I recall a childhood memory. I was not much older than five or six and we moved into an apartment complex in Des Moines, Iowa. Next door there was a little girl about my age. We became close friends. One day it finally dawned on me that she was living with her grandmother and not her parents. I understood only living with one parent, because my parents had divorced, but to not live with either parent seemed very strange to me. I asked my mother why this was. Apparently she had heard from someone else in the building that the girl’s father had left and the mother “couldn’t raise her.” I asked why. I am sure the easiest answer at the time was the one my mother gave me, “She doesn’t have any money.” When I replied with, “Why doesn’t she just get a job,” my mother simply said, “There aren’t any.” My reply, too, was simple, “That’s not fair.” Little did I know I had just formed the basis for the philosophy of my life.
Growing up I found myself constantly trying to “make things fair” for the people I came into contact with. When my mom remarried and found herself involved with an alcoholic, I made things “fair” for her by trying to be a model child and student. I spent endless hours doing household chores, so she was not burdened with them.
As I matured into a young adult, my definition of “fair” also matured. I began thinking of ways that I could make the world a fair place and thus came the birth of my interest in education. For fairness to occur, people must being playing on equal fields. The only way to ensure fairness is to educate.
The Term Paper on Gay Parenting
... children is “A role model of a mother and father coordinating co-parenting.” (Liberty Counsel, 2012) Although the belief is ... Lesbians Should Be Allowed to Adopt.” Are Adoption Policies Fair? Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. ... Should Not Be Allowed to Adopt.” Are Adoption Policies Fair? Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. ...
Now that I am a mother and a full time teacher, I hear the word “fair” quite often. “Mom, can I borrow the car.” “Not now.” “Uh, that’s not fair.” “Mom, why does Siera get to stay out later than me?” “Because she’s 18.” “That’s not fair.” My personal goals at home are similar to my personal goals in my career. As much as I try to equal the playing field for my students or even my own children, I must also prepare them for the harsh reality that sometimes life isn’t fair. Educating young people to be self-learners and problem solvers is the best way, possibly the only way, to prepare them from a world that is ever changing and where things don’t always turn out the way we want them to.
As I write this statement, I am preparing to begin my 21st year of teaching high school students on an Indian Reservation. Every day I am faced with the reality of what education can do to help lives and what lack of education can do to hinder lives. As educators we’re constantly being told that we’re not doing enough. Students’ scores are low. They’re dropping out. There’s enough research to fill a gymnasium, but there’s not that “silver bullet” that we all need to solve the “educational crisis” we seem to be experiencing. I remember growing up that education was always the solution. When did it become the problem?
I believe the best way I can serve the educational system is to work directly in administration. I want to be part of educating the next generation of teachers. To reach that goal, I must complete my education to the doctoral level. I have earned my Educational Specialist degree (Ed.S).
I want to complete this journey at the University of South Dakota.
