I never truly knew what drove my grandmother.
I thought about Tense’s inspiration when I’d heard news my beloved Aunt Martha, who joined Corrie in the autumn, left some of her items to me.
There was only one activity, or thing, I loved more than writing.
This is a powerful statement in that I’ve loved writing more than some people at times. Not my family of course.
I have loved children of all ages from the time I was about five or six. The thoughts of what I love and what I do as a career mingle with my grandmother’s inspiration come to me as I look at her university ring.
Most teachers don’t have a cape or super powers. Yes, some teachers have the flash when they appear on Tik Tok with their special dances.
But I have a ring that reminds me of a destiny greater than myself. It calls to mind a legacy to continue; a mountain wall I must climb even when I no longer possess the desire. The ring reminds me I must move forward almost one year after the sudden death of my beloved daughter, Corrie.
The “one ring” itself is a bit intimidating. Besides the legacy it carries, the ring doesn’t fit any of my fingers. It also shows the original name of the university where I’d attended graduate school. The class of 1928 ring states the “women’s college” from which my grandmother earned her teaching degree.
A professor I knew said, “We only graduate the best teachers.” That ate at me for a long time:
Am I really a good enough teacher?
As I look at Tense’s college ring, it’s easy to think:
It’s just another college ring.
I barely wear my college ring now.
But this 1928 college of education ring is different and more powerful with the destiny it carries because it reminds me, after eleven years in teaching, where I’d started as a substitute.
Yes, you’re more than good enough. You’ve shown your colors.
I wish I could sit down with Tense as a woman and speak with her about what had influenced her as a teacher. I wish I could talk to her about what drove her to take students to have their vision checked, and to buy them glasses.
I am told she is a guiding spirit with me. I believe it, and I know she has my daughter with her.
When I look at my grandmother’s college ring, I am reminded of the destiny greater than myself because Tense and my mother have left great paths to follow in education. It is intimidating if you look at it as climbing Mount Everest.
The ring is a reminder of something greater than myself and my keyboard. It is the calling to serve in the lives of children and young adults. Tense’s legacy is a reminder to increase literacy with those who think they cannot read. The five-year-old chosen career path of my daughter as a teacher is a memory I treasure as I walk forward even on my hardest days.
I wish I knew my grandmother’s inspiration.
I can tell you mine:
Kids
I don’t care what experts say about population control, or those who think they have teens figured out. To me, they’re the best part of this world. My grandmother’s ring reminds me of this everyday.
As I approach the one year anniversary of when I became a LEGO Master Educator, and now prepare to enter my second year; I see how STEAM and interacting with hands-on building enlivens students’ ability to connect with text.
If you have a chance to check out my classroom’s current grant LEGO: Let’s Go and Grow on Donors Choose or to just talk about it, I appreciate your time more than you know. I am moving up to eighth grade, and our team will increase from 40 to 90 or more students, so we are currently short on supplies. We’re looking to add robotics to the English curriculum with coding and literacy. Thank you, thank you ….
Thank you!
Corrie's Season 