艾可直播

For Liam McDonald, Social Studies teacher and coach at The Cambridge Matignon School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, community has been a critical component of his personal and professional formation.

For three years of his undergraduate experience at Siena College in Loudonville, New York, he served as a resident assistant, a position which allowed him to accompany freshmen and sophomore students in their personal and professional development and also create programming that helped build community.听

After graduating from Siena, Liam joined Urban Catholic Teacher Corps (UCTC), a teacher formation program at 艾可直播 College that provides members with teaching support, intentional community living, and faith formation as they earn a master鈥檚 degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

鈥淭he communal living experience of UCTC made me a better teacher,鈥� Liam shared. 鈥淚 was forced to talk about topics and issues I might not have otherwise. I would come home, and I would discuss food deserts or racism or whatever happened in a housemate鈥檚 class that day. Sometimes I didn鈥檛 want to talk about these topics, but they forced me to think and reflect much more than I would have on my own.鈥�

Currently, Liam is part of the Roche Center鈥檚 Catholic Leadership Cohort (CLC), a master鈥檚 degree program offered collaboratively through the Roche Center and the Lynch School. Over 20 months, participants learn alongside public and charter school educators as they earn a master鈥檚 degree in Educational Leadership and Policy. Twelve credits are taken together as a cohort focused specifically on Catholic school leadership, and cohort members meet regularly in smaller professional learning communities, where they have opportunities for deep discussion, discernment, prayer, and communal and critical reflection.

鈥淏eing in community with others who have the same passion and desire for Catholic education helps me reflect on my practice by putting others鈥� experiences in my own context, and considering how a situation might have been similar or different for me,鈥� said Liam. 鈥淛ust the conversations we have about readings and the classes we鈥檙e in helps me think about my own practice, as well as my own strengths and shortcomings.鈥�

Because the first year of the CLC was virtual due to the pandemic, Liam wasn鈥檛 expecting to connect with his cohort community as much as he has.

鈥淲hen I started, I thought, 鈥極h, I鈥檓 never going to meet these people, besides maybe the retreat,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淏ut when you talk to them, you learn they really care and they want to see you grow. We鈥檙e all here for the same reason, and that鈥檚 Catholic education.鈥�

For Liam, the gift of community that he has received through his experience in both UCTC and CLC is something he strives to pass on and create with his own students.听

鈥淔orming relationships is one of the things I鈥檓 most passionate about,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have students who are coming from so many different perspectives, faith backgrounds, and diverse ways of living. So the different community experiences I鈥檝e had help me empathize with their situations and experiences, which makes me a better teacher.鈥�

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