Why did you become an educator?
I became a teacher in an effort to become the change I wish to see in the world. In the community I serve I have noticed that many of the students are failing from lack of motivation and the lack of an advocate. Students in the lower income community are often underserved due to a lack of guidance and empathy from the ones that they look up to the most. As an African American teacher from the lower income neighborhood I serve, I plan to be an example of what success looks like and to show students that they can be great despite of the many challenges they face.
What do you love about your school?
I teach at New Hope Christian Academy in the Frasier community in Memphis, TN. The thing I love the most about our school is the outside of the box approach taken when it comes to education. We focus on experiential learning giving kids the opportunity to explore their learning styles in the concepts of learning by doing. I also love that we teach the whole child. Being a private Christian school we are able to do things many other schools can’t, like pray and discuss religion. The children are also introduced to different cultures and thoughts giving them the opportunity to form their own opinion about things rather than having things forced upon them.
Why is it important that lower income children can attend schools of choice?
This is a big one for me because I have always wondered what life would have been for me had my parents been able to afford a school that offered tremendous opportunities. I feel if the child has the same abilities and can keep up with the academics, why can’t that kid be given the same opportunity as a kid that has parents who can afford a better school?
