Given the ease with which we can look information up on the internet and the increasingly technological bent of our culture, there is buzz about the devaluation of education. Videos depict schools as seemingly meaningless structures with students realizing there is really no need to memorize facts or acquire certain subject matter. Absorbing these videos and reading the articles is disheartening to the educators who have dedicated their lives to pedagogical endeavors. It is painful to watch and harder to discuss. But let's pause and think...
Consider, if you will, that perhaps it is not all about curriculum. Perhaps that degree you earned in college was providing you with even more than the subject matter it boasted to perfect. Contemplate that the curriculum you studied is simply your paid admission, allowing you to enter into the most important venue anyone can dream to command! I posit that your curriculum, this Golden Ticket, is your pass to stand in the front of a room filled with impressionable minds. The subject matter is merely the script. Whether teaching about science or reading, it makes no difference. The plot...the theme... go much deeper than math or writing. Human-ness, discipline, time management, tolerance, acceptance; these are the items that make up your playbill's various acts. They are what decide the feelings your audiences bring with them as they walk out of your theater and back into life. The unexplainable imprint on the heart, left by an actor or actress who unwittingly touched the soul, is the gift you share with the world by touching one young heart.
True, we help children dabble in the subject areas in order to find their passions. The subject areas are important. But we cannot limit ourselves to thinking that is all that we are called to do. Every time that you notice the intricacies and strengths of each student, you have taught tolerance and acceptance. Every time that you arrive, tired from a night up with your own sick child, but ready to give your students all that you've got, you have taught them discipline. And every time that you meet them at the door with a loving smile, even after the previous day's antics and struggles, you have taught them how to live the unconditional love that is the hallmark of humanity. There is value in what you are doing...curriculum and beyond, it all matters. Tomorrow, as the curtain rises, break a leg! Live your calling! Share your passions! And know your standing ovation is building, one child at a time.
