Miss Dooley puts her faith in her teaching

Staff Writer

Miss Dooley, who has 14 years experience in the classroom, began teaching there last fall after six years as a remedial reading teacher in a local public school district.

Prior to that position, her experience had been solely in Albany Catholic schools: as a pupil at Our Lady of Angels and the Academy of the Holy Names, as a student at the College of Saint Rose, and as a teacher at Our Lady of Angels and St. James.

Pay cut

"I took a 50 percent pay cut to come back" to Catholic education, said Miss Dooley. "A lot of people don't understand that. But you have to be true to yourself. I have a sense of fulfillment and a belief in what I'm doing."

She's a Catholic school teacher for several reasons, including the importance her own faith plays in her life and her belief in educating the whole child.

"Faith is the greatest gift my parents gave to me," she said. "Without faith, I wouldn't have made it through the difficult times. If the students don't know their faith, they'll have a difficult time later in life."

Faith in teaching

According Miss Dooley, faith development is just as important as academic, social and emotional development when working with children.

"When I think of a child, I think of a whole little person," she explained. "As a teacher, you can't separate those."

She explained that the public school structure does not allow for teachers to have an impact in other aspects of a child's life. She doesn't fault public schools for that, citing the large educational structure that prevents the teachers from having a local impact.

The difference she has found in the Catholic schools is the ability of the classroom teacher to make decisions. "Your hands are tied as a teacher in public school," she said. "Here, decisions are made on a school level or at the parish. It's easier to get to the problem."

Solving problems

The students she worked with in the public school often came to school with emotional and social problems that stemmed from the difficult situations they lived in. Those problems interfered with their school work, she said; but as a teacher, there was little she could do.

"If a child's social and emotional needs are met, it makes it that much easier to meet their academic needs," Miss Dooley said. "The commitment of the Catholic school to the whole child allows us to do this."

"More children are coming with greater needs," she said. "Children are not ready when they enter kindergarten. And more children are hurting today then when I first began."

She feels that Catholic schools help heal some of the pain children experience. "We give them a sense of family and belonging in a time when many don't have this. I want to help them be the best person they can be. That is the best reward."

Learning from students

One might expect that as the teacher, she would be the one imparting all of the lessons in the classroom. That's far from the truth. Miss Dooley has learned from her students as well.

"Their faith is an inspiration to me," she said. "They go to the prayer corner on their own. They're so open at this age. I can see their relationship with God growing."

As the second grade teacher, Miss Dooley is able to be a part of important milestones in her student's lives. Her students recently received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for example, and are preparing for their First Communion.

Prayer together

The students in her class pray together three times a day: morning prayer, grace before lunch and a closing prayer. There are also weekly prayer services in class and a monthly school-wide Mass.

Prayer and faith aren't important to Miss Dooley just as a teacher. Living out her own faith was one of the driving forces behind her choice to return to Catholic school teaching.

"I missed the daily prayer," she said. "The more I was away, the stronger I missed it. It's important to me as a person to be able to work in an environment with people who share the same goals and where I can express my faith every day. For me, it happens here. It's an honor and a privilege to be a part of Blessed Sacrament. I'm at peace with what I did."

To people contemplating working in Catholic schools, she says: "If your goal is to be successful in the eyes of the world, it's not for you. If your goal is to touch the lives of children and give to them, I can't think of a better place to be."

(04-03-97) [[In-content Ad]]