Imagine a school in which the teachers and administrators expected nothing from you. You don’t want to graduate? Okay, that’s fine. You don’t want to show up to class? Okay, that’s fine too. Now, some students may think “oh man, this is the best school ever.” But what if school is the only place you can go in order to get a meal to eat? What if school is the only safe place for you to be at? What if school is the only place where you feel important and cared for? Would you still want this?
Cruz showed up on Coach Carter’s doorstep one night after his cousin was shot on the street. It was the only place he felt he could go in order to get out of this lifestyle and be safe. Cruz is a character in the movie Coach Carter who lives in a life of poverty, drugs, and gangs. In one of the scenes towards the end of the movie Cruz said to Coach Carter, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Sir I just want to say thank you. You saved my life.”
As educators, it is not often that we will get thanked for the impact we may have on students’ lives. But the thank yous are not why we choose to enter the field of education. Educators choose this profession in hopes that they can change lives; maybe even save lives. To me, being a teacher is not about teaching a subject, but about teaching young adults the value that they bring to this world, and the value their education can bring to them. Coach Carter taught Cruz his self-worth. He taught Cruz that even he, a troubled kid, has just as much light to bring to this world as any other kid. I hope that I will be able to instill in my students what Coach Carter instilled in his basketball players, which is, your success in life does not come from others’ expectations for you. Your success in life comes from the expectations you have for yourself. Educators have the opportunity to shape lives. My hope for myself is that I will do that and more. And to all of the educators who have impacted my life, I just want to say thank you.
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