17 January - Introduction

I have many educational heroes who have inspired me and led to this point in my academic life and my career life. There have been so many teachers who have given me time and attention and have taken an interest in me personally. I can think back through my school years and remember each teacher, some with intense gratitude and fondness, and others with only a passing remembrance. However, I have two educational heroes that stand out from the rest. These two are very close to my heart: my mother and grandmother. My grandmother was a depression-era woman who was smart and quick and probably 50 years ahead of her time. She progressed rapidly through school because of her intelligence and graduated from high school with the intention of becoming a nurse. However, that dream was stymied by her poor economic standing. She went to work as a secretary, and soon found herself with five children. Unfortunately, she was also twice-divorced, and found herself the soul support of those five children. As a secretary in a brokerage, she often told me stories of how she would solve complicated mathematical equations for brokers who were making three times her salary, as well as advise them on their sales and other business. She could have easily been a broker herself, if she hadn't been a divorced mother of five with only a high school education. She fiercely taught her children and grandchildren the importance of gaining an education. Three of her five children went on to obtain college educations. I have often thought about her and what a wonderful nurse she would have been.

My second hero is my mom. With the influence of my grandmother, she knew she wanted more in life than what a high school education could provide. She entered college knowing that she would become a teacher. By the time she was a junior in college, she was teaching in the department. Upon graduating with her Bachelor's degree in Business Education, the university offered her a permanent position in the department, provided she would continue her education. She did continue and enjoyed a wonderful teaching career at that same university. She instilled in her children a love of learning and a love of school. Three of her four children (one of which is me!) have now completed at least one degree (in most cases, several degrees) and my remaining sibling has finally realized the value of education and has returned to school.

Both of these women had a great impact on me, always encouraging me and pushing me to go a little further. At one point during my first undergraduate degree, I was struggling with the university, my courses, and life in general. My grandmother wrote me a letter (despite the fact that I spoke with her on the phone nearly daily) telling me that there was not anything I could not accomplish if I decided I was going to accomplish it. The gentle but firm way she phrased much of her letter was a strength to me then, and is still a strength to me now--even though she has been gone now nearly 13 years. I am grateful she decided to put pen to paper so that I would have a lasting memory of her lesson in determination! Mixed with the encouragement and support that I have always received--and continue to receive almost daily--from my mother, I always know that I have generations of strong women preceding me in my journey. I can become what I now know I want to become: a teacher. Despite the struggles financially and physically on this fourth trip back to college, I know I can finish and make my contribution to the field of education.

Education in America is always changing. With the rapid changes in technology, it is more important than ever that teachers have the knowledge to empower their students to succeed in the larger world. The classroom is the gateway to the universe. After being "in the world" and working in several different industries over the past 15 years, I know now that one of the best fields to be in is education. I look forward to taking the skills that I learn in this class into my future classroom. I know it will benefit my future students, and I know that it will also benefit me and future generations in my family.