Sweet Jesus, Is It June Yet?

This was a sweet book to remind a tired, worn out teacher of the purpose of teaching. The author had a Catholic background that I did not realize before reading but I still could take away truths and be encouraged. The author was relatable and encouraging to keep teaching and ringing hope to our schools.

Wow, what an incredible read. This was an excellent volume. Now I need to be up front, I am not a teacher, at least in the classroom sense. Though I did debate it 35 years ago. I have been a TA at university and in college. And in my current role in IT I teach or mentor both up and down. But once I started reading this book I could not put it down. There were so many good stories in this volume. Cattapan in this volume writes from her 25 plus years’ experience in the field. The chapters in the book are:

Introduction
1. Jesus Began Small
2. Jesus Had a First Day, Too
3. Jesus Knew Who He Was Doing It All For
4. Jesus Set the Stage for Learning
5. Jesus Asked for Help
6. Jesus Knew When (and How Far) to Bend the Rules
7. Jesus Knew the Power of a Good Story
8. Jesus Took Challenges in Stride
9. Jesus Trusted God’s Grace to Do Divine Arithmetic
10. Jesus Knew When to Stop and Just Let It Be
Epilogue

I picked this up for several reasons. First I have read the 2 novels and a published short story by Cattapan and enjoy her fiction. Second I have several friends who are teachers. Some in Catholic Schools and some in public schools and even a few in private schools. I thought about all the great teachers I had, and some of the amazing teachers my children have had. And I wanted to read this and if it was as good as it looked, recommend it to many of those teachers I know. And I have already ordered a copy for the teacher resource shelf in my youngest children’s school.

The introduction begins with these words:

“I have been teaching for more than twenty years. And since I’m Catholic and guilt would only gnaw at me if I weren’t honest, I’m going to tell you the truth: I have thought of throwing in the towel numerous times. This is not the result of any one bad school or bad administrator or bad set of colleagues or frustrating group of students or parents.”

And further she states:

“The burnout I’ve experienced over the years has not come as a surprise. While studying to become a secondary-school English teacher in the 1990s, I heard grim statistics about teacher retention, and the implication was always that teachers quit because they were burned out. In 1997, Linda Darling-Hammond reported that more than thirty percent of beginning teachers leave within their first five years of teaching.1 More recently, Charles M. Payne stated that 44 percent of new teachers in New York are gone by their fourth year, and about 40 percent of new teachers in Chicago are gone within five years.”

And yet further:

“If you’re like me, you felt the Lord call you to be a teacher at a young age, but at times you’ve wondered if you misunderstood what he was trying to tell you. Some of us went into teaching with grandiose ideas of being the next Mr. Keating from Dead Poets Society, inspiring our students to “Carpe diem!” Or maybe we thought we’d be like Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in Dangerous Minds and stride into an inner-city classroom in a leather jacket, teach some karate moves, and somehow unlock the potential of a group of students nobody thought was worth their time.”

And also:

“The answer seems to be to keep finding ways to reinvigo¬rate my love for teaching and reenergize my approach in the classroom. That’s what I hope this book will do for you. As I mentioned before, I’m Catholic, so my guilt won’t let me lie to you on this point either. I need this book right now. Over twenty years in, and there are still days when I ask God, “Are you sure you still want me doing this?” (Maybe it’s a result of my Jesuit education, but ongoing discernment seems to be a way of life for me.) So I am writing this book to reinvigorate my own teaching and to reenergize my own approach to the classroom, but I think that it will also do the same for you.”

I hope those few quotes from the introduction will help you see how engaging and honest this volume it. It is wonderfully written and I am certain it will benefit any teacher who picks it up or has it gifted to them.

The book is engaging and entertaining. Once you get going you will have a hard time putting it down. And for those of us not in the profession many of the lessons are transferable. I know that several of the pieces of advice transfer to working on a team and working in IT. This is a great read and valuable resource for the teachers in your life. I highly recommend it.


(Note review will post on my blog and amazon on release date.)

This last year in education (CoVID , politics) has been incredibly rough. So much so, that many are leaving the profession altogether. This makes me so sad. While many of the things covered in this book, I already know and do, I did find it refreshing and needed to read and have it lay out in front of me. There couldn’t have been a better time for a hope infused book specifically for teachers. Thank you!
** huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

"Sweet Jesus, Is It June Yet?" is a superb read for new teachers and veteran teachers. While sharing examples of the not-so-perfect teaching moments we all experience, Dr. Cattapan provides Gospel passages to encourage us through these moments. In addition to the Gospel passages, she imparts sound pedagogical advice on how to care for our students to fulfill our mission and our love of teaching. I love the conversational tone and humor of this book. I will be to purchasing multiple copies for my colleagues.

Sweet Jesus: Is it June Yet? is an absolute delight. Subtitled 10 Ways the Gospels Can Help You Combat Teacher Burnout and Rediscover Your Passion for Teaching, this book absolutely lives up to its billing.

In lively, engaging prose, author Amy J. Cattapan offers a spiritual lesson plan for educators in order to rekindle their love of the art of informing young minds.

Cattapan uses the words and example of a great teacher, Jesus, to help illustrate key points. As Cattapan writes, "Let's see what we can learn from Jesus. Let's study his life and his teachings--what he taught and how he taught it--and pull out ten golden nuggets that might help us face our next day with the kiddos. In our hearts, we know our kids are worth our time, our talent, and our treasure. But remember, too, that you are a precious child of God. He loves you, and you are worth his time."

This incredible resource would make for a terrific back-to-school gift for the favorite teacher in your life. Cattapan is to be commended for using her significant talents to help her colleagues in the classroom. It seems like five stars represent an insufficient rating for this fine work!

This book couldn’t have come at a better time for me. After one of the craziest school years of my life, I was feeling discouraged and utterly exhausted. Reading it this summer energized me to return to the classroom and was a wonderful reminder what a privilege it is to be His hands and feet. While this is told in a Catholic perspective and I’m a Christian, this will work for any denomination. Rich is scripture and truth, this is wonderful tool to keep in your arsenal and go back to it when you need a boost. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

It's been a rough couple of school years for teachers, and the upcoming school year may be more of the same. Sweet Jesus, Is it June Yet? - even from this non-teacher's perspective - encourages teachers in the profession the way only another teacher who's been in the trenches can. Amy Cattapan draws from experiences in the classroom and out to relate her successes and failures to the lessons gleaned from the teacher of all teachers, Jesus Christ, as shared in the Gospels.

Chapters are short, easy to read, and eminently practical. If you're a Christian teacher, you'll find understanding, support, and gentle encouragement in these pages. And, I think, a fresh perspective that might help counter the burnout you've been feeling.

This will make a great gift to the wonderful teachers who help to educate my children.