I love Neil Degrasse Tyson. I only have known him for about a year, but his thoughts have really impacted the way I look at space and life in general. I just visited Washington D.C. and I had quite the realization while I was out there. I was in awe of all of these young professionals making a name for themselves. Most of the people I talked to had great jobs and were very intelligent people. Besides the fact that their wages were usually triple what I was making, they still were doing multiple side projects. I heard everything from making applications for phones to starting non-profit organizations (My thoughts on non-profits will come later).
As I visited Capitol Hill I was given a tour by a young intern from Utah. He did a marvelous job and I really learned a lot from the experience. What really caught my attention was that these type of people were everywhere. Not interns, but people trying to make a name for themselves. Most of the people I talked to out there had only been out in D.C. for a short while and they were already planning on moving to another place in a few months. In my opinion, they moved out to D.C. to make a name for themselves. They were looking for opportunities to show the world what they were made of and that they could make it big. I suppose they probably got lost in the crowd since everyone out there is doing the same thing and decided they could do big things in another city that is less crowded. As Mr. Tyson said, "You want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant, you want to feel like a participant."
I've always thought that I had more to give and that there is something bigger out there for me. I suppose that there is, but as of this moment I'm not sure what that might be. I always thought that moving to a bigger city would provide me more opportunities to make a name for myself and accomplish everything I had originally set out to accomplish. I now know that the city doesn't make the man or the opportunities, especially in education. Last year I had a student that failed their end of level tests BIG TIME. This student hasn't been known to have any learning disabilities, but their scores were lower than my ESL students and my Resource student. This one student has shown me that I still have a lot to work on before I qualify for a greater challenge. I can't even handle the load I have now.
I've been looking forward to something big for so long that I forgot to look around my present conditions and ask myself how I might improve today. My brother actually told me this over a 3 months ago as I was searching for jobs elsewhere. Being the stubborn younger brother that I am I decided not to listen, but he was right. I need to focus on what I have now and only when I have that figured out should I move on to greater challenges.
To take liberties with the video above, I feel so small compared to what others are doing or trying to do. I live in a small town and teach at a small school, but I'm part of a bigger picture. The same elements that make up my city and school are the same elements that make up bigger cities and bigger schools. I need to realize that what I do here has its roots in larger things. I have the same role as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. I'm sure they would've been just as great if they had taught in a small Wyoming town rather than Greece. No matter where I end up, the odds are I'm only going to be able to reach out to 30 or so children at a time. I can't cheapen their education because they don't live in another city. I'm here to level the playing ground for every child regardless of learning ability, parental income, or zip code. I can still accomplish great things in small places.
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