Nearing the end of her 10-year tenure teaching theology at Ursuline Academy in St. Louis, Sister Peggy Moore reflects on teaching and transition in a pandemic:
Dear Ursuline,
In just over a month I am once again making a transition from one ministry to another. Contemplating a move from one good to another always results in mixed feelings for me. As I thought about the possibility of this change over the fall and winter months I had no idea of the challenges that would accompany the end of my teaching career.
We Ursulines, of course, have change in our DNA. St. Angela did advise us to change if the times and circumstances required it, but who of us would have envisioned the change from teaching in a classroom to directing and accompanying students in a distance learning environment?
I think missing the students and the face-to-face interaction with them and with co-workers is a common experience of teachers at this time. For me, there’s an added poignancy as this will be the last time I “see” these students, and saying good-bye in a video conference won’t be easy.
At the same time we live with these challenges, I have found it to be a time for recognizing the gratitude in our lives. For our friends and sisters, for our co-workers, and for this time to reflect and grow.
On my daily walk, I watch as the spring has brought crocuses then daffodils then tulips and lilacs, blooming trees and azaleas. I am reminded that change can be beautiful and that there is a great context in which my transitions take place.
Peggy Moore, OSU
Theology Chairperson and Teacher
