You Make Me Brave

November 4: What was the nicest gift you ever received from a student/parent/colleague?

The best gift of words I ever received was from a colleague. We were on a trip to NCTE in Vegas. I had been to NCTE before, but it was her first time. And Vegas is not for the faint of heart!  I don't believe she had ever flown before, so it was a trip of firsts. One day, I wandered back to the hotel after a session and discovered she had ridden the monorail by herself from the MGM back to the Paris where we were staying. (As Iowa girls, public transportation is a new, uncommon experience.) She said, "I never would've done that without you because you make me brave." 

I was shocked. With anxiety disorder, I battle fear, both real and irrational, every day. It never occurred to me that anyone would ever consider me to be brave. In fact, I don't think anyone had ever said it to me before.

This also surprised me coming from a faculty member who taught speech for years and years. I think that requires a special kind of bravery. And when our district decided we didn't need speech class, we would just "infuse" it into all the other classes, she regenerated her career. She embraced change. She is trying to become better at technology. You see, my dear friend Cathy, who teaches in room three next-door to me is brave because she's been outside her comfort zone for a long time now, but she keeps coming to work with a smile on her face and working hard at improving her own skill set and caring about students. She is the one lending me her bravery.

As that fine orator Winston Churchhill said, "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." I can't think of a better description of teaching than that. I teach in a pretty amazing school where the faculty are like family. We give each other the courage to speak up.  We take heart in listening to each other. I love that phrase "take heart." Isn't that what bravery is? There's a reason why the cowardly lion's courage was represented with a heart. 

If you really think about the responsibilities of a teacher, it's a pretty daunting profession. It requires bravery to face the responsibilities of 25 different kids every 45 minutes: What are they going to learn, and how will I know they learned it? What will I do if they didn't learn it, and what do I do if they already know it? Day after day this is an intimidating prospect. The sheer energy, intellect, and reflection required to do this job is brave in epic proportions. Not the kind you associate with swords, kilts, and blue face paint, although that is a wonderful kind of courage, but the quiet courage of Otto Frank and Atticus Finch, the everyday bravery of Tris Prior and Katniss Everdeen: the courage of persistence against overwhelming odds.  

Churchill also said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." I will not sit upon the laurels of success nor wallow in the fear of failure because I do not face the odds alone. This is the gift I have been given in my colleagues, whether they are down the hall, across town, or in another time zone. Courage to continue.  

Thank you, Cathy. You make me brave, too.