A confession...

I have a confession to make. As a young child, I did not like school. I was not a good student and I lacked a sense of my own intelligence. I felt dumb. In retrospect, I believe these things happened for one main reason. I attended a school in which students were “tracked.” I was always placed in the “above average” class, but I fell in the middle of that class (grade-wise) and consequently, I grew up believing that I was not very smart. The good news is that as a freshman in high school, I was placed in a Speech I class with Mrs. Allison Edwards. Thank goodness for Mrs. Edwards! After giving two or three speeches in her class, she approached me and asked me if I would consider helping to revitalize what had become a defunct speech and debate team for Struthers High School. More importantly, she told me that she thought I had a gift for public speaking. Believe me, no one had ever told me I had a gift for anything…except maybe forgetting to do my homework (as a younger student). From that point on (I accepted her challenge of course), my confidence soared. I won speech and debate awards and at graduation, I was one of only three of seniors who gave a speech at commencement. That’s when I knew I had to do for others what Mrs. Edwards had done for me! I had to become a teacher!

I have had the privilege of working with countless wonderful and talented teachers, many of whom tell me that they were influenced to become teachers mostly by their parents, who always stressed the importance of education to them. In some ways, it is hard to say this, but the truth is, that was not the case for me. That is not to say that my parents did not influence me. They surely did!

I was the first girl, born after three boys to Roger and Florence Colburn. My parents were ecstatic to have me! Unfortunately, my father was forced to retire at age fifty due to a debilitating physical illness. We were dirt poor. My mother had a high school diploma, but my father had quit school (in New Hampshire) when he was 13 to join the Civilian Conservation Core so that he could help support his family. In spite of loving me dearly, neither of my parents believed that I would go to college…mainly because of financial reasons and therefore, college was not really discussed with me. To this day, my mother is awe struck at my accomplishments. To his credit, my father studied for and received his GED at age 62. I truly believe if he was alive today, he would also be very proud of me. In all honesty, I cannot say my parents told me the importance of education. They did, however, show me the importance of giving and serving by being involved in our community and church and always being willing to give to others in spite of our own financial situation. There was never a time when my parents said “No, can’t help.” They were always willing to do whatever they needed to do to help those in need. Between my experience with Mrs. Edwards and my parents modeling of these characteristics, I knew that teaching was my destiny.

I believe that my greatest contributions and accomplishments in education relate directly to these two influences. First, Mrs. Edwards helped me to see my gifts and strengths. I believe that my greatest contribution to education is my ability to see the gifts and strengths of my students and more importantly, to help my students see these qualities in themselves. My students are constantly learning, unlearning and relearning through reflection and revision and collaboration. In this capacity, they are able to see for themselves what they have learned, and where their strengths and weaknesses lie. There is nothing more meaningful to me as an educator than to have a student come to my class and be excited and happy to be there and eager to learn something new each day!

Secondly, because of my parents modeling of the importance of giving and serving, I have stressed in my classroom the idea of making a connection between what we learn in the classroom and applying that to the real-world through community service and involvement. PROJECTS like SHARC (Students Helping the American Red Cross), SHED (Student Helping to Eliminate Diseases), HOUSE (Helping Out Underprivileged Students Everywhere), SERVE (Students Everywhere Respecting Veteran’s Everyday), SKILL (Student Knowledge Inspiring Lifelong Learning) and HELP (Helping Everyone Living with Problems) are designed to instill a sense of the importance of community awareness and service. Students write in the reflective essays, “I learned how to help people in my own community, and how just time or a little money can help save a family in my town, not have to live on the streets!” and that they felt proud because “you’re getting the message out there so that we can help the people who need it.” The results of these projects and the ensuing enthusiasm on the part of the students participating in them (like those above) are my greatest accomplishments. Reading final reflection papers of students and knowing from their words and their actions that I have made a difference in how these students see their responsibility in this world are what I consider my greatest accomplishments!

I have won countless awards since making those first few speeches in Mrs. Edwards’s class all those years ago. Each award has given me a thrill and has been fun for me to receive. Nothing, however, will ever compare to the thrill (and chill) I feel inside when I look into a student’s eyes and know through his or her actions, that I have made a positive difference in that student’s life and a difference that will last forever!