Gumption

Starting a professional blog has been on the to do list for a long time. I've often used a personal blog I've had as an outlet for work related blogs. However, I've never taken the time to bite the bullet and start a professional one. Funny how even a passion can sometimes sit wayside without gumption. 

Today, though, is a new day. Today I embark on an adventure to watch my passions seep into electronic text. Today my story is forever imprinted in the massive memory of the unforgiving internet. Will my story spark anything for anyone? Will anyone ever actually read these words? Only time will tell. But, if this blog touches even one person even one time, it has fulfilled it's purpose. And, that, my friends, is what gives me gumption to write. 

The world of education has been on my heart since I was a mere child sitting in a third grade classroom. At that time, full of wonder, curiosity, and practically exploding with dreams of the future, it brought a wondrous smile to my little face to even think of the possibility of impacting education. With that passion and spark, kindled by my teachers, I pushed forward with all my zeal. It's that gumption powered by passion that kept me going when I hit roadblocks, felt jaded, or depleted. 

My educational experiences growing up were defined by exemplary teachers, copious learning experiences, and massive amounts of support from my encouraging parents. Because of this, I was and am to this day absolutely, head over heels, in love with learning. 

Whenever I interact with a student, I often choose not to think, "How can I get my student to know this?" Instead, I think to myself, "How can I get my student to fall in love with this?" Because if I get the child to fall in love with the topic - to authentically seek out all they can about it, I promise you - the child will know the topic. The child will know the topic better than if they had simply learned the topic. That's why my goal is always to inspire, to spark curiosity, to promote the fun of learning rather than the actual learning itself. Why? Because that leads to passion. Passion is dangerous. Passion is contagious and spreads like a wildfire. Learning never changed the world. Passion, gumption, and action did. If I can get a child to be inspired to never give up - to chase their passion with all the gumption in the world, he or she won't quit. When adversity, obstacles, and the rainy days of life come at him or her as he or she grows up, gumption will overcome. Passion will wake up the next morning and try again. Knowledge alone isn't enough. 

So my challenge for you... 

Identify your passion and what inspired you to chase it. Feel that passion and the gumption to never give up and spread it. Spread it like a wildfire to every life you touch. That is a world changing agent. That is how we change the world for kids. That is how a student finds a purpose in this world.