The Institute for Educational and Social Justice, co-directed by Dr. Marina V. Gillmore and Dr. Monique R. Henderson, is dedicated to advancing educational and social justice causes by telling stories that build awareness and understanding of educational and social justice issues. Our experience tells us that when dynamic, powerful stories are used to showcase issues of educational and social justice and the work that is being done, people and organizations are inspired to action. This blog is designed to be a forum to showcase events and issues of educational and social justice. Our goal is not to tell readers what to think, but to encourage them to regularly consider their own views on critical issues including equity and equality, racism, and related issues. The content on this blog, unless otherwise noted, is (c) by the Institute for Educational and Social Justice.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Supreme Accomplishment

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” – Arnold Toynbee

As educators ourselves, we know all too well that teachers have good days and bad days.

But if teaching is your calling, there is almost nothing in this world as amazing as those sweet moments in teaching when everything clicks just right and you know that you are exactly where you belong with whom you belong. And you know that the work you do is making a difference. That you are helping to shape the lives of young people in ways that you might not yet even begin to fathom.

And in these moments, work really does become play - it's fun and you are not continually checking the clock to see how many more minutes you have until the work day is done. And you're not thinking about the emails piling up in your inbox or the forms you have to fill out or that grumpy teacher in the teacher's lounge who seems to think that if we could just go back to "the good ol' days" that everything would be better.

No, you are engaged in the moment and you are alive and you are smiling and laughing along with the 20, or 30, or 35 young people whose lives you have been so graciously entrusted. And you are thinking that if just every moment could be like this one, then you would never need to think about the possibility of spending your days doing anything other than this.

But that, you see, is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of this life - we need the good moments, of course. But we also need the bad ones. Because it's only in the difficult times of our lives that we fully come to appreciate the joyful ones.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Are You Trying to Drive the Bus?

The bus driver double-checked that the bus was parked and climbed off the bus, anxious to get a better look at the pesky blue Honda Civic that was blocking him in.

After studying the situation for a minute, the driver scrambled back on the bus, clearly planning to maneuver his way out of the tight spot so he could get his bus-ful of kindergartners back to school safely after their day exploring a farm.

But before he could reclaim the driver's seat, one of the mothers along on the trip had climbed into the bus driver's seat, and was studying the situation herself, even rearranging mirrors to get a better view. When the bus driver returned, she began telling him -- still sitting in his seat -- how he should get out of the tight spot.

We watched in intrigue and disbelief as this mother -- who clearly had no professional driving experience and had never driven a school bus before -- continued to strongly express her opinions. Who did this woman think she was? Why was she so determined to do a job that did not belong to her -- and one that she clearly was not qualified to tackle?

I think about that mother a lot these days. And I often ask myself, "Am I trying to drive the bus?"
We are all guilty, at times, of taking on matters that are best left to others. Each of us has a different skill set. And we do our best, most effective work when we focus on our strengths, leaving other jobs to those who are best suited to them.

This, for example, is why we hire people to handle our finances, instead of handling all of them ourselves. It's why we trust others to handle some of the technological aspects of what we do. It's why we are so appreciative of the people who have assisted us with our graphic design projects and are quick to trust their professional judgement above our own.

Don't be guilty of trying to drive the bus - it will leave you frazzled, frustrated and ineffective. Instead, know what you are good at, and follow that path. And whenever possible, leave the bus driving of life to the real experts.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

This Work Matters

This post is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy and thanks for reading.

This work matters. It ebbs and it flows and it matters always.

This work flows in on the tears of a frustrated fifteen-year-old who is in a foster home unable to be with her nine-month-old son, who is in a different foster home, in a different county, wondering where his mommy is.

This work lingers in the hearts of everyone who believes that care is not a four-letter word, and hope cannot be packaged and delivered with scantrons and some sharpened number 2 pencils.

And it flows out on the silenced cries of so many teachers who know, in their hearts, that to secure a more hopeful future for the young people we serve we need to listen to what they have to say and advocate for them when they lack the voice.

This work matters.

This work matters because we cannot expect those who have the most power to lead, and we cannot expect those who are the most marginalized to blindly follow.