Hello Beautiful People,
My heart is heavy today.
There was a completely different post that was scheduled to go out for the #AskATeach column today.
Completely. Different.
But then, well, then I found out that Dr. Maya Angelou had passed way, and well, that post didn’t seem right. It didn’t seem to fit. It didn’t seem to serve a purpose on a day when people are struggling to see the rainbows in the clouds. In the storms. In the grey.
It just didn’t seem right.
And so, here I am.
Struggling to find the words that will pay homage and honor and justice to al that is Dr. Angelou.
And I find myself falling short. Short of the eloquence, the elegance, and the wisdom. Short of the beauty and the honor and the art.
I’m just coming up short.
Cause here’s the thing, I struggle to have the faith of this woman. Everyday, before I go to work, I turn on the news. And it hurts my insides a bit, seeing what we do to one another, seeing how we hurt one another, seeing how we tear each other apart…it just hurts my insides. And it tarnishes my faith. My optimism. I become a little bit harder every time I turn on that news channel, and, when it comes down to it, I don’t want to be that hard. I don’t want to distrust people. I don’t want to lose faith in my fellow-man.
When it comes down to it, I want to be like Dr. Maya Angelou.
When it comes down to it, I strive to be like Dr. Maya Angelou.
Cause lately, I turn on the news and I just get sad. And depressed. And scared. I listen to these newscasts and think, we can do better. We HAVE to do better. We do know better, and yet, the behaviors and actions I see on the news are just deplorable. The world has plenty of negativity, plenty of hatred, but, it can never have too much love.
So, here’s the crux of my broken heart – today, the world lost a woman of greatness. A woman with a great capacity for love + forgiveness, a woman with a great ability to lead + inspire, a woman with a wisdom + intellect so great that it’ll be virtually impossible to forget her.
At least, I can only hope the world never forget her.
I can only hope.
See, it hadn’t even been twelve hours after the world was notified of the death of Dr. Angelou when I went to teach…
…and they didn’t know who I was talking about.
I mean, some of my students had a vague recollection of having to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in their younger years, but, when it came down to it, they did not know the work of this woman. This amazing, wonderful, inspiring woman.
And so, we began to talk a bit.
And I’ve since decided that it’s of the most utmost importance to dive into her work with my students from this point forward.
And it’s not exactly on the Common Core Curriculum.
And it’s not really what I had planned for the rest of the year.
But, in the words of Rhett Butler, quite frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Because, if the curriculum does not involve or incorporate one of the greatest minds and souls of our generation, well, to hell with it. For my students should know that such a woman of greatness once walked among us. They should hear her words. They should internalize her message. If I could teach them even the slightest bit of what Dr. Angelou has done, if even one of them could grab onto her message, her mantras, and her teachings, well, that will be a feat all unto itself.
For in ten years from now, they probably won’t remember me. Or my class. Or Maya Angelou. But oh dear Lord, I hope they remember how her work made them feel.
Live, Love, Learn,
#AskATeach: How will you remember Dr. Maya Angelou? Tweet us! Email us! Facebook us! ‘stagram us! We want to know.