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Jan/Feb 2008 Issue
Beyond the classroom
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fourth-grade students curl up on the couch or grab a
spot on the rug as Ann Ostrowski begins religion class
at Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Grand Rapids. The
teacher known affectionately as "Mrs. O" sits among
them on a rocking chair in a cozy corner of her classroom
as she quizzes her students about the Catholic Church.
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Twenty-nine miles to the west, John Ostrowski
- that would be "Mr.O" - teaches eighth-grade religion, along
with history, social studies and science at Corpus Christi
Catholic School in Holland. Together these two share a passion
for Catholic education that they've been quietly passing along
to their students for two decades each. Married 24 years this
month, John and Ann also have sent their three children through
Catholic schools and neither could imagine teaching anywhere
else. "We can bring Jesus into every single thing we teach.
It's not just religion class," says Ann. John agrees. "I think
it's that whole idea of morality, that we can bring the idea
of what would Jesus do right into the classroom every day
- when students aren't getting along or any issue like that.
That's the only place you can do that," he added.
A shared passion
The Ostrowskis each went to Catholic schools for a time as
young children, but attended public high school at Kenowa
Hills. That's where they met. John, a senior, invited Ann,
a junior, to the prom. "It was his first date," she recalls.
They dated on and off but then went their separate ways, he
to Ferris State University and she to Grand Rapids Junior
College (now Grand Rapids Community College). In 1980, their
paths crossed again after John suffered serious injuries in
a car crash. Ann visited him in the hospital as he recovered
from a broken hand, palette and eye socket after his sports
car ran into a ditch. They began dating. John Ostrowski had
known he wanted to be a teacher since high school; Ann had
earned a business associate's degree and had been working
at Spartan Stores for four years. One day they were talking
and Ann mused, "I always wanted to be a teacher."
With John's encouragement, she sold her brand
new Dodge Champ and followed her dream. Ann went to Western
Michigan University to study education. Meanwhile, John took
his first teaching job at Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1983. John
recalls that he knew from the start that he wanted to teach
in a Catholic school. "I knew that Catholic schools had high
expectations," said John, who had attended Holy Trinity Catholic
School as a youngster. "Discipline was a part of it too."
Initially, he viewed teaching at Sacred Heart as a starter
job from which he would move on.
But he fell in love with Catholic education.
"My faith grew by leaps and bounds after I started teaching,"
recalls John. "I was learning along with the kids the first
two or three years. As they learned their faith, I learned
my faith." Ann's early teaching experience was similar. As
a young girl, she recalls, "I wasn't angelic but I was very
religious." She loved going to church with her grandmother
and memorized prayers during the years she attended Catholic
school. As a young adult, however, Ann moved away from Catholicism,
attending evangelical and other Protestant churches with her
friends. "I was searching," she recalls.
"What do I really believe?" When Ann began
at Sacred Heart in 1987, she was assigned to teach sixthgrade
religion. "I was like John - I didn't have a clue," says Ann.
"I did a lot of learning that first couple of years. I would
tell them I'm learning right along with you. That's what I
love about my job - how much I've learned about the Catholic
faith." Growing up, like many Catholic families, Ann's family
went to church on Sunday but that was it. They did not discuss
religion. "So (teaching) has strengthened my faith. I've learned
so much about the Catholic faith and what it means to be Catholic."
'How better to reach people'
Today, both John and Ann view
teaching not just as a job, but as a ministry - to pass along
the faith and knowledge about their church to young people.
They hope it will create a foundation that will last a life
time. "In my heart, I always feel I am here to love God and
serve others," says Ann. "What better way than to teach children
the faith? How better to reach people than to start with kids?
Because that is where it begins." While Ann has remained at
Sacred Heart throughout her career, John taught there four
years, starting in 1983, then took four years off to work
as a truck driver for an excavating company.
He then did substitute teaching for a year
before returning to Catholic schools. He taught at St. John
Vianney, Sacred Heart and then St. Francis de Sales in Holland,
which became Corpus Christi in 1999. For many of John's students
at Corpus Christi, religion class may be the only exposure
they have to their faith. Many do not go to church on Sunday.
So he teaches them the Sunday scriptures on Thursdays, and
weaves ideas about religion and morality into other academic
areas as well. At Sacred Heart, each day begins with a prayer
service and the children also attend weekly Mass and monthly
eucharistic adoration. This year, Ann has 13 students and
she sees the relatively small size of many Catholic schools
as a plus. "Because we're smaller, we can individualize to
their needs," Ann says.
Her classroom is welcoming. Posters with the
ABC's and math facts share wall space with an Advent calendar
and quotations meant to inspire, such as, "Your actions speak
louder than your words," and "I'm pro-life!" Academics and
faith are woven together throughout the day. For example,
as the children learned the name of the pope - Benedict the
XVI - Ann took the opportunity to teach them their Roman numerals
as well. Throughout the school day, faith is a common thread.
Ann's goal is to teach the children that "the Lord is the
center of our lives. Hopefully that gets ingrained in the
kids." In addition to teaching the Catholic faith to their
students, the Ostrowskis put faith at the center of their
family life as well. The two often finish each other's sentences,
and their day jobs spill into their home life, where they've
created a rich faith environment for their three grown children.
Carly, 23, Matthew, 21, and Melissa (Melly), 17, all went
through Sacred Heart and then West Catholic High School. The
family lived near Sacred Heart in southwest Grand Rapids when
the children were younger until their recent move to Comstock
Park. "The kids grew up with the faith," recalls Ann. "It
was taken for granted we would be going to church and we would
be receiving the sacraments. It is our life." Both John and
Ann have been p r o f i l e involved at Sacred Heart - she
as a lector and he as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion
- where they remain parishioners. The Ostrowskis' children
remain active Catholics, and Melly, a senior at West Catholic,
has served as a lector.
'Jesus will always listen'
The Ostrowskis say the rewards of their combined 40 years
of teaching in Catholic schools have been great. The most
rewarding part for John is seeing young people come back or
running into them in public and hearing the familiar "Hi Mr.
O." "You influence a lot of students," says Ann. "The other
cool thing is to have students becoming teachers." One young
man in Ann's sixth-grade class six years ago is now studying
to be a teacher at Aquinas and helping out at Sacred Heart.
Then there are those unexpected rewards that come their way.
"You come in the morning and there's a picture on your desk,"
says Ann. One day a student had drawn a picture of the entire
class with the words, "Mrs. O, You're the greatest teacher
ever."
The Ostrowskis cannot always immediately see
the impact they have, but they hope to build a foundation
of faith for the children they teach. "It goes beyond the
ABC's and math," says John, who wants his older students to
learn respect for themselves and others. He hopes that, when
they leave school, his students will "understand their faith
and who they are and why they are Catholic (and) they live
their faith." Likewise, Ann hopes the seeds of faith she is
planting in her young students will stay with them throughout
their lives. She wants them to know that whatever happens,
"you can always pray to Jesus and Jesus will always listen.
"I want my kids to realize the most important thing in life
is faith," says Ann. "If you have faith, it will get you through
whatever life throws your way."
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