Читать книгу Leading Equity - Sheldon L. Eakins - Страница 8

I remember doing my student teaching. I'm not going to tell you how long ago it was, but it was a while ago. Let's say that. I was a young lad. I remember going to one of the schools, and I recall being in a teachers' lounge and just kind of listening to some of the teachers as they talked about the school and some of the students. I'll be honest. I didn't feel very comfortable with how some of the teachers were talking about the students. “This is a brand-new environment; who am I?” I thought to myself, I'm just a student-teacher. I don't have any clout.

I listened to some of the staff members make some negative comments about some of the students who were labeled as troublemakers or students who weren't seen favorably by some of the other staff members. I remember not saying anything. I just figured, You know what. I'm new here, and even though I don't like what I'm hearing, I'm just going to walk away and not engage in this conversation. I left the staff lounge, and I don't think I went back there throughout the rest of my student teaching.

I shared this story with one of the professors at my university. I used to love talking to this woman because she was one of those individuals who spoke her mind, and she didn't hold back. As I'm sharing this story, I'm smiling. I was like, I walked away because I didn't want any part in this conversation. I'll never forget what she said to me. She said these five words, “And what did you do?” See, when I was at that school and I was developing my teaching skills, I thought I was doing the right thing by just walking away and not engaging in the conversation. I had been student teaching at the school long enough to know who they were discussing, but I was a student teacher. I wasn't even certified. It was my last year in college. I was brand new. No one knew who I was. Who was I? I thought the right thing was just to walk away and not say anything.