What if teachers were real with their students?
Seriously, what if we were real? I mean, really real. Not vaguely real, or professionally real, but completely, unashamed, and real to ourselves in front of our students. Would it change anything? Would students want to learn from us?
So, I get it. I am not going to tell my students about my daily, personal issues. That's what my mom is for (love you, Mom!), but what is so wrong with being human?
I remember being a junior Marine. I was about 19 years old, and I had to track the progress of injured Marines from the war in Iraq. The time frame was 2004-2005. I was young, immature, and emotionally vulnerable. My friends whom I had hang out with a month before were living (or should I say hanging by a thread to life) in burn units in Landstuhl, Germany and Bethesda, Maryland. These Marines were kids the year before, seniors in high school. How real is that?
How do I tell my kids that they are about to embark on a journey that is ruthless, unforgiving, and also at the same time wonderful and amazing? How do I tell them that the real world is both dangerous and beautiful? Do some of them already know? Maybe their lives are completely ruthless now. After all, I was raised by a white, middle class family of privilege. I had everything, yet I still struggled.
Now, I know not everyone is going to join the Marines, but I did after high school, so that is my reality. I can only speak of what I know. I can't write of the experiences of others. My voice would taint their experiences. But I want my kids to know what they are up against and what they have to look forward to.
There is nothing worse than seeing someone settle for less than they deserve. It is my hope that all of my students reach their goals, feed their minds, explore their souls, and learn that life is a gift. It is my hope that all of my students grow and develop as individuals.
Until I blog again...
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Who Is the Other Tattooed Teacher?
Hello! So, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Candice Poole (Lunsford), and I am a student who is working on earning a teaching credential to teach high schoolers social sciences in Northern Alabama. I am super excited about this transition in life, because for the least twelve years, I have been in a different job, which did not allow me to be expressive or to use my mind for anything other than instant, willing obedience to all orders (any guesses as to what I did? ahem, Marine Corps). So, I cannot wait to let the creativity flow! I am really looking forward to teaching young people, especially in the social sciences.
This is not my first rodeo, in terms of college. I originally earned a bachelors of arts degree in Women's Studies from California State University San Marcos in 2009. I am a feminist, but I really don't like that word all that much. I feel as though "feminist" is a term that a lot of people view as derogatory. I'm just all about diversity, and equality among people in general. I'm really about negotiating all of the "isms" and getting down to the fact that society has a lot of improving to do. I really can't call myself a "humanist" either, because, well, I'm not really into social Darwinism or, you know Hitler. (There's a very negative connotation with that word - you should look it up sometime when you have your phone in the bathroom with you and you're bored.) So, let's just leave labels on the side, and I'll call myself a teacher. That is true. I am a teacher in training. I will be legit eventually, and that's what is going on.
So, I suppose you might be wondering why I call myself the "other tattooed teacher". Well, I thought I was being creative in the fact that I am a tattooed teacher, but that name was already taken, so I had to be the "other" one. That's alright. It's kind of neat that there is another teacher out there with tattoos who advertises. I don't know what this person teaches. Maybe I should look them up and get back to you all on it.
I digress. The point is, that I am the other tattooed teacher, and the reason I point it out is because I want my students to be authentic. That's the only way this whole social sciences thing is really going to work, anyway. I am asking them to be authentic, and if I ask them that, I must be as well. So, I am authentic. I do not hide who I am, nor do I try to be the "good" version of myself for anyone. I believe I am a good person. I am professional, but I am also tattooed, and I am not going to hide it. It is who I am.
I am also a lot more than a tattooed person. I am a mother, for starters. I have three gorgeous kids - two girls and one boy. I am a daughter, the only one my parents have. I am a sister. I have one brother who is younger than me. I am a veteran Marine. I am a divorcee. I am also an artist, a guitar player, a singer, a songwriter, a runner, a crafter, a reader, a writer, an activist, a believer, a lover of animals, a homeowner, a college graduate, a citizen of this planet, and I'm sure a lot more things, but let's not get boring here.
The point is, that I am not defined by only my tattoos. My tattoos are a part of me, a part of the journey I have had in this life, and they are me. I chose them. I love them. I plan to get more. I will never have them removed, and they are here to stay. When I am an old woman (ok, older woman), I will still have them. And I may or may not have purple hair.
So, I plan to live my life the way I need to in order to be authentic. I am a person of creativity, and I am also a person who is kind of different than other people. I have lots of quirks. That is just fine. I have a feeling that all of us are unique in our own ways, if we let our true colors show, or if we maybe, dare I say it, live an authentic life.
This is not my first rodeo, in terms of college. I originally earned a bachelors of arts degree in Women's Studies from California State University San Marcos in 2009. I am a feminist, but I really don't like that word all that much. I feel as though "feminist" is a term that a lot of people view as derogatory. I'm just all about diversity, and equality among people in general. I'm really about negotiating all of the "isms" and getting down to the fact that society has a lot of improving to do. I really can't call myself a "humanist" either, because, well, I'm not really into social Darwinism or, you know Hitler. (There's a very negative connotation with that word - you should look it up sometime when you have your phone in the bathroom with you and you're bored.) So, let's just leave labels on the side, and I'll call myself a teacher. That is true. I am a teacher in training. I will be legit eventually, and that's what is going on.
So, I suppose you might be wondering why I call myself the "other tattooed teacher". Well, I thought I was being creative in the fact that I am a tattooed teacher, but that name was already taken, so I had to be the "other" one. That's alright. It's kind of neat that there is another teacher out there with tattoos who advertises. I don't know what this person teaches. Maybe I should look them up and get back to you all on it.
I digress. The point is, that I am the other tattooed teacher, and the reason I point it out is because I want my students to be authentic. That's the only way this whole social sciences thing is really going to work, anyway. I am asking them to be authentic, and if I ask them that, I must be as well. So, I am authentic. I do not hide who I am, nor do I try to be the "good" version of myself for anyone. I believe I am a good person. I am professional, but I am also tattooed, and I am not going to hide it. It is who I am.
I am also a lot more than a tattooed person. I am a mother, for starters. I have three gorgeous kids - two girls and one boy. I am a daughter, the only one my parents have. I am a sister. I have one brother who is younger than me. I am a veteran Marine. I am a divorcee. I am also an artist, a guitar player, a singer, a songwriter, a runner, a crafter, a reader, a writer, an activist, a believer, a lover of animals, a homeowner, a college graduate, a citizen of this planet, and I'm sure a lot more things, but let's not get boring here.
The point is, that I am not defined by only my tattoos. My tattoos are a part of me, a part of the journey I have had in this life, and they are me. I chose them. I love them. I plan to get more. I will never have them removed, and they are here to stay. When I am an old woman (ok, older woman), I will still have them. And I may or may not have purple hair.
So, I plan to live my life the way I need to in order to be authentic. I am a person of creativity, and I am also a person who is kind of different than other people. I have lots of quirks. That is just fine. I have a feeling that all of us are unique in our own ways, if we let our true colors show, or if we maybe, dare I say it, live an authentic life.
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