Accepting reality has been a struggle for some as of late. As the reality of Dr. Jill Biden's expertise and achievement has been recently called into question, I walk in her shadow having been accepted into an educational doctoral program. I have wanted to do this for so long (see my post a couple of years ago when I was rejected) and today seems unreal. However, the reality is ... THIS IS HAPPENING! The reality is as I am entering a new phase; one where I could be attacked like Dr. Biden for being a woman seeking higher knowledge, one in which the system, its institutions and the educators who tirelessly work to make them run are too often devalued. When I decided I no longer wanted to pursue my Oprah dream of television journalism, my gift found me--teaching. I shifted from the lure of gifts under seats to public service. I was told quite often that education was a form of philanthropy. The reality is you give and give generously and expect little in return (compensation, especially but respect generally). I recall being told repeatedly by veteran educators that, "We're certainly not here for the money." This refrain emboldened principals to use educator's passion to extract as much as they could using "do it for the kids" and "lucky to just have a job" to tease out the fumes we worked on. In reality, it is not the work of "pass me a scalpel" but it's surely life saving. I believe that about education because I've seen that. It's the reason I persist in a field where the riches aren't coming and most times neither is the gratitude. I persist because I believe education can be transformative and liberatory. It is the reality the person who called Dr. Biden ‘kiddo’ most needs in order to learn, to grow and change for the better. I'm ecstatic to begin an educational journey paved by many, women especially, before me. It's no small feat to serve young people daily without asking for much in return, as an aside we need to have discourse about why that's okay, and still move forward and further into that work. It's not to be called Dr., although you should be, it's to serve more, to give more. Thanks, Dr. Biden for your service to education as I follow in your footsteps. Dr. Rembert is a reality soon to come.
3 Comments
Lealia
12/18/2020 04:59:01 pm
Well done! I’m so proud of you Keisha! Your mom is looking down on you and she is smiling. Future Dr. Rembrant! It has a nice ring to it.
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Keisha
12/19/2020 05:08:10 am
Thanks! Very nice ring to it;) You know my mom is beaming and bragging in heaven to any and everyone (she's also taking full credit saying 'she gets her drive and intelligence from me.')
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Julie Klein
12/19/2020 06:52:42 am
I love this, Keisha. You put into words exactly how I feel about being a teacher. It's a calling, that's for sure, but the joy we find in teaching is often tempered by the layers of condescension we experience regularly--through written opinions, off the cuff comments, low salaries, etc. How fantastic that, despite these drawbacks, you have chosen to persevere. Women have always paved the way in unsung ways. Women like YOU will continue this mission and we, as women, will continue to sing your praises and those of other "Dr. Bidens".
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AuthorDocumenting my evolution by filling in space and matter one word at a time. Archives
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