Today's Saint is the patron saint of teachers (for my sister, Donna, who is a teacher). Here is someone to intercede for you in your difficult situation.
St. John Baptist de la Salle was born in France in the 1600's. He was the eldest of 10 children, which probably gave him some insight into the education of children. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1678. He was known for his work with the poor and was also very involved in education. He founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and formed teacher colleges. He was one of the first to emphasize classroom teaching over individual instruction. He also began teaching in the vernacular instead of Latin.
His educational innovations include Sunday courses for working young men, one of the first institutions in France for the care of delinquents, technical schools, and secondary schools for modern languages, arts, and sciences. De La Salle's work quickly spread through France and, after his death, continued to spread across the globe. Today there are streets all over the world named after de la Salle, generally due to the location of a Christian Brothers School. Also there are many educational institutes that bear his name - including La Salle University in Philadelphia.
His feast day is April 7.
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