her warmth, and the emphasis that she put on good behavior in the classroom. She was so genuinely sweet herself, yet not afraid to discipline, that created a class full of children from all different backgrounds, who for the most part, interacted charitably and peacefully.

Even the statistics show that women are more drawn to the profession of teaching, and seem to excel in it more than men. I can't put my finger on just one quality that makes women naturally such good teachers, but I would love to hear your thoughts (especially since several of our bloggers who don't yet have children of their own, and even one who does, are feeding those of others as teachers).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, "Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the "material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones."³¹ Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them." (CCC 2223)

For those of us who are mothers, it is quite clear that we are the primary educators of our children, as for most of us, we are the primary caregivers. Some of us may choose to homeschool, which makes us our child's teacher, on a whole other level.

Clearly, the Lord calls many women, no matter what their vocation or state in life, to be teachers. What is it about us that makes us particularly fit for educating? Is it patience, nurturing, compassion, listening skills, or is this something that is built into our physical and spiritual makeup?