Kit and Caboodle

If you work in or adjacent to the world of education, why did you pick education? A simple question yet profoundly thought-provoking.

Is your answer about teaching kids, providing engaging lessons, improving the knowledge and skills of individuals to equip them for the future, or leading others to disrupt education? That’s great. That’s what you do.

Or, is your response about modeling for others through your own actions and passions? Encouraging learning through hands-on experiences or real-world-based problem-solving? Or, maybe your response is about allowing students to identify questions and topics that interest them and facilitating their exploration and research. These too are good but that’s your how.

A lot of schools and non-profits have a mission statement and that is their formal why. It probably centers around preparing students for college and career readiness to be productive citizens in a global society. And that is a great mission and statement of a school’s or an organization’s why. The mission statement of a school or organization is important; it helps focus the organization on its goals and provides a framework for making decisions. But is it yours? When it comes to motivating yourself, I think it’s important to have your own why—a personal mission statement that is unique to you.

What is YOUR why? What is it that YOU give to the world? What is that fuel in your life that motivates you? Why do you do what you do? Why are you in education? Did you just think, “Because I want to have a positive influence on the world.”? But, why do you want to do that?

For me, I was given an opportunity as a rural, Mississippi high school student which opened doors to me that previously I did not even know existed. Because I have personally benefited from people believing in me and showing me there are options, I want others to know they too have options and someone who believes in them. I could have easily been overlooked back in my high school days and my life would be drastically different.

So, why did I pick education? Because I don’t want to take for granted the opportunities from which I have benefited; I want to give back to the world. I want to be the voice of reason. The one who can help people understand why they should take advantage of the opportunities in front of them and how they can do so. I want to inspire others to go beyond the status quo and challenge their own thinking, as well as that of those around them. I want every student and individual to know there are opportunities, what they are, and how to access them. My why: to educate everyone about all access to opportunities no matter a person’s age, demographic, race, religion, or any other criteria. That’s the whole kit and caboodle; my sum total.