My best friend and I are pretty similar… I’m a bit more outgoing, she’s a bit smarter. We have different strengths, but both have a good work ethic, a desire to learn, and more. I was listening to a TED talk called “The Power of a Teacher” and it got me thinking about the teachers from my school, particularly the ones I connected with. It also got me thinking about how for as similar as we are, Sierra and I often didn’t connect with the same teachers. Sure there are a few that we hands down agree were terrible and one or two we both loved, but those powerful connections, those come down to a few moments. And those moments are different for everyone.
I’ve been working with kids for a while now in lots of different capacities and I’ve had some awesome moments. And some that were truly terrible, mostly my fault. I learn more about what it means to be a good educator each and every day. I make mistakes, each and every day. When I think about those teachers I loved, I can’t see the mistakes, not a one… Which perhaps bodes well for me.
If Mrs. Hallstrom hadn’t done the Iditarod read-a-thon thing, I don’t know if I ever would have wanted to read as bad as I did. Mrs. Cox was the first one to really introduce me to THE BOOKS I wanted to read. Mrs. Meyer made the move to middle school seamless and I learned a lot about my own work ethic. Mrs. Bartlett fostered my love of reading and helped it to carry me through the darker times. Mr. Bliss was honest and always gave us 100 percent, and he showed me what a good teacher could accomplish with a class. Mrs. Johnson got me into Youth in Government, which altered my path for good. Mr. Beal cared about our day to day and if we were genuinely okay. Mrs Hanncock shoved us lovingly into adulthood. I wouldn’t be who I am today without these people.
Especially coming from a really rural and isolated place, where access to resources more commonly found in the city (ex. museums) was nonexistent, and many of their students were living below the poverty line (and facing other barriers that come with that) These teachers really didn’t have much to work with
I’ve spent the last few months thinking A LOT about where I want to be in 2, 5, 10 years. And what needs to happen for me to get there. That list feels just daunting some days and impossible every other day, but deep down I know I have the skills to accomplish what I dream of, and I know that I owe a lot of that to the educators of my youth.
Coffee & Conundrums 