There was a boy who lived in Nigeria in a small village. He was very bright and he had big dreams. He longed to attend the university and to study to become an engineer. He and like minded friends learned that they must take physics in high school to qualify for admission to the program. Sadly there was no physics class at the boy’s school. There were no instructors qualified to teach such a course. The boy and his friends were disappointed but they were not defeated. They heard that there was a man in the next village who had once been a physics teacher. They decided to seek him out and ask him for help.
The boys walked to the next town in hopes that they would find the solution to their problem. They easily located the former teacher living on a farm. They told the man about their dilemma and begged him to help them. The educator explained that he had too much work to do on the land. He did not have enough free time to teach them physics. He was very sorry but there was nothing that he might do. Continue reading “An Extraordinary Man”
As educators we do our best but those of us who are honest know without a doubt that we sometimes make mistakes. Hopefully when we do so we are willing to admit our errors and redress them. Unfortunately that doesn’t always happen in our educational system. Children are sometimes unwittingly hurt and nobody does anything to step forward and change things. It’s difficult to upend the system. Most of society is unwilling to do so for fear of being thought of as rebellious or troublemaking. 
As parents we often like to believe that we are the sole arbiters of our children’s lives but the reality is that it does take a village to accompany our young from the time that they are babies until they become adults. Even those who choose homeschooling inevitably must allow the influences of others to affect their youngsters. It’s a difficult situation for parents and takes a dramatic leap of faith and a heap of wisdom to navigate successfully. The trick is in knowing when to protect a child and when to let him/her get hurt. Anyone who has ever tried that knows that it is a daunting task. 
When I was young I was like a little mouse, tiny, insignificant, and afraid. My usual response to seeing injustice was to grow internally angry. I simply didn’t have the chops to do something constructive or to speak out. I suppose that I most enjoyed my debate class because it gave me a legitimate platform for asserting my thoughts and taught me how to use facts, data, and persuasive arguments to bolster my opinions. I was still an innocent even back then. I remember some crushing defeats that my debate partner and I endured at the hands of more skilled thespians who had perfected the art of rhetoric and, dare I say it, the big lie. I remember being shocked the first time that I realized that some of my opponents were willing to make things up just to win. Asserting, “That’s not true!‘ did little to convince the judges that they were being had. I had to learn how to fight fire with fire but I found it just too unethical to use shady tactics. 
Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week and educators around the country were feted with breakfasts, luncheons, gift cards, and trinkets. Of course the standardized testing schedule is so crowded that there was no rest for the weary and school life went on in full force. It will be many weeks before teachers across the country get a bit of vacation and even then the legend of three months without work will not happen in reality. Teachers will work the summer school weeks in June or attend classes to keep their various certifications intact. By the last week in July they will once again be in full prep mode as they look forward to the beginning of the school year and to meeting a new group of students. It is the nature of the business to continually be in teaching mode that only those who have engaged in the profession or their families understand. 
All It Takes Is A Little Love 