Vicki Caruana profile
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VICKI CARUANA
An educator addresses her colleagues’ spiritual needs.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” From the time she was six years old, Vicki Caruana’s answer to that question was always the same: “A teacher!” And for good reason. “Mrs. Robinson was my first grade teacher,” Vicki recalls. “Her love for kids permeated the classroom. It was so obvious in how she taught, what she taught, in the way she treated people, in the atmosphere of the class. She made learning fun. I loved school because of her and I loved her. I decided I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to grow up to be the kind of person she was—to make other kids feel the way she made me feel, because it was so precious.” Few of us end up in the careers we aspire to in elementary school, but Vicki’s determination never wavered. Growing up, she couldn’t wait to inspire young hearts and
Education
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minds. She longed to create that warm and loving environment in a classroom of her own. Caruana graduated from college with a master’s degree in education and got her teaching certificate. She thought she was prepared. She felt she was ready. But as it is for many beginning teachers, Vicki’s first year in the classroom turned out to be a rude awakening. “You find out there’s so much you don’t know,” Caruana says. “You feel ill-equipped, very inadequate. You don’t know if you can really do this job that you signed up for, because so much of it has nothing to do with what you learned in books. Teaching is more of an art than a skill. So much of it is about dealing with people—not just students, but parents, colleagues, administrators. You’re interacting, solving problems, being emotionally invested and then dealing with the repercussions of being emotionally invested. You get hurt, you get disillusioned, you get discouraged, and you don’t know where to turn. It happens to almost every teacher that first year. It’s a baptism by fire, and you have to decide how much you really love it. e desire to make an impact—is it strong enough to carry you?” Caruana’s first teaching assignment placed her in a troubled inner-city school. Her students had severe learning disabilities. Not one of their parents showed up for Open House night. Vicki’s classroom was vandalized repeatedly. She was so worried about the safety of her students that she had constant nightmares. It was a learning experience alright—though not the kind she had dreamed of. Yet somehow, knowing that she was making a difference in the life of one child kept her coming back day aer day. “ere was one boy—I knew that every night when he went home, he wasn’t sure if he’d be alive the next day, because of the circumstances in which he lived. But he loved being in my classroom because I was able to make it safe for him. He felt accepted there and loved there. He loved being in school and he loved to learn. I didn’t know if he would ever make it past the third or fourth grade level—if he’d ever graduate. But he made the effort each and every day in his own limited way. is one little boy kept me going,” Caruana reflects. “You just need one. One student who needs what you have to give. God always gave me at least one each year, and that’s all it took.” As a young teacher, Vicki found her faith played a vital role in how she saw her career— her calling. Caruana had been raised in a Christian home. She says she always had an awareness of God, a sense of His presence in her life—though it wasn’t until she was a teenager that she truly understood the Scriptures she had learned and what her faith was all about. Her relationship with Christ gave Vicki the focus, strength, and determination to take on the challenges she faced in the classroom. “Being a Christian teacher enabled me to look at my students the way God would— especially the ones who seem the most unlovable and unteachable. I knew that God loved them and I asked Him to love them through me,” Caruana says. “I came to understand that it was not a mistake, not a coincidence that these children were in my classroom— it was God-appointed. I was appointed to be their teacher and they were appointed to be my kids. It made such a difference to have that outlook. I also knew that the difficulties I had with parents or the demands of my administrators were opportunities to be a
624
PART 4 Redemptive Communicators: Profiles from Across the Job Fields
SC-Part4-02EDUCATION_SC-Part4-02EDUCATION 6/25/13 1:09 PM Page 625
witness—to let them see Christ in me. It wasn’t easy. It was such a great responsibility. But it was also a great privilege. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” Over the years, as she continued teaching in both public and private (Christian) schools, Caruana realized that her early experiences were not unique. New teachers everywhere face the same problems, challenges, and opportunities. ey want to touch the hearts and lives of their students, but they are in desperate need of encouragement and inspiration themselves. Too many of them give up too soon. In time, encouraging teachers became Vicki’s new passion—her new calling. She began looking for ways to reach out to other teachers and minister to them. Today, Vicki travels around the country, speaking to teachers at conferences and conventions. She is the award-winning author of a number of best-selling devotional books for teachers, including Apples and Chalkdust, One Heart at a Time, Recess for Teachers, and Prayers from a Teacher’s Heart. Caruana also serves as adjunct professor at a teachers’ college in Southwest Florida, teaching, training, and preparing aspiring teachers for the real-world challenges they will face. As the mother of two teenage boys, Caruana has had the opportunity to reach out to her own sons’ teachers as well. She encourages parents to get involved and become a part of their teachers’ support team. “Ask how you can volunteer. Be willing to do whatever is needed—drivers on field trips, chaperones for parties, bulletin boards, decorating. Notes of encouragement are invaluable,” she says. “I still have a big manila envelope with every one I ever received. ey’re reminders to me as a teacher that I’m on the right track, that I’m doing what God’s called me to do—even though I don’t see the fruit of it very oen. “Find a teacher you used to have. I recently went online and discovered my fourth-grade teacher in a nursing home, 82 years old. I contacted her and thanked her for what she did for me. She was overwhelmed—to her it meant everything. Write a note or an e-mail or just say ‘thank you’ every once in a while. It means so much to know that you’re appreciated.”
© 2012 by Dmitriy Shironosov. Used under license of Shutterstock, Inc.
Teaching is more of an art than a skill. So much of it is about dealing with people—not just students, but parents, colleagues, administrators.
A frequent guest on national radio and television programs, Caruana calls the Body of Christ to rally around the nation’s teachers—to participate in organizations and events that support educators. She’s thrilled to see many churches honor the teachers in their congregation with a “Back to School Sunday” prayer service—commissioning them and sending them out into the mission field that is their classroom. Says Caruana, “e battle that’s going on for the hearts and minds of this next generation is a spiritual battle, and teachers are on the front lines. Sometimes they’re with our
Education
625
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children more than we as parents are. ey spend more waking hours with our kids than we do. ey’re called to encourage those children, and they can’t do a very good job of it when they’re discouraged and broken-hearted themselves. ey really need us to pray for them, to support them, to encourage them, to build them up. ey need prayer for direction and guidance, strength to stand firm and speak the truth in love. Even if you don’t have children in school at this stage of your life, you’re still called to pray. is next generation will be taking care of us soon. ey’ll be in charge, making all the decisions. We need to nurture our teachers so that they in turn can be nurturing our kids!” e walls of Vicki Caruana’s classroom have expanded far beyond the local elementary school. Her students now include teachers, parents, grandparents, families, and communities around the world. It’s obvious Caruana still loves to learn and make learning fun. She cares deeply for each and every life God has given her the opportunity to touch— she wants to make a difference in each one. at’s the heart of a teacher.
626
PART 4 Redemptive Communicators: Profiles from Across the Job Fields
>>
VICKI CARUANA
An educator addresses her colleagues’ spiritual needs.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” From the time she was six years old, Vicki Caruana’s answer to that question was always the same: “A teacher!” And for good reason. “Mrs. Robinson was my first grade teacher,” Vicki recalls. “Her love for kids permeated the classroom. It was so obvious in how she taught, what she taught, in the way she treated people, in the atmosphere of the class. She made learning fun. I loved school because of her and I loved her. I decided I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to grow up to be the kind of person she was—to make other kids feel the way she made me feel, because it was so precious.” Few of us end up in the careers we aspire to in elementary school, but Vicki’s determination never wavered. Growing up, she couldn’t wait to inspire young hearts and
Education
623
SC-Part4-02EDUCATION_SC-Part4-02EDUCATION 6/25/13 1:09 PM Page 624
minds. She longed to create that warm and loving environment in a classroom of her own. Caruana graduated from college with a master’s degree in education and got her teaching certificate. She thought she was prepared. She felt she was ready. But as it is for many beginning teachers, Vicki’s first year in the classroom turned out to be a rude awakening. “You find out there’s so much you don’t know,” Caruana says. “You feel ill-equipped, very inadequate. You don’t know if you can really do this job that you signed up for, because so much of it has nothing to do with what you learned in books. Teaching is more of an art than a skill. So much of it is about dealing with people—not just students, but parents, colleagues, administrators. You’re interacting, solving problems, being emotionally invested and then dealing with the repercussions of being emotionally invested. You get hurt, you get disillusioned, you get discouraged, and you don’t know where to turn. It happens to almost every teacher that first year. It’s a baptism by fire, and you have to decide how much you really love it. e desire to make an impact—is it strong enough to carry you?” Caruana’s first teaching assignment placed her in a troubled inner-city school. Her students had severe learning disabilities. Not one of their parents showed up for Open House night. Vicki’s classroom was vandalized repeatedly. She was so worried about the safety of her students that she had constant nightmares. It was a learning experience alright—though not the kind she had dreamed of. Yet somehow, knowing that she was making a difference in the life of one child kept her coming back day aer day. “ere was one boy—I knew that every night when he went home, he wasn’t sure if he’d be alive the next day, because of the circumstances in which he lived. But he loved being in my classroom because I was able to make it safe for him. He felt accepted there and loved there. He loved being in school and he loved to learn. I didn’t know if he would ever make it past the third or fourth grade level—if he’d ever graduate. But he made the effort each and every day in his own limited way. is one little boy kept me going,” Caruana reflects. “You just need one. One student who needs what you have to give. God always gave me at least one each year, and that’s all it took.” As a young teacher, Vicki found her faith played a vital role in how she saw her career— her calling. Caruana had been raised in a Christian home. She says she always had an awareness of God, a sense of His presence in her life—though it wasn’t until she was a teenager that she truly understood the Scriptures she had learned and what her faith was all about. Her relationship with Christ gave Vicki the focus, strength, and determination to take on the challenges she faced in the classroom. “Being a Christian teacher enabled me to look at my students the way God would— especially the ones who seem the most unlovable and unteachable. I knew that God loved them and I asked Him to love them through me,” Caruana says. “I came to understand that it was not a mistake, not a coincidence that these children were in my classroom— it was God-appointed. I was appointed to be their teacher and they were appointed to be my kids. It made such a difference to have that outlook. I also knew that the difficulties I had with parents or the demands of my administrators were opportunities to be a
624
PART 4 Redemptive Communicators: Profiles from Across the Job Fields
SC-Part4-02EDUCATION_SC-Part4-02EDUCATION 6/25/13 1:09 PM Page 625
witness—to let them see Christ in me. It wasn’t easy. It was such a great responsibility. But it was also a great privilege. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” Over the years, as she continued teaching in both public and private (Christian) schools, Caruana realized that her early experiences were not unique. New teachers everywhere face the same problems, challenges, and opportunities. ey want to touch the hearts and lives of their students, but they are in desperate need of encouragement and inspiration themselves. Too many of them give up too soon. In time, encouraging teachers became Vicki’s new passion—her new calling. She began looking for ways to reach out to other teachers and minister to them. Today, Vicki travels around the country, speaking to teachers at conferences and conventions. She is the award-winning author of a number of best-selling devotional books for teachers, including Apples and Chalkdust, One Heart at a Time, Recess for Teachers, and Prayers from a Teacher’s Heart. Caruana also serves as adjunct professor at a teachers’ college in Southwest Florida, teaching, training, and preparing aspiring teachers for the real-world challenges they will face. As the mother of two teenage boys, Caruana has had the opportunity to reach out to her own sons’ teachers as well. She encourages parents to get involved and become a part of their teachers’ support team. “Ask how you can volunteer. Be willing to do whatever is needed—drivers on field trips, chaperones for parties, bulletin boards, decorating. Notes of encouragement are invaluable,” she says. “I still have a big manila envelope with every one I ever received. ey’re reminders to me as a teacher that I’m on the right track, that I’m doing what God’s called me to do—even though I don’t see the fruit of it very oen. “Find a teacher you used to have. I recently went online and discovered my fourth-grade teacher in a nursing home, 82 years old. I contacted her and thanked her for what she did for me. She was overwhelmed—to her it meant everything. Write a note or an e-mail or just say ‘thank you’ every once in a while. It means so much to know that you’re appreciated.”
© 2012 by Dmitriy Shironosov. Used under license of Shutterstock, Inc.
Teaching is more of an art than a skill. So much of it is about dealing with people—not just students, but parents, colleagues, administrators.
A frequent guest on national radio and television programs, Caruana calls the Body of Christ to rally around the nation’s teachers—to participate in organizations and events that support educators. She’s thrilled to see many churches honor the teachers in their congregation with a “Back to School Sunday” prayer service—commissioning them and sending them out into the mission field that is their classroom. Says Caruana, “e battle that’s going on for the hearts and minds of this next generation is a spiritual battle, and teachers are on the front lines. Sometimes they’re with our
Education
625
SC-Part4-02EDUCATION_SC-Part4-02EDUCATION 6/25/13 1:09 PM Page 626
children more than we as parents are. ey spend more waking hours with our kids than we do. ey’re called to encourage those children, and they can’t do a very good job of it when they’re discouraged and broken-hearted themselves. ey really need us to pray for them, to support them, to encourage them, to build them up. ey need prayer for direction and guidance, strength to stand firm and speak the truth in love. Even if you don’t have children in school at this stage of your life, you’re still called to pray. is next generation will be taking care of us soon. ey’ll be in charge, making all the decisions. We need to nurture our teachers so that they in turn can be nurturing our kids!” e walls of Vicki Caruana’s classroom have expanded far beyond the local elementary school. Her students now include teachers, parents, grandparents, families, and communities around the world. It’s obvious Caruana still loves to learn and make learning fun. She cares deeply for each and every life God has given her the opportunity to touch— she wants to make a difference in each one. at’s the heart of a teacher.
626
PART 4 Redemptive Communicators: Profiles from Across the Job Fields
