Teacher loves Monday mornings

Unlike many people, Carla Eichelberger, a second-grade teacher at St. Casimir's Regional School in Albany, loves Mondays.

On Monday mornings, "the children come to school in their fresh uniforms, ready to share stories about the weekend," she said. "We're having conversations, often three at a time, before they even put their backpacks down."

For Mrs. Eichelberger, who is pursuing her master's in education through the Albany Diocese in conjunction with The College of Saint Rose, teaching at St. Casimir's is "a blessing" and Catholic schools "are a hidden jewel. I wouldn't teach anywhere else. You can instill in your children a belief in a greater power, teach them lessons about how to treat people using Jesus as an example.

"You can say that a certain behavior is not okay. God is looking down, and He is not impressed. You can't do that in a public school. My faith is paramount, and here I can pass it on in subtle ways. By being a model, I can teach them how to be kind, to treat peers with respect, to live as Jesus lived. It becomes second nature."

Teaching at a Catholic school, she says, allows her to do things she might not otherwise be able to do. This year, her Christmas gift to her class was to meet at Border's, where students could pick out a book. Then they went to Friendly's for ice cream. Her son and daughter, a junior and freshman, respectively, at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady, helped chaperone.

Mrs. Eichelberger is inspired by how far her students have come and the determination they have to learn.

"Some struggle so," she noted, "but they are defying the odds. They are awesome little beings. It is rewarding to watch them grow and learn, to know you had a hand it in when all of a sudden they start to make connections and light bulbs start to go off for them."

The greatest gift of teaching, Mrs. Eichelberger said, is "the smile it brings to my face, even when the children are not around me."

(1/22/04)