Wk1 Reading: Art of Possibility, Ch 1-3 - Andrieux, Joseph

3 years ago, as a new high school math teacher, I came into a classroom where I felt that I could make a difference in student's lives. I wanted to see where they stood in relations to the course they were enrolled in.

The reason for this attitude was that the previous teacher quit. She no longer felt appreciated because she was teaching 9th grade Math with 4 years under her belt. She felt betrayed and complained about the students and left.

I was hired to take over and bring these students up to speed with the remaining 9th grade student body. My strategy was that I needed the students to succeed. With the book, "The Art of Possibility", I have compared my experiences with the sample stories this book presented. If you go to a country to see if you could sell shoes and you saw no shoes, would that be an opportunity? As I ventured into my first class, I strove to find ideas to gain these students trust and to keep them engaged in every lesson. I saw an opportunity to keep employment while making a difference in people's lives.

Sometimes, it can be difficult. The book mentioned that we as educators need to open our minds to new possibilities and not be constrained with what we were groomed into. Students have the capability. We need to show them that it is there and how to use it. We need to expose them to a new environment where their understanding of reality will be upgraded. As the Me'en viewed the photograph, they saw and object, not a photograph. Our students need to feel that their minds have been opened to a new realm of understanding. That is not why they have a headache.

As an educator, you need to know that you are there to make a difference and to create a legacy. You will not be given students that already know the subject. You will be given students that need to be developed into productive members of society.  That is how we are remembered and rewarded.