JUNE 2, 2017
Early this morning I received word that my grandmother had passed away peacefully. This is the woman who took my twin brother and me in, she raised us(for the most part), along with help from several aunts and uncles. My grandmother Mary Elsie Swanson, was a strong Texas woman. She loved her family greatly and taught us to love and help others who were less fortunate. One may ask, did you not consider yourself less fortunate to be raised by other family members? I would emphatically answer I am BLESSED to have had so many people love us. My twin brother and I had some wonderful experiences growing up.
The Brownwood ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year award I recently received made me ponder my own educational journey. The one thing that stands out is the great importance my grandmother placed on education, not only for her five sons but also for her posterity. As a young girl growing up in Brownsville at the farm, my grandmother had numerous sets of encyclopedias and books. I remember looking through them with intense curiosity even before I could read, attempting to draw the rocks and gems I gazed at for hours in sheer wonder. I also remember copying different topics word for word just ‘playing school’ and lining up my students to teach them what I had learned from her and ‘my books’.
IMG_1359
My grandma(mom) also taught me to love and care for others through her example to be kind, generous, strong, and love learning.
How does this great example relate to my teaching? When I teach children, I sincerely care about them, their lives, their experiences in and outside of the school building. I want them to not only understand that they are loved, but also to gain a life-long love of learning. I want my students to cherish the value of the educational opportunities available to them here in West Texas and the United States. There are many who argue and bicker over policies which can either be a great benefit or great detriment to our nation in education. While I am passionate about such issues, I also choose to focus on attempting to make a positive impact on our future generations locally, statewide, and nationally. As George Couros stated: “Make the positives so loud, the negatives are almost impossible to hear”( Couros, 2016. Being a Fountain). A student gave me this pendant the last day of school. It now reminds me of the infinite influence my grandmother will have on my life, love of learning, and now teaching.
IMG_1358
My grandmother was a GREAT teacher. Who was your greatest teacher?
