I want to meet Geneva Smitherman!
Never mind the fact that she tells it like it is (“We need
to stop apologizing for the way things are and [help students] begin
..imagining the way things can be… to think…”) or the fact that she speaks a
language her students understand (We just didn’t speak the same brand of
English). No, never mind the fact that she saw an injustice in the system (she
wasn’t allowed to teach Native Son) and
decided to ‘go back to school’ to get her Ph.D. so she could become a
superintendent and CHANGE the system… I want to meet this woman because she is
a catalyst and advocate for THE KIDS! She moved bureaucracy in her efforts to give the
students what they need…the information to absorb and do with it as they will…
and believe it or not… her plan worked because years after allowing her
students a voice, they came back to her and articulated a proper THANK YOU… When I grow up and finally find the courage to
make a difference, I want to be like Geneva…
I met her once, many years ago, and she is a wonderful change agent, scholar, and presence!
ReplyDeleteI love that she went forward, despite fears and challenges, to gain the education she needed to be on top of her goals. Very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Katie, for responding to my post. Throughout the quarter, thus far, I have not had many people comment on my blogs and I have been questioning whether or not I was doing the assignments correct. Truth be told, up until today, I was actually contemplating the notion of 'ceasing' my efforts regarding the whole ‘blog’ thing because it just seemed to be in vein. However, your reply reignited my thirst for this class and I am truly appreciative for that.
DeleteI agree with you that Geneva Smitherman is an inspiration. Speaking from experience, as an older woman going back to school for the first time in two decades, I can tell you that courage is a pill one must swallow every time you step foot onto the college campus. Competition is fierce on all corners of field, literally (have you tried to find last minute parking) and then there is the perceptions of priorities. As it appears from the outside looking in, my priorities seem so far removed from those of my younger peers therefore, reading Geneva’s story offered me, personally, a ray of hope that there is still room on the education bus and that there is still hope that I might be able to make a difference in the lives of the next generation.