I would not say I was your perfect child growing up nor
would I say I was your worst. Did I
reach my full potential? I think most of
us are lead to say no to this question and even as adults we are still
challenged to answer this one with 100% accuracy. I think this is good though, because we
should always strive to improve; trying to get better every minute of every
day. It reminds me of a quote by Jon Gruden, "You never stay the same. You either get better or you get worse."
I would not say my life is, or ever has been, a mess, but
the bumps in my road have lead me to where I am today. There are points in everyone’s journey where
they must decide to forge on, or turn around and head back to comfort and
safety. The thing I have learned the
most is, the most successful people have bumps in their journey and would
have never reached their potential without taking the road less traveled.
Well, that is what I did as an eighth grader, took the road
less traveled. To make a long story
short, I spent almost one fourth of my year in ISS (In School Suspension). Why?
As I look back, I cannot tell you why. Did my teachers not create environments that harbored my
creativity? Did my school not provide the
services I needed to be successful? I
would say no to all of the speculations, but I would say I lacked relationships
with my teachers the most.
That year pretty much labeled me for the remainder of my
high school career. I am sure teachers
saw my name on their class roster and the fear and panacea set in; oh no, not
that kid! You see I didn’t use my
freshman year to change my image either though; at least academically. I was that student, the one who’s potential
went through the roof, but my effort and attention was focused on everything
besides school and its requirements.
At this point in my life I needed to answer some questions;
how did I want people to remember me?
Was my future destroyed because of my past? Had my poor choices ended my path to future
success? I will have to thank my oldest brother and his struggles, because these have
helped shape and nurture my decisions more than he could ever imagine.
From that point of my life to where I am today, I have used
my past and my brother’s experiences to drive my pursuit of excellence. My goals, then and now, are to prove all
those that did not believe in me wrong.
I enjoy returning to the town where I grew up and informing the
naysayers that I am now a school administrator and watching their reaction. I was labeled as a young student and my
passion to this day is to prove that label inaccurate. I
would say, quoting Robin Roberts, “I have made my mess my message.”
My advice to teachers:
·
Encourage those that struggle to continue to set and pursue goals.
·
Mistakes will happen all through your life;
learn from them and become a better person.
·
Avoid labeling students based on their past and
look for the good in everyone.
·
Every person has a story; take time to listen to
it.
·
Remember it is not about you…it is about the
students.
·
Always do what is in the best interest of
students.
·
Continually ask yourself the question; would you
want to be a student in your own classroom?
o
Thanks Erin Klein (@KleinErin)
·
Take time to do something you enjoy.
·
Read the book “Teach Like a Pirate!” by Dave
Burgess (@burgessdave)
This is the time of year where we need to rekindle our fire
so that our passion to impact students continues to burn bright. Please take time and remind yourself of why
you chose to become involved in education.
