Katherine Łastowiecka

Katie Łastowiecka grew up in Northwest Arkansas where she was homeschooled alongside her three siblings. She echoes the sentiment of Beatrix Potter: “Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.” Her experience learning in the world rather than separated from it greatly influenced her views on education. Her days were spent picking blackberries in the woods, playing the piano, and listening to her mother read world history by the fireplace.

She attended the honors program at a state college where she fostered her love of Shakespeare, and even spent a summer as a dramaturg for the Arkansas Shakespeare Theater. An honors course titled “What Makes Us Human” was her first introduction to the ancients: The Odyssey, Antigone, The Oresteia, The History of the Peloponnesian War, etc. Needless to say, she was hooked. Little did she know, she would come to teach many of these texts with the same zeal of her professor.

Her decision to obtain a masters in education was largely motivated by her own lack of high “real school experience.” “Best to know what school is like before I commit my life to working in one” she thought to herself. Though she would not gain classroom experience until she became a substitute teacher while finishing her thesis. In the end, the greatest example of teaching turned out to be her mother, who influenced Katie’s teaching instincts more than she could have guessed. Often called “Embodied Learning” or “Experiential Learning,” Katie imagined her classroom to be one filled with energy and engagement rather than rows of students filling in bubbles.

Katie spent several years at a private Catholic school teaching Humane Letters, Theology, Creative Writing, Philosophy of the Human Person, and Drama, though not all at the same time. By her final year, she was the Dean of Mentoring as well. This time in the classroom allowed her to try different approaches to instruction and classroom management. As she had hoped, her classroom was always busy with poetry recitations, Shakespeare scenes being acted out, even the occasional Pride and Prejudice tea party.

In the summer of 2023, Katie married a handsome architect from Chicago who shares her love of puns and philosophical conversation. She currently resides in Arkansas where she enjoys gardening with her husband, traveling, writing, and grain-free baking.

Teaching Philosophy

To paraphrase Maritain, the purpose of education is to teach man how to keep forming himself, hopefully into something more true, good, and beautiful. This is the foundation of my teaching. The goal is to help students learn how to discern what is true, how to love what is good, and how to pursue transcendent beauty.

Rather than tell my students what to think, I care much more that they know how to think and then express those thoughts articulately, concisely, and eloquently. As a teacher in the humanities, I aim to aid my students to grow in empathy and good judgment by reading stories. I want to confront them with stories that do not test the memorization of an arbitrary set of facts, but stories that test their strength of character, their virtue.

I believe that students need to be held responsible for their work the same way I am responsible for mine. Setting high standards for work and maintaining deadlines are simple ways to help students pursue excellence and grow in the virtues of obedience, prudence, and temperance as they manage their time and work accordingly. I also believe that learning should be fun because that is one of the greatest ways to ensure that lessons are not forgotten. However, fun is only possible if students come to class prepared and open minded. Therefore the art of learning may only take place if both the teacher and student take responsibility for their work and properly prepare to engage with each other and the material.

Statement of Faith

I am a practicing Catholic at St. Joseph’s parish in Fayetteville, Arkansas. As such, I believe in the dignity of all humans and the possibility of redemption for those who seek it, the existence of objective truths, transcendental beauty that directs our gaze heavenward, redemptive suffering, and the fact that we are all in constant need of God’s grace. I believe in the trinity, sacred scripture and tradition, and the sacraments.

My personal faith is the foundation of my daily life; my days begin and end with prayer. I view my vocation as a teacher, the literature I teach, and my personal relationships through a christian lens and strive to serve my students, family, and community the way Christ would.