I have been back in America for six months! WHAT? Where did the time go?
When, I got off the plane almost six months ago in Chicago for my big return back to America, I never would have thought I would be where I am now. Let’s face it, I never really think I am going to be where I end up. When I left America in January of 2013 for the World Race, I said I would not go back into education when I returned. I was tired of the politics and injustice that I saw every day in the education system, and I was ready to move into the non-profit sector and work in an organization that I felt had more freedom in how they served kids.
So, I spent a year traveling the world, sleeping on the ground, loving on kids, witnessing much greater injustices than the ones we have here in our education system, going many days without showers, riding crowded busses, listening to beautiful stories from very beautiful people, and so much more. Eleven months of those experiences go by and I am back in America. BAM!!! It felt like it was all a dream. I still often wonder if I really went to all the places I did. Now, I am back in Nashville, teaching in a high school, and surprisingly loving it!
So, here it is in front of me again—Education! In most countries I visited, education was not a priority. Education is not a right for all people like it is in America. Many kids do not attend school, not because they don’t want to learn, but because they don’t have shoes, uniforms, or the school fees that are required. When they are able to go to school, they don’t have Powerpoint presentations, online learning tools, and teachers who are tailoring their teaching to the students’ learning styles. They have brick buildings with a single chalkboard and sometimes chairs and desks. There may be paper and pencils, or maybe not. All of the things we take for granted that we should have in our schools—air conditioning, heat, running water, electricity, textbooks, paper, pencils, locked doors, chairs and desks—many places do not have these things.
So, six months home and I’m about to head back out again. This time I get to target the injustice of education, not in America, but in South Africa. Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I am honored to be able to go to his country and educate his people in educational practices and strategies. In a country, where the history is so rich and the quest for freedom has been a long hard struggle, I am beyond honored to be able to share some practices that have been proven to help students learn as well as equip teachers who may not have had much of an education themselves. I’m beyond excited to get to make more new friends around the globe and learn probably more than I teach, that’s the way it always seems to go!
Just for your viewing pleasure…I’m going to South Africa and it’s world cup time…so I feel that it’s fitting to share this video!
