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[ Alright, so why don't you go ahead and tell us your literacy story. ]
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I am a teacher at a Catholic school. 
 It is a K-8
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     building. I am one of the state employees. 
 So I am in a very unique position. 
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Um, my title is called 
 Academic Assistant Teacher
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I am not an intervention specialists,
 which is what has been held in that
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position in the past. 
 I actually hold a K-8 licensure,
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which is really neat because I can work with any kiddo in the building. 
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I have my regulars, but I can have a student that I work with
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on a one time basis or short term. Um, the goal is 
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certainly that they are there short term, and then are kind of weaned off the program. 
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But it is a very unique position. 
 It's pretty great. 
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I work, uh, I do team teaching. 
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I work in classrooms, I do small group, I do one on one.  
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I do a little bit of everything. 
 It's kind of a 'jack of all trades' position. 
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Um, one challenge
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has been that I am not Catholic. 
 Being a state employee
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I am not required to be.
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Um, it has been a challenge for me to learn the verbiage of the Catholic faith.
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Um, I try to hide that from the students. 
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There are very few students that have figured out that I'm not Catholic. 
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I try to make that not known, only out of respect for them; that they go out of their way to be there for their faith,
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and I really respect that. And I don't want to them to inquire too much
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of why I'm not. I am a Christian. 
 But I just don't
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want them to look at me different from them, I guess,
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to question why I'm not Catholic. 
 Um, as a state employee, I'm very
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limited with what I can work 
 with as far as religion goes. 
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Um, I just don't go to religion classes, 
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but I have students 
 come to me for testing, 
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so I can read the test to them, or they'll work on a paper. 
 Again, I just don't announce
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that they're, that I'm not supposed to work on that with them. 
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Um, it's been very exciting, though. I love to learn about different faiths. 
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And I love to learn from them. 
 Um, so it's cute
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that they are teaching me, 
 and they don't know it. 
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[ Interview: That's cool. So, ]
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[ Um, do you want to talk about any students in particular that, you know,  ]
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[ that you've had experiences with? ] 
 I do have a student
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um, she is now an eighth grader. Um, Confirmation is a big deal
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in the eighth grade. And, again, I'm learning what a big deal that is. 
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She had asked me last school year to be her Confirmation sponsor.
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And I hesitated, um, in responding
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to her for the fact that I'm not Catholic.
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And I didn't even know if I was allowed to be a sponsor or what that even was.
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So, I inquired a little bit further with her, just, you know, 
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what does a sponsor have to do? 
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But hesitated in inquiring too much, just because I didn't want her to catch on that 
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I wasn't Catholic. How can I hid this from her, but at the same time
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honor what she's asking me? 
 I'm assuming that that's
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something big. So I did inquire further
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with a few teacher friends that I knew it was safe to ask that.
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We do have Sisters in the building,
 so I try to hide 
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the fact that I'm not Catholic. 
 I just don't... um, the powers that be
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I don't want them to know that I'm not Catholic, even though I'm not required. 
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So, um, all of my teacher friends that I asked that to had revealed that
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that's a pretty big honor to do that
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   um, and I'm still trying to understand that, um, what that means
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exactly. So, uh, I also understood from them that 
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I cannot be a sponsor. And, I, it was really hard
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for me to go back to her and say, "I can't do this for you, even though
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this is a great honor for you to ask me. 
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You know, I'm not a member of your family." I understood that that's usually who is asked. You know, an aunt or 
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mom's best friend, or someone who has been very present in their lives. 
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Um, I had with her for four years now. [ Interviewer: So you were a big presence.]
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I do feel like I am very present, but I'm not, you know, family, and I'm not Catholic.
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[ Interview: Well to her you are {family}. ]
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Well, that's sweet. 
 Um, I had to break the news
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to her that I was not able to do that, because I'm not Catholic.
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And I also had to explain to her
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that I'm not Catholic, only because I'm not required to be.
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Um, so I could tell that she was disappointed, that you know, she choose me for a reason
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and it was just, you know, the understanding
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of the differences of, you know, I am Christian.
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And that's something that I'm still trying to understand, you know, 
 that in the Catholic faith
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that, um, that the way 
 that they identify it as, is 
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you are either, you are either Catholic or you're Protestant. And in my mind
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um, you know a Christian 
 can be very different
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religions, that you're identified by labels
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um, that there's different lingo used, not just Catholic or Protestant. 
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So, um, it's definitely a rewarding position. Um, and I'm 
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love learning about the different faiths. I love understanding it further.
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I love having deep discussions. 
 I love learning from the students
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that, um, you know, 
 I'm digging through their books
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as much as they are, 
 trying to help them with their homework,
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   at the same time trying to cover up that I'm not Catholic.
  Um, but just teaching the skills
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of, how do you find an answer to something. So using those literacy skills
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um, at the same time, 
 but trying to hide something. 
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at the same time. [ Interviewer: Yeah, that's so interesting. Do you still get to interact with her
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[ now? ] I do. 
 She's still there in eigth grade
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and, um, I did ask her not to share
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that I was Catholic. 
 Um, I assume that she shared that with her parents.  
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because she had asked me that. 
 But I would
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you know, like her to keep my secret. 
  And I feel
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guilty asking her to keep a secret. But I do, um, again
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just respectfully so, don't want to announce to the students that I'm not Catholic.
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[ Interviewer: Alight. 
 Well, thank you so much
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for sharing] 
 You're welcome. 
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