Being an Educator is truly interesting to me! I clearly remember being a student in school, and the perspective that I had about my teachers over the years. I thought most of my teachers were super lame! To be honest, I was not the best student, and at times found myself being assigned detentions & referrals due to the way I conducted myself. It was almost an honor for me to be the class clown that could leave tears of laughter in my classmate’s eyes with my sarcasm and dry sense of humor. I would ask what appeared to be legit questions, seeking specific responses that was the perfect segway for my jokes. I had the ability to excel academically but chose to coast all the way through middle and high school using the least effort. To be honest, I knew a lot of people, had good friends, but was not necessarily “Mr. Popular!” That title went to the star athletes and “Bad Boys.” It was quite unpopular to be studious and of high moral character. Students that strove for academic excellence were often the butt of my jokes, and the victim of ridicule in the classroom from other students.
As I got older, to say the tables turned, would be saying the least! Those same students matured and developed into phenomenal adults. I recall an experience where I was returning from a 7-day cruise, in which I had an epic time, and I heard someone greet me by my full name “Mr. Ryan Manning.” I did hear some familiarity in the voice and turned to see one of the most favored football players from my high school carrying my luggage. In my head, I honestly thought “oh how the mighty has fallen”, not demeaning an honest living, but shocked to see him not in the height of his athletic career. I was shocked to not see him on the television in highlight reels for the NFL living a glamorous life. I was shocked to acknowledge how the sense of power has transferred from one individual to the other, and it was primarily due to education. On the contrary, some of the same individuals that I thought were corny or “book worms” were excelling in life. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and is a superficial judge of character, but I saw young ladies that I would not entertain earlier blossom into beautiful successful women, and likewise for similar young men. The same people that were made fun of and called names, were eventually referred to as
“boss” or being your superior!
As an Educator of 14 years, I have attempted to instill life lessons to my students. I made it a point to develop the overall student and strengthen their character. I taught 8th grade Physical Science, but I taught young men & young ladies how to think and conduct themselves at optimal levels to the best of my abilities. The true irony is that the student that was a thorn in the side to many teachers became an educator himself. As an Educator, I became the recipient of some of the same things that I inflicted as a young man. Through life experience, I now see the other side of the coin and made my experiences into lessons that I would often incorporate in my lessons. My students received a lot of empathy from me to say the least! It was those experiences that led me to have so much respect for individuals that excel in the world of education. Education in both the traditional sense, and unconventional. To me education became the new cool, and I hold high levels of respect for those same individuals that I previously dismissed or attempted to degrade. I strive to establish a sense of purpose and a level of value in education. Identifying the significance of an education and what it can yield in each of my student’s lives has held a high level of priority for me, and I encourage that to all my fellow Educators!
The Jeremy Anderson Group