Championing Somebody's Child: My Call and My Responsibility

As far back as I can remember, I've wanted to champion the cause of children.  Initially I thought it would be as a lawyer defending the rights of children who had been neglected, abandoned or abused, but when I realized that being a prosecutor might put a strain on my moral compass, I decided on being a social worker.  Somewhere during my high school years, I vacillated between teaching and social work. I even stated in my yearbook that I would be the 1st person to reach millionaire status on a teaching salary--ah the ignorance of youth. However, I remember really being bit by the teaching bug in my junior year of college. I thought about being a professor because I had the benefit of amazing professors at Trinity College, and they challenged me in ways I didn't think possible.  But I kept remembering  those teachers who were my champions in middle and high school --the ones who helped me be the best that I could be to get into Trinity--and I knew that I had to do the same for other teenagers.

Recognizing my calling was a result of thinking about my own champions.  How could I do for some other teen what they had done for me? I realize today that I am on this educational journey championing the 920+ students in my school and the hundreds before them because of those who championed me.  So I have to do what my fellow #ptcamp friend Jay Posick did in his recent blog post and take thee time to thank those educators who started me on my most amazing educational journey.

The first teacher to impact my life as a learner was Mrs. Pamela Barker-Jones.  She was the first teacher who made me believe that I could learn and possibly excel in math.  This did not come easily.  I recall her championing my efforts countless days after school with patience and celebrating each small gain.  She refused to let me believe that I was incapable of doing well in math, and I learned the impact of an adult's commitment to her student's success and the power of encouraging a growth mindset. 

 In high school I had wonderful teachers. Yet everyone of my English high school teachers --Mrs. Judith Lyons, Mr. Robert Pisarski, Mrs. Lynda Glover and Mrs. Maria Mascaro --nurtured my love of literature and helped me flourish as thinker, reader and writer.  I wanted to teach English because of their high standards and the passion they brought to the classroom every day.
As educators we know that teachers are not only found in the classroom.  Jonah Cohen, Mr. Dennis Mink and Mr. Harry Pacheco were the directors of the Trinity College ConnCapp/Upward Bound program.   I spent three summers on the campus of what would become my college (that's another post)  living in a dorm, taking classes in preparation for the next year,  receiving mentoring from area high school teachers and current college students, and participating in experiences that were foreign to me as a sheltered urban kid. During the school year, they ran homework clubs, served as our advocates in our schools, took us on college visits, and helped us complete the college application process.  I'm not sure if my dream of college would have been realized if it had not been for the leadership, mentorship and support of these three men as they ran this program.  I learned the power of serving teens outside of the classroom to deepen the impact of their learning and success.

Stepping on the campus of Trinity College meant having excellent professors and while all of them made an impact on my scholarship, there were three who were models for how I wanted to teach and mentor. Dr. Gail Woldu, my freshman college seminar adviser and professor, was a woman of the highest expectations-a Grey's Anatomy Miranda Bailey of sorts -who required me to use my voice even when I wasn't sure I had much to say among the elite students at Trinity.  She reminded me of the power  and need of all of our voices to the conversation in and out of the classroom, and I haven't been afraid to use it since. I traveled abroad because she  insisted that I experience life outside of my neighborhood, and it changed me for the better.

I majored in American Studies and loved the the melding of literature and history.  I learned the power of mentorship as I fell in love with Toni Morrison, discovered the power of an author's voice, and the value of text-based discussion and written reflection in Dr. Farah's Griffin's classes.   While Dr. Cheryl Greenberg's passion for African American history and Civil Rights encouraged a love of research and debate that reminds me of a how teacher can transform a student's thinking.

These champions of my youth followed their calling and set me on an educational journey that makes me responsible for doing the same for the adolescents I encounter every day.  I am grateful to walk in a calling to bring passion, commitment, high expectations, guidance, and strength based thinking every day to champion the "somebody's child" the way my teachers championed me.


Thank you to Doc. Sheliah and Mary Ann Stewart for also inspiring this blog post.

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion