When I sat down with my Religion and Ethics teacher, Mr. Gordon, I quickly realized that his work as an educator goes far beyond textbooks and lesson plans. Mr. Gordon has built his classroom into a place where students learn not only about faith, morality, and philosophy but also about how to live with purpose, respect, and responsibility. His approach to teaching encourages us to think critically about the choices we make and the values that shape our lives. We started off our conversation talking about the service trip he went on over the summer with some students from Oratory, and went into detail about how that experience was. He mentioned how the overall experience of the trip was amazing as he got to grow closer with the students of Oratory while also being able to see them truly embrace their new role as helpers of God while doing acts of service.
The main objective of this interview was to really understand the perspective of Mr. Gordon and how he has grown not only as a religion teacher but also how God has had such an important role in his individual growth. One of the main topics that is taught in Mr. Gordon’s class is God’s plan for you in your life and what he wants you to be. For many people, what they think they want for themselves may not be what God has in store for them, and I found that to be similar to Mr. Gordon’s situation. “ I always say teaching chose me, I never chose teaching,” Gordon mentions (5:57). Mr Gordon’s journey to become a teacher was not so simple. Before Mr. Gordon began his teaching career, he was a youth minister and had never even thought about becoming a teacher until the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese helped him get a job interview for the school he works at today.
Now, after being here for 17 years, Mr. Gordon does not regret his decision to take that job interview. Without taking that risk, he wouldn’t be at the place he calls home today. Throughout our talk, Mr. Gordon talked about some fond memories he had made at Oratory. One of his favorites was when he took a group of students down to New Orleans to do service work. This was an unforgettable experience for him because he was able to engage with his students and also help them to realize the reality that some people are not as fortunate as others. This humble experience was not only important for Mr. Gordon, but it was also important for his students. The knowledge I gained from this interview with Mr. Gordon says that his main goal is to help others just as God has helped him. Mr. Gordon did not really have his father growing up, so his father figure became a priest, which is ironic because God put a priest as the person to help Mr. Gordon become the man he is today.
Now, on the lighter side of things, I decided to ask Mr. Gordon a question that the whole school would like to know. Does Mr. Gordon believe he is the loudest teacher at the school? His answer was not surprising to me…as he believes that Mr. McCrystal is actually a louder teacher than he is. I will admit that both teachers truly let their voices be heard while they are teaching.
It was a pleasure to dive into the head of one of my favorite teachers here at Oratory, and to understand more about the reason he is so passionate about his career.