For the second year in a row, a Bishop Dunne teacher has won the “Distinguished High School Educator of the Year” award. The award ceremony, held at the Sheraton in downtown Dallas, is given annually by the Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Dallas. Each Catholic high school in the Diocese nominates a teacher. Theology and photography teacher Jim Martin, a teacher at Bishop Dunne since 1998, won this year, following the 2012 recipient Brad Baker, who teaches GIS mapping, Earth Science, World Geography and a popular survival course.
Jim Martin is a man of many talents.
Like two of his inspirational heroes, Albert Einstein and Thomas Merton, he is philosophical about life, and his natural curiosity and kindness towards others is evident in both how he animatedly teaches his students and cares for his co-workers.
Jim probably looks more like the Trappist monk Merton, who said, “The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” Martin believes that if he can get his students to understand and embrace even a part of Merton’s message, then they will have improved relationships in their adult lives, whether it is their relationship with God, their parents, their siblings, or friends.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Jim received his B.A. from John Carroll University, a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in University Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He began teaching at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island and was there for four years before returning to Cleveland, where he taught for eight years at St. Joseph Academy, the only inner-city all-girls’ high school, before moving to Dallas in the fall of 1997.
He came to substitute at Bishop Dunne during the fall semester of 1997 and began teaching full time in January of 1998. In January 1999, with about two decades of experience behind him, he became the Theology Department Chair and Campus Minister. As department chair and Campus Minister, Martin attempted to structure the curriculum to reflect social justice and peace studies as well as organizing Masses and retreats as Campus Minister.
Jim has taught religion and Theology from 7th through 12th grades, and enjoys them all. “I like to get kids thinking out of the box. I introduce them to different ways of thinking about God, maybe a different way of seeing God," he said.
Another way Martin got to know the students is through his photography. A photography buff, he offered to help the Yearbook staff out by taking pictures in the early 2000s but for selfish reasons. The best way for him to learn the craft was to practice it over and over…and in the days of film, that could be a very expensive proposition. So Martin went to Rachel Beck, then the Yearbook Moderator and said, “If you buy the film, I’ll take the photos.” This interest in photography eventually led Martin to moderating the yearbook for four years, which was an “enjoyable but very demanding task.”
It used to be that his digital camera and he were seen at just about every major event Bishop Dunne hosts, from home football games to the annual Talent Show. But his toddler and infant daughters have temporarily slowed his attendance at such events. He said, “it is important that I take the necessary time and energy to help nurture Lucia and Carolina’s development…but I shall soon be back with an empty flash card!” In the meantime, Jim is enjoying teaching Photo 1 as well!
Theology Department Chair Nick Hurt said, “When I first Jim, I admit I was intimidated. I had been taught at my previous jobs to have a healthy sense of fear of my bosses. But as soon as I met him, I knew he would be no ordinary boss. Sure, he cared that you were doing a good job, but he cared more that you were happy and that you were thriving in your work. Jim has a magnetic persona that conveys that the person he is talking to at that moment is the most important thing. I truly believe that an encounter with Jim might be the closest thing to an encounter with Jesus. And yes, I'd like to think that Jim and Jesus have similar senses of humor.”
He added, “Working with Jim the last seven years has been a gift to me and has been inspiration to me--heart, mind, body, and soul. I am not alone in holding the sentiment that Jim makes working at Bishop Dunne a real joy.”
Story and photo courtesy of Judith E. Porter, Director of Community Outreach at Bishop Dunne Catholic School