Why did you become an educator?
My mom aided in my decision to become an educator. Growing up in a low- income community, there were a lot of things people went without. But, one of the hardest things was parental support as it pertained to education and the interests of the child. My mother was NOT that parent.
No matter what my brother and I were involved in, she was there. She even started standing in for other parents who were not there. One day, a child knocked on our door as my mother was reading us a book. My mom invited the child in, and he joined the read aloud session. He was so excited, and told my mom he wished his mom would read a book to him. That broke my mom’s heart.
The following week, she invited even more kids over during read aloud, until it became the norm in our community. As I got older, I began to think about how, what I considered to be part of everyday life, was truly missing in the lives of others. My mom started with instilling knowledge in her two children and by the end, she had educated the village. In looking back at this moment, I knew that I wanted to be that person to make a change in the lives of children, just as my mother did.
What do you love about your school?
The school I currently work for is family. No one person is responsible for the growth of the scholars, it’s the village. Leaders are always looking for ways to grow, not only themselves as individuals, but for the best interest of the scholars.
Also, I love that ideas are accepted. Anytime something doesn’t appear to be working in the best interest of the scholars, the leaders are always available to hear the problem, but not without a solution. This makes me become a solutions-based individual.
Why is it important that lower income children can attend schools of choice?
I think this is important because of the individual child. This makes me think about learning in the classroom. There is no way you can take a classroom of scholars, teach them one way, and expect them all to learn. This is the same for attending school.
Lower income children must be given a choice when it comes to education. The local community school might be a great school, but for some kids in the community, it may not be challenging enough. It may be the school that caters to the majority, leaving behind the small group of scholars who need differentiated instruction. Therefore, parents should have a choice when it pertains to their children’s education.
