Faculty

My favorite thing about teaching at Trinity is watching the students change. We are all made to change, to grow more into the vision our Creator has for us–that is part of the beautiful mystery of human freedom–but not all of us are brave enough to accept change when it comes. And often our surroundings can prevent us from accepting it. We can be so busy that we don’t notice the things we are meant to receive, or so taken up with the concerns of the world, the pressures of daily life, that our souls simply don’t have room to expand as they’re meant to do.

But what was remarkable to me about Trinity students, from the first moment I visited the school, was their freedom. Whether they’re arguing over the finer points of a philosophical argument in the classroom or playing kickball at break, they demonstrate a joyful freedom of spirit, a humor, and a readiness to be surprised that make not only for great students, but for great souls. The students have wonderful friendships with each other: they show genuine love for each other’s strengths, bear with each other’s weaknesses, and take delight in the eccentricities that might be mocked or picked on in another place. They also challenge each other. I love to see how the girls I teach build off each other’s talents, so that the one who might be labeled “just sporty” at another school has her friend pulling her into the class discussion, and has a chance to develop and articulate her own ideas, while the girl who might otherwise never set foot on a basketball court has companions who will drag her out of the classroom and into the sunshine so that she can try her hand at a new skill. Both girls really do get a chance to excel, and they thrive in ways they never could on their own. They give each other the freedom to grow.

I’m always especially struck by the change I see in my 10th grade students as they work their way through the Humane Letters 10 curriculum. The texts we read are difficult ones–the political philosophy is complex and thorny, and the literature explores the ideas of conscience, love, and suffering in a way that always leads the students beyond themselves. When we get to the end of the year and read Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, I watch the girls respond to the sorrow and evil the book presents with compassion and maturity. Over the weeks we spend reading the novel, I see them grow in seriousness. But they also show a beautiful appreciation for the hope that they see coming through the darkness of the story. It’s a great privilege to watch them come to a more complete Christian response to suffering.

The way the students sing together often shows me their growth more than anything else. The joy of watching them during morning prayer, or at the beginning of class, singing a psalm or hymn together, with such a clear appreciation of the words is hard to describe. But it’s one of the sweetest blessings life can give.