I was recently asked to read from my new book Teaching is Being: Embracing the Educator Within at a writers organization in downtown San Diego.The event was held in a little, bohemian artsy studio at a place called Liberty Station. I was very honored to be asked to read.
I picked three short selections:
1. From the chapter on identity, I talked about how seeing the movie Dead Poets Society inspired me to leave Los Angeles, where I was pursuing acting, and immediately return to teaching in my hometown of San Diego.
2. From the chapter on relationships, I told the story about a student with whom I had a very close relationship. She overcame tremendous challenges at home to become a strong woman, a productive person at work, and a good wife and mother. She and I talked through a lot of her challenges while she was in high school, and we grew very close. I shared how that was over 10 years ago and we still keep in touch.
3. And from the chapter on compassion and empathy, I told the story about a time when my high school Spanish teacher was super kind to me. And a time when my second grade teacher wasn’t.
At first, I was a little confused as to why I was asked to read from my new book. This was a group of writers, after all, not teachers. What did they care?
But then a strange thing happened. As I read, I could see that they were listening. They were paying attention. I had them. Afterward, they came up to me and shared all kinds of stories and memories. A handful of them told me that they too had been educators for years. Some told me about favorite teachers or horror stories of other teachers, who were not kind to them, either. They recounted favorite assignments. And of course, some mentioned the teachers who had inspired them to write.
It was a very powerful moment. It reminded me that those of us who teach are doing a very important, noble thing. Everyone is affected by teachers. Everyone.
During these moments in history when current events are troubling and the state of education is precarious, it’s important to remember that, as an educator, what you do is meaningful and often life-changing to other others.
So if you’re a teacher, be proud.
What you’re doing matters.
If affects people deeply.
So it doesn’t matter what happens “out there.”
Education is not a department in Washington or a poster on the wall (or not) in Idaho.
Education is just you sitting next to a child, helping them learn and grow. TZT