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By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

DECATUR - Melody Summers' first year of teaching was 1969 - the same year Apollo 11 made its historic landing on the moon and Neil Armstrong took mankind's first walk on the lunar surface. That fall her own feet were barely on the ground. "I was going to teach them everything I knew about space and science and math," she recalled. "I was a little nervous and I had overplanned a little." Summers learned early on to slow her pace. Thirty-two years later, during Mark Romanelli's first year of teaching, he was forced to discuss the tragic events of Sept. 11, which unfolded before his and his students' eyes. "I had only been here two months. I couldn't believe how helpful it was to be in a prayerful community," he said. "It was hard because you still had to sort out your own feelings. But we talked about it (in the classroom) and it worked out really well." Both events were monumental in American history, one tragic, one celebratory. Both Romanelli and Summers are teachers at St. Thomas More School, one a seasoned veteran, the other a rookie. But both are grateful for an environment where they can share their faith and make a difference in the lives of young people. A convert to Catholicism as a teenager, Summers said she always wanted to be a teacher. More specifically, she wanted to teach in Catholic schools. Prior to St. Thomas More, Summers taught in Catholic schools in Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., as well as at Sts. Peter and Paul School in Decatur. "Public schools are terrific as far as teaching math and science and things like that," she said. "But it's the values and principles that you can teach the students in a Catholic school that can really build up their character. Students can learn the various scientific truths, like math, social studies and reading, but I feel that what we believe about God is the most important truth." Having taught third or fourth grade for 32 years, Summers is grateful for the new technology which has made learning more fun. "Back in the late '60s, we didn't have the fun learning centers that we do now. And the kids love them," she said. "But you have to grow with them and see what their interests are. Teaching is the same, but it's the variety and variation of what you present that keeps it fresh." Summers, who holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and a master's degree from Brenau University in Gainesville, said that she can relate to the new teachers. "The new teachers are so young and so excited. I would tell them that they'll meet disappointment, but when you have those disappointments, you just have to go ahead," she said. "They will come to you for advice and you give it, but you have to let them make their own decisions." With an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Romanelli's desire is to complete medical school and eventually teach on a university level. He was selected to participate in the Alliance for Catholic Education, a Notre Dame program that sends recent college graduates to teach in under-resourced Catholic schools in the Southeast. After two years at St. Thomas More, he will receive a master's degree in education and the experience of a lifetime. "I thought that this would be a great way to learn teaching skills," he said. The advice he receives from the veteran Catholic school teachers at St. Thomas More, is "priceless," Romanelli said. At the same time, he shares Summers' view that at times he has to find his own way. "They are so helpful and they know a lot and give me pointers, but, at the same time, I have to figure some things out on my own," he said. "It's kind of like a parent does with an adolescent." Teaching science, math and religion to the middle school students, Romanelli has already learned to remember how old his students are. "I had pretty high expectations of what they could do, but then I had to remember that they're not little adults," he said. "They're still learning about themselves and who they are." At the same time, the 22-year-old teacher said he is constantly aware of his place in his students' life. "A lot of them have told me that they have never had a male teacher, so I think I am a male role model for some of them." Outside the classroom, he serves as the student council advisor, where he gets to work with students' "creative side." However, even in the academic environment of his math and science classes, Romanelli wants his students to be aware of their faith and to do what is right. "We talk a lot about people's feelings-putting ourselves in other people's shoes," he said. "When they leave my class at the end of the year, I hope they remember that. God didn't create any two human beings the same and we have to respect and cherish our differences." Teaching is a lot more difficult than he expected it would be, Romanelli said. "It's been the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's also been the most rewarding," he said. As a longtime teacher, Summers said she has been rewarded for years. "I guess this is my vocation. I have never regretted my decision (to become a teacher). I have been happy all these years," she said. "I absolutely love it." She especially loves sharing both her faith and her academic knowledge with her students. "I want them to know that learning can be fun and I want to share a little bit of my faith so that they can have a deeper love of God and a better understanding of their faith," she said. "That's why I'm here."