Courage...

Courage originally meant to speak one's mind by telling all one's heart.

~Brene Brown



Looking Through God's Eyes



            I have never been one to make New Year’s Resolutions because the few I have made…losing weight, exercising more, eating healthier… were soon abandoned and forgotten for old habits and familiar vices.  Nor do I plan on changing my mind at this point in my life, but I have had a reoccurring thought pattern emerge and stay with me lately and this thought has to do with courage.  I have found myself seeking out and taking note of friends, family and strangers who are actively engaged in acts of courage…the type of courage that comes from the original meaning of ‘speaking one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’   These people are artists - writers, poets, musicians, songwriters, singers, painters, metalsmiths, potters, and photographers.  I am blessed to be surrounded by these people who speak their mind and tell their hearts through a variety of mediums and, then, take that very brave and courageous step of sharing their art with the world and all that must entail. 

             I want to be courageous like this.  I want to speak my mind and tell all of my heart.  I thank you for your patience and gentleness with my baby steps. 

So, from my heart to yours…I wish you... Happy New Year, Courage and, above all,  Peace.

It's a Purple Thing

When I meet people who are new to Cartersville, one of the first questions I ask is “Why did you choose to move to Cartersville?”  Their answers always fascinate me because I was born and raised in Cartersville and have lived and worked here most of my adult life.  While some folks state that their jobs brought them to Cartersville, most have shared that they are here because the first time they drove through town, they fell in love and knew they were “home.”  

 Now the tables have turned and I have been asked a similar question –Why do you teach in Cartersville?  For some reason, this has been a very difficult question for me to answer.  I spent considerable time pondering my many reasons before I could sit down at my computer and begin to put my thoughts into words.  As I shared earlier, I was born and raised here in Cartersville.   Although my parents and I moved away for a few years, we returned to Cartersville just in time for me to begin second grade at the Douglas Street School.  I graduated from Cartersville High School in 1981.    During my ten year “career” as a student, I also attended the Cherokee Avenue School, Summer Hill Junior High, and the new elementary/middle school on Etowah Drive (now known as Cartersville Primary School).  Even as a child, I recognized something deep and profound in the fact that I was walking down some of the same hallways and sitting in some of the same classrooms  that my father, uncles and grandfather had occupied before me.  We shared some of the same teachers.  We sang the same Alma Mater.   My high school diploma had the same Cartersville High School emblem as theirs.  I was participating in a deep-rooted family tradition – a Cartersville tradition.    

I share this brief history of my childhood with you simply to explain -- I teach in Cartersville because honoring family traditions is very important to me.  I teach in Cartersville because I see the community as an extension of my family, therefore, I feel that the children who walk through my classroom door are my children.  I teach in Cartersville because I cannot imagine teaching anywhere else.  I teach in Cartersville because, like Dorothy, I’ve learned …“there is no place like home.”

Lessons to be Learned

Even more important than the warmth and affection we receive, is the warmth and affection we give. It is by giving warmth and affection, by having a genuine sense of concern for others, in other words through compassion, that we gain the conditions for genuine happiness. More important than being loved, therefore, is to love.

~Dalai Lama

            I have tried to live my life by these words although I have just recently seen this quote.  I suppose it is simply the Golden Rule reworded.  I am blessed…my immediate family and students make following this path effortless; however, I have encountered several individuals throughout the years that have challenged my attempts at honoring this course. 

© Noneal Johnson Archer Davenport

            These individuals fall under the varying categories of family member, friend and professional acquaintance, yet they each touched my life in such similar ways…ways that brought on such intense feelings and emotions as outrage, contempt, helplessness, sadness, anger, frustration, betrayal, and, eventually, self-loathing.  My husband teases me about my Sicilian blood and my inability/unwillingness to forgive people.  We both laugh about my obsessive temper when I feel that I - or someone I love – have been wronged, but, in reality, it haunts me.  How does one give “warmth and affection” to someone whose actions or words have created such strong sentiments?  I have never been comfortable with (terrified of, in fact)  facing someone and telling them how I feel… instead I fuss and fume, I lose sleep, I rant and rave and I write letters (some delivered, but most are not). 

            I feel that each of these people was put in my life in order that I may learn something valuable from our relationship.  I believe that I will continue to encounter such disagreeable people until I learn the lesson…I will continue to seek out what is to be learned. 





My Thoughts on Teaching

It is my belief that a teacher’s influence on a child’s life is not restricted to the one hundred and eighty days that the child is in our classroom.  Our influence can last a lifetime.  I believe that it is the responsibility of educators to give their students what they need to become life- long learners.  I am certain that in order to become life-long learners, children need to become risk-takers.  I feel that this undertaking requires that the children trust that they are safe - both physically and emotionally - to explore, to discover and to make mistakes. 

 When I think back on the teachers that had a positive, long-lasting impact on my life, two women come to mind - my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. S and my senior English teacher, Mrs. E.

 Mrs. S’s love of reading was contagious!  I had always enjoyed reading, but, in fifth grade, I fell in love, after discovering that I could completely lose myself in a story.  From her, I learned that good teachers teach the fundamentals, but great teachers dare to model and share their own love of learning with their students.

            Mrs. E took the time to see potential and talent in me.  I saw in her eyes what I had been looking for in so many other teachers.  She made me believe that I could be successful in college classes.  She was able to do what other teachers could not, or would not, do.  I learned from Mrs. E that it is the small things that make the difference between being a good teacher and an outstanding teacher.  It is taking the time to look a student in the eye and daring to see past the masks that our students wear.  However, in order to recognize their masks, one must be willing to look past his/her own mask.  Outstanding teachers understand and accept this challenge. 



© Caroline Zimmer Photography



 I seek out the eyes of my students.  I seek out those elusive signs of hesitation, fear and insecurity.  I nurture their souls and love their minds.  I know that many of my young students will not remember my name when they grow up.  However, I rest in the faith that what they will remember is that somewhere along the way; someone ignited in them a love of learning and a belief in themselves that no one can ever take away.  I believe that is what outstanding teachers do.

The Soul of a Mother

I was born with the soul of a mother.  By that, I mean that I have always been moved to worry about and take care of others – my brothers and sister, my friends, my husband, my children, my parents and my students.  I knew from an early age that I had to choose a career that would allow me to honor this calling.

 I started college as a Psychology major after a favorite high school teacher made the subject come to life for me.  I entertained daydreams of nurturing patients and saving lives!  These visions sustained me until I took my first early childhood psychology class.  From the first day in that class, there was no turning back - I had found my place.  In this class, I began to revisit, explore and reflect on the adult relationships that had influenced my life.  Some of these relationships were based on positive interactions, while others were of a more negative nature.  Oddly enough, it was these negative encounters that convinced me that I could make a true difference in people’s lives.  I have always believed that one’s personality, self- awareness and self-esteem are formed in the early years of childhood.  Every adult relationship serves to mold and guide us from this time forward.  

When I contemplate my earlier school experiences, my stomach still aches with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.  I was an average student, yet, in my eyes, I was stupid and slow.  I will never know if I was just good at hiding these fears, or if my teachers simply never looked closely enough to read into my hesitation to answer questions in front of my peers or my looks of terror when asked to “go to the board and show your work”. 

I still struggle with these feelings, so I am constant searching the faces of my students for these subtle signs of insecurity and low self-esteem.  I look for the familiar darting eyes, flushed face and wringing of hands.

I believe that one of my greatest contributions to and accomplishments in education stems from my ability and willingness to consider and confront these childhood insecurities and use them, in turn, to empower and challenge my students to become life-long learners.  I see it as my responsibility to create a safe learning environment in which my students can become risk-takers, a safe haven where they can open their hearts and souls and venture into new situations, which require of them a level of vulnerability and trust, which we adults are seldom comfortable with.   

I believe great teachers are like mirrors.  Our students look into our eyes in order to see themselves as we see them.  My greatest accomplishment is my desire to be a mirror for my students – to take in those fragile images and reflect back an image that is full of light, hope and potential.