Nell O’Leary enjoyed a recent discussion with Rose Coleman, the leader of the Primary Catholic Educators Formation Community in the Word on Fire Institute. She learned all the details about the mission and plans for this growing community.
Nell: Rose, it’s a joy to chat with you today about your new collaboration with the Word on Fire Institute. This new Word on Fire Institute Community “Primary Catholic Educators Formation” will be under your guidance. Would you share a little about your background as an educator and your own educational journey?
Rose Coleman: I am currently a third-grade teacher at St. Agnes School in St. Paul, MN. In my fifteen years of teaching, eleven have been at Catholic schools. I have a master’s degree in religious education from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas, a master’s degree in education from Winona State University, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Minnesota. I also have over 200 hours of Level I and II Formation in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. I have experience teaching preschool, kindergarten, second, fifth, eighth, and ninth grade.
I have traveled to many places—from circumnavigating the globe on a ship during college to some years in the convent as a religious sister. I have a heart for pilgrimage and share on my website Catholic Passport. I am a contemplative in action who delights in all things beautiful.
The community is focused on formation for teachers Pre-K–6 grades. Why do you feel like teachers in Catholic schools need formation that is specific to these grades? What does formation mean and what will it look like in this community?
One must be well-formed before being entrusted with the formation of others. Lifelong learning is essential for excellence in teaching. Teachers need to have ongoing opportunities for their human, spiritual, intellectual, pastoral, and professional formation. The goal of this community is to continue the professional and personal formation of primary Catholic school teachers. In practice, this looks like learning to live an integrated life of Catholicism in their personal and professional lives and being able to respect and reasonably defend the faith with students, colleagues, families, and administration.
The goal is that both teachers and students would have a well-formed Catholic mind and heart.
The community will offer a monthly rhythm of your guidance, resources, prayer, and practices. Can you share what this rhythm will look like?
Participants can expect a rhythm each month of a teaching on the monthly topic, resource sharing with discussion questions, a live meetup, and ongoing encouragement to grow in the particular monthly topic. Teachers will also be able to offer each other meaningful feedback, pray with and for each other, and be encouraged to begin and end each month with a self-evaluation to gauge growth and learning. Guided by the Community Leader, teachers will share tips, strategies, lessons, and inspiration with one another. In the space provided, teachers will feel encouraged to discuss how their classroom practice can best align with the principles of Catholic education.
What is at the heart of being a primary Catholic school teacher today, both challenges and joys?
Jesus Christ is at the heart of being a primary Catholic school teacher today. “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Catholic schools bring souls to Christ through His Church. Jesus wants primary Catholic school teachers to encounter him frequently in the sacraments and to be authentic witnesses of his life, death, and Resurrection. The culture of death pervades secular education and teacher formation today. Catholic school teachers joyfully respond by creating a culture of life where children experience the truth that they are valuable, sacred, and irreplaceable. The goal is that both teachers and students would have a well-formed Catholic mind and heart.