In my profession, I’m not just an educator. I am a therapist, nurse, drama coach, doctor, janitor, exterminator, mother, police officer, and parole officer. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would take on so much! I will tell you…I never signed up for this!



As an educator, it is my job to equip children to be able to live in society. I am to provide them with an education as well as life skills. Some days I am able to teach. I teach language, reading, spelling, writing, math, social studies, and science. Other days, I am just trying to survive. I often feel like Jeff Probst, the host of CBS’s Survivor; only I’m not on an exotic island. I’m in a stinky classroom that smells like a combination of dirty socks and glade plugins.


Is it enough to teach children how to multiply, complete long division, problem solve, and write proficiently or should I teach them about relationships, how to get along with each other, and what battles to fight and what battles to let go? I try to put myself in their shoes and think as a child; however, I am in my 30’s and they just reached double digits. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Looking back, what do you remember about elementary school? What is more important; the ability to decipher between geometrical shapes or the relationship you had with your teacher?