Inside the Mind of an Educator

 One of my favorite essays is Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I used to have students in my high school English classes explicate it the first few weeks of the course. The purpose was to get them to recognize their own ability to think, express themselves and a need to be who they were created to be in class. I wanted each of my students to recognize the power within and freely bring their unique perspectives into the discussion. In fact, my only rule of the classroom was to "Be Yourself."  However, as I sat in service at ACF Church, self-reliance took on a new meaning. We discussed Exodus; specifically, the chapters focused around Pharaoh's hardened heart, and it became clear how self-reliant I have become. I used to think this was such an essential characteristic for a military wife, mother, and woman. In fact, I was told once by a powerful woman in my life, "Never depend on anyone or anything. You must be willing to fight for yourself and never lean on anyon...

You might wonder and ask me why What was the reason to seek this position In part, an act of obedience to apply The skills He has gifted in humble submission But I hit submit because my heart is breaking I am standing on the other side of good Where the policy and politics are faking Where hope, faith, and God once stood I see how much ground we are losing each day The passion and love for the human has faded The joy that once colored learning now bleak and gray And the educators of the world growing more jaded The politicians crying out for more accountability Relying on more funding or testing to be a magical savior The education system no longer running on sensibility And the schools are overloaded with bad behavior Identity should not come from a pronoun preference Or from labels the world defines as equitable Gender selection should not be the school's point of reference Keeping kids from reaching the potential for which they are capable I became an educator to love kids wher...