LOVE OF EDUCATION, TEACHING, AND LEARNING

MS. SUSAN RACKLEY, PRINCIPAL

When I was growing up, I was one of those unusual kids who loved school and was frequently labeled “Teacher’s Pet.” I looked forward to the routine and the challenges each new school year brought with it; the positive encouragement I received from several of my teachers along the way helped to shape my sense of who I was at the time; and I love the validation I have experienced as an adult student that education is the heart of all that is possible.

I remember when I was in junior high, an assignment for a class was to write down ‘What I wanted to be or do when I grew up’ and then put the list in a safe place so I could review it when I became an adult (still working on that! ;)). On my list was photography - all I remember was that I wanted to learn how to take really good pictures; I also wanted to make flower arrangements, and I wanted to be a travel agent because it sounded really exciting to be able to travel all around the world. The reason I remember this is that I found the list when I was in my late 20s during a move out of state. There were several “Aha” moments upon this discovery - I had taken a photography class in college and although I wasn’t professional by any means, I learned about composition and lighting and settings on a camera so that I would be able to take decent pictures; I did get to work in a flower shop for about three years after college and learned floral designing and how to run a small business; and I did become a travel agent and had opportunities to visit places that were a part of my dreams.

Becoming a teacher was never on my radar. Again, it was a tiny decision here, an opportune moment there, and a nudge by the Holy Spirit that took me on that path. My Bachelor’s Degree was in Art History, so my way to becoming a teacher was different from most. After becoming certified, I decided to be taken seriously as an educator, and since my background was not in education, I had to go back to school. So I earned my MEd in Curriculum and Instruction. Same thing with becoming a principalsometimes you do things based on instinct and faith and nothing else, which led to two more Master’s degrees.

None of these activities or occupations are instinctual; they have been learned. Some have been easier than others; some have come with a financial strain; some have arisen out of a burning desire to make a difference; all of them worth every single moment of effort and experience.

Somewhere along the way, my idea of the perfect job for me was to be a perpetual student and get paid for it. In many ways, that’s what I have: every day I have the privilege of being with seventy-two ‘teachers’ - middleschoolers from whom I learn something new each day; I also get to observe them as they go through their day as students and a concept clicks for them that didn’t the day before or they experience a moment of kindness from one of their peers and they smile; I witness the passion for education each day as I visit the classrooms of my colleagues as creativity and continuous modeling of high expectations take place; and I learn that there is still so much yet for me to learn.

Teachers are often said to be “sowers of seeds”, especially in middle school. It is a difficult task to be a teacher, peacemaker, and counselor all at the same time with the hope that something will stick. It is not until many years later that we get to see the ‘fruits of our labor’ either in a visit from a student or on social media. I am okay with that. The process of becoming lifelong learners, educators, and teachers has to start somewhere with someone. Why not with us? I’m all in.