You are my hero

Key points:

I’ve always hated being put on the spot to answer some version of this question: “Who is your role model?” Who inspired your career? Who is your hero?”

In my first act in life, as a television reporter, I had the opportunity to cross paths with celebrities, public figures and, in general, “important” people over the years. And almost every time, I was disappointed by the experience because the person wasn't as dynamic as she was or, in some cases, was just plain rude. I have a great relationship with my parents and I credit them for many, many aspects of my life; One thing they taught me was that hero status is a high bar because we are all fallible humans.

So rather than giving credit to one person, I think there are nuggets of inspiration and heroes in everyone. My dad sacrificed promotions during his career because he wanted to be present at my sporting events after school. My mother had such an impact on the high school students she taught that she has maintained relationships with many for most of her lives. My sister and I put aside our differences and she trusted my husband and me to raise her son when she had to focus on her husband, who was seriously injured in Afghanistan. My husband left a very successful career as a television reporter to move to Illinois and get married, and reinvented himself into a second act in life, publishing stock research and trading stocks. My childhood friend survived the breast cancer she was diagnosed with when her third baby was just six months old, and while she recovered, she cared for her husband who was diagnosed with Lyme disease during the pandemic.

There is a bit of hero in all of us.

Especially these educators.

Utah Teacher of the Year and 2023 E-School News K-12 hero John Arthur has gained national recognition for giving your students a voice through video production. About being named a Hero, Arthur said, “I honestly couldn't believe it when I heard I was being recognized as a K-12 Hero! The work I do with my students—coaching them as they use technology to create digital content as advocates for their communities and kids like them—seems very small compared to the work others do at the district and state levels in this space. I am a teacher at a school and I work with 25 children at a time. The fact that I am recognized in this way is a testament to how brilliant my students' voices (all student voices) are and how deeply their work has resonated with big-hearted adults around the world! !

Arthur continues: “Like most teachers, I go above and beyond for my students because I love them. It is that same love that drove teachers to go door to door during the pandemic, making sure our children had what they needed and knew they were not alone.”

Arthur may have earned the official title of hero, but there is certainly more than a little hero among his fellow finalists. Like Sean Bevier…

A finalist for E-School News K-12 Hero, began a traditional career in education as a teacher and then an administrator. But his desire to help those lacking services and resources resulted in a new position as a Juvenile Probation Officer at the Elkhart County Juvenile Detention Center in Indiana, only to be promoted to Educational Specialist five months later. Upon arriving at the Center, he single-handedly created a school library and now oversees the academic needs of two classrooms and has witnessed firsthand the magic of literacy.

Bevier says, “Many of our students say that our Center is where they read their first book!” Bevier students often have stories of pain and trauma, which ultimately led them to make poor decisions. She remembers one student being angry with his father when he arrived, but she noticed the relationship improving through their phone conversations. The topic of reading came up between them and the student shared that he read a book, to which the father expressed his joy. “That turned this young man on,” Bevier says. “Although it was difficult for him to read, he took out another book and then another. At one point, he was looking for his next book and he told me, “My dad said he read Gary Paulsen's book.” Axe when he was in school and he liked it. Do we have that?'”

Other E-School News K-12 Hero finalist, teacher-librarian Michelle Kruse at the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD), transformed the district's 32 library collections. The collections were 15 to 20 years old and did not reflect the diversity of students in the community. Advocating at the district level for a more modern collection, the district allocated $1.5 million in ESSER funds to complete a three-year collection redevelopment project. Kruse explains: “It's an important and powerful job to access the data you have available in your library database about your collection and the information you have about your budget, to advocate for additional resources if that's what's needed in your library. your library. for his students. Compelling arguments are presented with hard data combined with personal stories about students' specific needs. Sometimes this work requires time and patience, and the need to communicate until you find the right administrator to listen to your story. “Once you start telling your story and have some success, it’s important to follow up and continue sharing your data and success stories.”

Kruse does not see herself as a hero, stating, “I feel humiliated when they call me a 'hero' for doing this job, as I don't feel like it's a job we normally associate with heroism. In a gesture of gratitude to the people who work every day to protect us, ensure our safety and save our lives, I am honored that people realize that work is necessary to help young people see themselves in the books they read and see others too. Giving students access to books is something I am very passionate about and have spent time advocating for in my community.”

However, too often the challenges teachers face in the classroom distract from the reason they entered the profession. Bevier suggests: “Unfortunately, many things cloud that mission: the demands of teaching that divert attention from actually working with students, the circumstances children experience at home, etc. Periodically remind yourself of your mission/calling to teach and stay connected. one or two colleagues who have the same mission so that they can encourage each other.”

Arthur adds: “I often tell my colleagues and friends that empowered teachers empower students. We want our children to find their voices, but we can't teach them to do so until we have found ours. Choose the cause that means a lot to you, with issues plaguing your classroom and your students' education, and join the other education champions already working to address it: get informed, get involved, learn the handbook that's been passed down. for the incredible educators who came before us, and when you are ready, take the initiative.”

In the case of these educators, the heroes are humble. Bevier says: “I wouldn't call it going further. It is simply seeing a need and satisfying it. Almost every educator I have ever met made teaching their career because they wanted to help students. They saw it as a mission or a calling,” which is why Bevier doesn't see himself as a hero. “Applying it to me is a misuse of the word. To me, a hero is someone who takes risks outside of his assigned duties to help others. Actually, I'm just doing my job… that's not a hero, he's a responsible adult.”

So yes, there are heroes among us, in all our lives. However, in the work I do with educators, I often realize how much they give of themselves to help students become successful members of society. To John Arthur, Sean Bevier, Michelle Kruse, and all the educators, thank you for all the heroic deeds you do every day.

Britten Follett, a fifth-generation family member, is CEO of Follett Content Solutions, which has long been the number one provider of content and technology solutions for school libraries to more than 70,000 schools and school districts. He has led Follett's PreK-12 business since September 2019 and is responsible for providing leadership, strategic direction and business development. In September 2020, Publishers Weekly named her a “PW Star Watch” honoree, one of 40 professionals selected from the North American publishing industry.

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