Wednesday, February 3, 2016


                                                         Honoring our Interest

As a young person I was really interested in two things. Ancient Mythology and handmade items. Specifically I wanted to know how things are made, which explains why I can watch hours of episodes of that show on the Science Channel.

My interest in ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology came from the books we had in our house when I was little. My mother is a big book person, and can remember looking at the pictures and reading the stories and imagining how the various gods interacted with people. This love of history, and specifically mythology was not supported or encouraged in school at all. It wasn't until 8th grade that I had a teacher, Mr. El-Mekki, that my love of history and mythologies was shared. I evened learned mythologies from other african tribes! Other than this class I fed this interest at the library and with cable t.v. I am not sure what originally drew me to these stories, but my mother did everything she could to make sure I had the books I needed in the house to continue reading...It is obvious to see the connections that could have been made to between this love and school that were missed by my teachers. Reading, language, historical context, poetry...the list goes on. And this does not include all of the projects and STEm activities that could have went alongside my reading. But none of the teachers I had for a long time really took the time to know my as a student. And there were 2 years when I had a long term sub the ENTIRE year...


I knew based on getting no help with my first interest would mean I would be on my own for my second, handmaking items. I always wonder, if I had been guided in school and home if instead of finally pursing my love of history in college, I would have pursued Arts-N-Crafts, and become a bench jeweler.. My mother and everyone I know always said I had a talent for making things, and I usually make something new once a week. But I never really saw that as a way of making a life for myself. I always say, "I wish I went to school for jewelry, I could see me living that life". But I was too difficult for me to visualize because i never saw anyone like me doing it. So everything I learned up until a few years ago I kind of hobbled together. A couple of years ago I finally decided that I needed to see if I could make a living doing what I loved and began selling my items.I still think about where I could have been if I had had the school support and background, but why cry over spilled milk, right?

However as an educator both of my interest reminds me to try to expose my students to as much as possible. I want them to feel like they can do anything! I also want them to feel prepared to do anything by helping them figure out what they need to do to pursue what they like seriously. Whether its getting math grades together for a career in Architecture or Culinary Arts. It also reminds me that students have their own likes and we as educators make a world of difference when we include that in our lessons.

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