Zealous Teachers

For administrators, faculty and staff at La Salle, the last day of school is not when the students finish their final exam but the following Monday when we gather for our end-of-year retreat day. Director of Student Life, Ed O’Connor typically serves as our “retreat master” and organizes the day so that there are plenty of group activities. I particularly like this approach because it affords me the opportunity to listen to my colleagues reflect on the year just ending. These activities were especially interesting this year because the theme of the retreat was The Virtue of Zeal. I’ve written in this space and elsewhere that the Lasallian virtue of Zeal plays an important role in the way schools sponsored by the Christian Brothers seek to fulfill the Mission given them by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. Here is how Brother Agathon, the fifth Superior General of the Christian Brothers, defined Zeal in 1786:


The zealous teacher attends to his or her responsibility for educating the students. The education of youth demands, on the part of those who are charged with their care, the most undivided attention, the most constant efforts and concern for the most minute details.

It should be clear from this description that the pursuit of the virtue of Zeal is what is expected of Lasallian educators. Even the most talented and enthusiastic teacher will only occasionally achieve the “most undivided attention” in the classroom! Some might wonder why we focused on Zeal at a faculty retreat that concludes the year? This, too, is uniquely Lasallian. De La Salle’s vision of education was entirely focused on the future; what will happen down the road as a result of a teacher’s efforts in the here and now. In his Fifteenth Meditation for the Time of Retreat, De La Salle made this observation:

For the future, then, devote yourself with zeal and affection to your work

So, as we ended our year, Ed challenged us to reflect on three tasks:

• naming something in our work that encourages us to be zealous

• naming one or more practices that we use to support our zeal

• identifying something we want to do more of or better when we return to school at the end of August


Now, here’s why I enjoy listening to my colleagues in these group activities: as each small group reported on their conversation together, the overwhelming response to the question of what encourages our zeal involved teacher interactions with students. And, their response to “new year resolutions” involved behaviors that will enable them to expand and deepen their relationship with the students entrusted to their care. As I thought about this remarkable dynamic, it occurred to me that there is another way to frame these comments – teachers at La Salle genuinely like their work and, in particular, care deeply about their students. Not only was this message clear at a time when one could expect teachers to be drained of energy and looking forward to time away from school, but it was articulated by virtually every small group that reported out. And, while we are all human, which keeps us from achieving the state of zeal envisioned by Brother Agathon, it is gratifying to know that the quest is just as important for the dedicated colleagues I am fortunate enough to support. Not a bad way to end a year and an even more exciting way to anticipate the one coming up!