Palmer Trinity School

These anecdotes come together in my mind in order to underscore a larger theme, that is the transformative power of teaching, and the unique impact teachers can have on students. By the end of that "Intro to Education" class, we had to craft a statement of philosophy - a fancy string of words that adorned our personal ideology of teaching. Here's what I wrote: As an educator, I think of myself as the perpetual kingmaker - never the king. This is a duty I accept, knowing that duty goes with honor. The kingmaker makes the ascension possible but doesn't ascend; the educator influences the outcome but celebrates quietly from the shadows; the educator kneels so that others may stand on my shoulders. This knowledge inspires me; it also gives me confidence because it gives me purpose. The educator is Atlas - holding the world on his shoulders, even if at times he feels like Sisyphus, infinitely pushing a rock up a hill. The educator is Daedalus, crafting fireproof wings of wisdom while our Icarus flies into the sunset of tomorrow. Hopefully not to crash and burn. This is my truth and my hope, that the educator is the Prometheus of the modern world - we deal in fire and knowledge, and the spark we strike ignites the soul with passion; the teacher fans the flame of talent and sets ablaze the hope for a brighter future. That's what I believe as an educator. I know…very verbose. It's probably all those vocab terms on index cards. But beyond the language, I see a lot of truth in what I wrote—a truth that is still true to me today. A truth that highlights a central point of my philosophy: an educator must be a perpetual learner. Or to say it another way, "to teach is to learn twice over." Or to say it yet another way, I learn that I may teach and I teach that I may learn. I like how my mentee phrased it, in the first few weeks of her first year teaching, "I don't know that I'll be a good teacher, but I'm a hell of a learner." Truly, the best teacher is the best learner. Take my own story as an example: at the age of 16, I arrived in the United States with three bags, two sleepless nights, and one word of English. A week later, I was misplaced in a regular High School English class, instead of an English Language Learning class (ESL), where the teacher had us open a copy of Huckleberry Finn and said, in no uncertain terms, to read chapter one. I can now appreciate Huck Finn as being filled with the delightful whimsy of regional dialect, but after reading the first page on that first day, I reasoned that if that's what English looked and sounded like, I would never learn it (I think scholars would agree that Huck Finn just ain't proper English). Today, almost two decades later, I teach AP English Language and Composition, and I am a College Professor of English Composition. I draw this parallel not to emphasize talent or determination or the immigrant's grit; instead, my story should point in one direction: passion for learning. Today, most of my life is enveloped by this passion for learning—the teaching and the practice of it—to such an extent that learning anything and everything has become one of the defining aspects of my professional and personal identity. I am now, as I was then, mesmerized by the power that learning has to call meaning out of chaos and create sense out of nothing. I learn, therefore I teach. And also, I teach, therefore I learn. As I put it all together now, I still hang on to that analogy of Atlas and Sisyphus. To feel the weight of a classroom, of the students' collective education, of their future development and influence is an incredible feeling - a feeling filled with purpose. Those are the days I feel like Atlas - like I carry the future of the world on my shoulders. But teachers also have those days when they push an uncertain rock of belief up a mountain of "does this really make a difference?" Those are my Sisyphus days. But even in those days, we still push the rock. We push the rock because we believe it matters, and that belief gives us courage. So, what does it mean to be an educator these days? My answer is a little less idealistic, and much less flowery (once I learned not to hide behind my words), but largely the answer is still the same. The educator is the kingmaker. The educator is the perpetual learner. The educator is probably the best student in the classroom. And those teachers, the ones who are always willing to learn, are the best equipped to teach. An educator must be a perpetual learner." 30 PALMERTRINITY.ORG P E R S P E C T I V E S

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