I met Trish White, the head of Bishop Gibbons’s English Department in the school library, which she is working to re-imagine as a book and tech center. We might just be teaching blogging classes with each other in the Fall.

My friendship with Sue Silverstein spoils me; I am in awe of the lives she has touched and the good she has done. This work humbles and inspires me.

I talked with Trish for more than an hour, and like Sue, she is the real deal, the kind of teacher who values every child and fights for each one. I keep thinking that our country would be wonderful if every child had a teacher like this.

But I’m understanding better why Sue was so happy to come here.

Bishop Gibbons is a special place, just like Bishop Maginn was, with more students and more resources (like a big athletic playing field and a lovely library). It’s the right place for Maria and me as well. Trish Price is one of the reasons; I could see that right away.

Her goal, White says, is to raise the children’s expectations one step at a time.

She works about 65 hours on an average week, plus meetings and committees and afterschool tutoring.

She tries to match every student with the right book; if that fails, the right blog, magazine, or anything lights them up and gets them to think and read.

She lights up herself when she remembers the young woman who balked at studying and doubted herself. The problem was self-esteem, not intelligence.

Trish worked continuously with her to read, write and think better of herself. Step by step, she grew more robust and more confident. They worked together to work on her college admission letters and files. Commitment matters, she says again and again.

She remembers when she heard the girl rushing down the hallway towards her class shouting, “I got in, I got in,” and the two hugged and celebrated. This is what makes it all worth it, she says, when you light somebody up, and they know you are committed, and they know you mean it.

(One of the things I like about Catholic schools is that teachers and students can still hug if they want to.)

 

 

Sue and Trish are different, yet they reminded me of each other today in the library, talking to each other and Maria.

I wondered what it was, and then I got it – they lift people; they don’t knock people down. They always find a way to help and don’t quit until they help.  They are not afraid to love and to challenge.

They don’t give up on children who need a hand setting off into a sometimes harsh and challenging world.

I’m very grateful to know such people and eager to help them help.

Sometimes Trish White wins; sometimes, she fails. But she never quits on her students; she has a reputation for that.

That’s teaching – helping these kids, many of whom are troubled, to succeed. The teachers in the school have their own communications network, and when one of them spots a child in trouble – at home or in school – they notify the others and work together to devise a plan to help.

Trish says that getting her students to read is essential; there is no job or personal endeavor that doesn’t require or benefit from reading. She finds that the poorer students are often motivated and driven by a parent or grandmother who believes in them, fights for them, and tells them they can be what they want.

These kids fight to succeed; they fight for their A’s. “Sometimes,” she says, “I have to tell them it’s okay to get a B.”

Children without family structures or advocates can be the hardest to teach.

I never really could learn in school for various reasons, and I don’t recall ever having a teacher like Sue or Trish. I probably did have a teacher like that, but I was not in any condition to take advantage of them.

Trish believes in goals and expectations, sometimes faith and prayer. She is flexible and open. She’ll try almost anything and keeps going until she finds what works, touches them, and lights them up.

She told me the story of a tough senior boy bunched up in the corner of the library with his hoody covering his face during a testing period. She went over and asked him if he was all right. He said he was.

She watched him for a few minutes and then returned and said gently, “you know what? I don’t believe you.” She peered into the hood’s opening and saw he was crying. It turned out there were problems at home. She notified other teachers.

They worked out a plan to help him. He returned the next week, took the test, and passed quickly.

Trish knows teachers are not miracle workers.

There is only so much they can do; some children slip away. But at this school, they do whatever they can do. And they very often succeed; I saw that again and again at Bishop Maginn. A good teacher can change a life. They are so underappreciated in our culture these days.

At the end of our talk, Maria and Sue came up from the art room; they had been working on setting up the sewing machines the Army Of Good bought for Bishop Maginn but which are now in the art room of Bishop Gibbons.

Maria will use them to teach quilt-making so the students can bring them to area nursing homes for their community service.

 

.

Trish and I talked easily and openly to each other. It felt like I’d known her for years. I think we’re going to do good work together.

I suggested an Amazon Wish List so people can buy some new books for the library, a perfect project for the Army Of Good; we can do one book at a time and send 30 or 40 to the library. Trish will choose the books.

We talked about how I could be helpful – teaching creative writing, teaching blog writing, and coming up with word games and exercises that might be fun instead of grinding.

Trish says when she wants to make a point or get everyone’s attention, “I just climb up on the desk,” she said. “Everybody pays attention to a teacher standing on a desk.”

Then, she says, she gives the students a chance to stand at a desk if they wish. It gets everyone focused.

I was impressed with Trish; she is perceptive and isn’t afraid to laugh. I didn’t know other Sue Silverstein’s were out there (although no one is exactly like Sue).

I also appreciated watching and listening to these three compassionate and wonderful women talking and exchanging stories and ideas. Sue and Trish have already become friends; I could see it. They share the same mission in life; they are passionate about it.

I believe passion works miracles.

This shift is going to work. I’m excited about the work we could do together and the challenge of bringing our small acts of great kindness to the school. Trish White told me about a family whose apartment was destroyed by fire. She wonders if I could get a few books to send to the youngest child, a young girl—more details. I think we can do that.