The Power of One...

Last summer I had the opportunity to go to the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, FL. I had heard about this conference from colleagues who attended, but had never been. It was, by far, the most inspiring conference I had ever attended in my teaching life. I felt inspired to make changes and help move our school into the next dimension. It's hard to believe that was just over six months ago.

I think that it's easy when you are in education to feel defeated, if you are a teacher who takes personal pride in your work. I am not going to lie, there are some that see teaching as a job, arrive at 7, leave at 3, don't take any work home...Others think of it as a calling, are inspired by their students to push them, make them strive to do better. I have worked with both. Yesterday I felt like I was becoming one of the former, tonight I am going back to the later. My step-father wrote to me regarding yesterday's post and reminded me that truly I need to change the trajectory of one.

The power of one...it is an awesome thing. Think about playing the lottery. What is your chance of winning? Not very good, maybe 1 in 175,000,000. You might think that that's really no chance, but really, one will win. That is not a rousing endorsement to play the lottery, but rather that one is a powerful number.

The Power of One...

Mohandas Gandhi, one man, who protested through non-violence for the freedom and independence of his country. His quote, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" is one quote that always  stays with me. Gandhi had a vision and he became it. He was the One...

Jesse Owens, a black man, ran at the Berlin Olympics with Hitler looking on. He ran proudly, even as the predominantly white German crowd watched on. He was the One..

Rosa Parks held her seat and did not move to the back of the bus, she was the One.

One man stood in front of the tanks at Tienanmen Square, Dian Fossey died for the gorillas in the forest, Mother Teresa traveled and gave hope to many, each were just One.

What does this mean for me? I need to remember that I have this power, to change one life, one trajectory, one student's hope for themselves.

Today, a ninth grade student who has been on tutoring, stopped by to return a book to me. He was not my student in the 8th grade, but through a series of events, I stayed connected to him. He said to me, "Thank you for never giving up on me. I will make you proud by graduating from high school." This is one that I think I have impacted.

Tomorrow I am going to work and I am not going to dwell on those who were unsuccessful. Don't get me wrong, I am not forgetting them, but I am not dwelling on their lack of success, rather, I will celebrate the success of the others. I am going to focus on the One...

I am but one teacher....

Tomorrow we start a new quarter, a new chapter in my life and my students lives...Tomorrow I will say to them (and meanwhile be saying to myself): "Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all of the world there is no child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. You may become a Shakespeare, A Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a Marvel."

Be the One...


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