Quote of the day

“I’ve always felt that one of the things that we do badly in our educational process, especially working with so-called marginalized young people, is that we educate them to figure out how quickly they can get out of the darkness and get into some much more pleasant situation, when what is needed again and again are more people who will stand in that darkness, who will not run away from those deeply hurt communities, and will open up possibilities that other people can’t see in any other way except seeing it in human beings who care for them.”

-Vincent Harding

What does it mean to be an educator? It’s so much more than to simply pass on knowledge. We balance showing empathy and compassion, while being firm on our expectations. We expand our students’ views of the world, and allow them to expand ours. We teach them how to think. We partner with families. We hold space for our students, even in their darkest of moments.

How do you stand in the darkness with your students or their families?