Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1339345
W hen teaching high school-level Humanities at public schools here in Colorado, I hung a sign on the wall of my classroom. I made the sign after reading an interview with Dr. Joseph Almeida, a pro- fessor at Franciscan University, during my days there as a student, long before I became a teacher. The sign quoted Dr. Almeida: "There's a statement in Plato's Republic that education is a way of turning the soul so that it is in the best position to perceive reality. That notion of education has never left me. It helps me see the pursuit of knowledge as a way of life that's connected with the human soul. It's not about information gathering or pragmatic success. It's about becoming more human." At the time, as a young teacher, I had a sense of what Dr. Almeida meant, but didn't fully grasp the profundity of his words. The last line: "[Education] is about becoming more human" has been something I've been reflecting on since those days I'd glance over and reread this line while teaching or lesson planning. The reflection for me has been a pursuit of the ques- tion: what does it mean to become more human? It's significant that I read the interview during my own conversion: a time of falling in love with the Jesus I met in the Gospels, learning to pray while sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament. In those months, Jesus became the person I wanted to follow. And yet at the same time, this reflection on what it means to be human began to sprout in my mind. Why did a friendship with Jesus Christ inspire this question of who I was as a human person? When I moved from teaching in public schools to CATH O LIC SCH OO L S ' Education is about becoming more human' The ultimate goal of Catholic education is not simply knowledge and understanding; it is to grow in intimacy and love with he who created us. 34 FEBRUARY 2021 | DENVER CATHOLIC