Learning to Follow My Heart

 A few weeks before college graduation I met with a distinguished group of faculty who told me that my learning disabilities made me “unfit to be an educator.”  I was devastated.  The same people who taught me that every student could succeed were now telling me that I wouldn’t and shouldn’t teach.

In the days that followed my hope dwindled...  Maybe, I wasn’t meant to teach. Nonetheless I had always considered myself a teacher at heart.  (And still needed a summer job.)  So, I filled out an application to intern with UrbanPromiseCharlotte, a Christian ministry with a mission to “provide students and teens with spiritual, academic, and social support they need to be leaders in their communities.”     

 I never imagined that my summer would begin with celebrating a group of eleven high school seniors who had all been the first in their families to be accepted to college. It was a gift to be part of this celebration.   As a young woman who had just been told that she was “unfit to be an educator” because of her disabilities----I was living every great educator’s dream: To help young people celebrate their greatest potential and discover their purpose.  

 Nearly two years later, that first class of UrbanPromise teens are all sophomores in college and I am finishing my final semester of graduate school as an education student.    My UrbanPromise students have taught me so much about teaching, learning and life.  They give me HOPE!  It’s amazing what teachers can learn from their students!

Things I’ve learned from my students:

•  Prayer is powerful and necessary!
•  Connecting with students takes time and once it’s done it is something that a teacher will never ever forget.
•  Students   know exactly what it means to accept, respect,  & love, others as long as it is continuously modeled for them.
• If I ask a student how they are… the answer will not always be good.  (And I need to be prepared to listen).
•  Students might not like to read but they’ll listen when you read to them.
• When I read with students it makes them feel special!
•  If I ask a student what they learned at school…. sometimes, they’ll tell me nothing related to core subject material.
• Students listen to what their teachers say more than they will ever admit!
• If I tell my students to NEVER GIVE UP on their dreams than I must NEVER GIVE UP!

My UrbanPromise students and their staff have inspired me to believe in my abilities and to follow my heart!  This week UrbanPromise opened a new site in West Charlotte. This means that more students will find joy in knowing God’s love is ALWAYS available and they have  freedom to be the best version of themselves!   

To learn more about UrbanPromiseCharlotte check out this link:www.urbanpromisecharlotte.org/