Education has always been the Plain Jane of the working world. It’s the cute, low- maintenance job that people always approve of, but never want to date for themselves. The sexier fields of commerce, health care, and government always steal the spotlight because they have headline- grabbing personalities and the hefty bank account to support them. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing those professions, I personally believe that before society can be transformed, education needs to garner more attention. When I envision myself working ten years down the line, I don’t just see me working with my students; I see the intricate web of relationships that are formed between teacher to student, teacher to parents, and teacher to community.
One of the first things I learned in the School of Ed is the important role the parents play in a child’s wellbeing, both academically and emotionally. It’s one thing to learn the fact, but it’s another thing entirely when you see the real life implications. In my limited experiences thus far in an Ypsilanti class room, I see example after example of how disturbances in the home cause problems in the classroom. A 1st grade boy missed a couple days of school because he was stabbed by his younger brother… who was two years old! A couple other kids in the same class are temporarily homeless while their families look for a more permanent living situation. Each child has difficulty maintaining their focus on tasks at hand, and sadly, has extremely low confidence. It’s heartbreaking, because you start to notice a cycle of repeated failure leading to a feeling of resignation in the kids. Even though you, the teacher, can continually encourage them, if they are not similarly encouraged at home, it is a losing battle.
Most of the time, the parents are merely unable to meet the emotional needs of the child at home because of the overwhelming number of jobs they have to work in order to support the family. However, for the situations where the parents just don’t know their influence, that is where the teacher is able to make a difference. When the importance of education is stressed in the classroom and at home, sooner or later, the child will realize, “hey, maybe there is something to learning after all.” This more holistic approach puts the emphasis back on providing support for the child in his/her intellectual growth, instead of forcing the child to jump through academic hoops.
Finally, education has the ability to transform communities. In my failed attempts to get into the Teach for America program, I learned that many first and second year teachers are unable to make a difference in the school/ community because they aren’t expected to stay in that area for more than a couple years. A common view of such teachers is that, “Oh, they probably have a good heart, but they’re just doing it to get something out of it for themselves, they don’t actually care about us.” Whether this is true or not isn’t the point, the fact is that educators need to demonstrate their commitment and love for the people on a permanent basis. I believe that as I start teaching in an area and stay long-term, the wariness in the community will slowly melt away as relationships are formed, one at a time. It starts with the students; by being there for them and giving them that excitement for learning, their parents will take notice. That opens up ministry opportunities in the different ways you can partner with the parents to continue pushing the students to break out of their preconceived limitations. As the original students grow older and their siblings enter into school, there will be positive local role models for them to look up to and emulate.
Education has such amazing potential to transform society at a grassroots level. It happens when like-minded people make the conscious effort to fight for the future of our kids. As individuals are impacted, they are able to influence the communities. Eventually, as the changes in education become more prevalent and more communities are transformed, people will take notice and lives, transformed.
Tim Lee's essay on education was the runner up for the post-undergraduate essay contest.