The Anti-Social Club




           “Thanks for your response. I love this response! You organize various methods of God's Revelation or transmission of that invitation to grow in relationship with Him. Indeed, He offers us, constantly, in invitation to know what it means to be Loved and to Love. Like you said, it is our choice, our free will, to either respond to that invitation or not. It is up to us to extend that invitation, further, to others who may not have heard the invitation. Most of our students may not know they are invited into a relationship with God; it is our job as Catholic school teachers, no matter what our job, to let them know they are invited to be Loved by God and to Love others in a similar way. What a great mission for us!”
           It is impossible to Love if we do not have community. The drive or the desire to have community, friends, teammates, boyfriends, girlfriends… this is part of our anthropological makeup. We are made in the image and likeness of God who is Community, after all, and it is our most primordial desire to “look like” the God who created us. But often our own fixations on material Truths divide us from each other and from God. We focus on the material differences between us and that separates us and prevents community from developing.
Students "checking-in" on each other.

            We forget that the idea of school as a communal event is not an old concept. Having class with twenty to thirty of your peers is a relatively modern concept. So, we should take advantage of this congregation we have in our schools, especially within the context of Catholic theology and the Trinity as our True image and likeness.
            Last Fall I was minding my own business during lunch, just sitting in my classroom grading or listening to music, when a few seniors came in and asked if they could eat in my classroom. They told me they really hated eating in the cafeteria. “Sure”, I said. Pretty soon there were over twenty students in my room every lunch period. They started calling themselves the Anti-Social Club. Sometimes we teachers don’t have to force community in our classrooms. I use small groups and class discussions to build community. I even have “check-in” times with the class where the students just vent or share their prayers and struggles. But maybe as teachers one of the best things we can do is just be present for when our students need to just have someone around to socialize with. The Anti-Social Club started as a casual lunch conversation, but now, every day, they meet up in class, share a meal, and usually watch a movie. Well, it is hard to watch a movie when they are talking so much, but that is really why most of them are there; they want to be with someone. They want to share time and space with another human being because it is only in community that they can really be who God made them to be: Loving and Beloved. I keep that in mind when I am worried about getting things graded or preparing for the next class I have to teach; my real goal as a teacher is to help my students discover and encounter their Authentic Self.
Two members of the Anti-Social Club and me

            *In case you are wondering, I definitely make sure the movies they watch are okay for watching. This week is the last week my seniors will be in school before they graduate; we are watching High School Musical right now. Sometimes I have to sacrifice more than just grading time. I Love these kids!

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