My grandfather Stanley Stones, a veteran of WW II, use to tell me that his education in life was divided in two. He said he got part of his education attending school and the other half of his education was discovered through life experience when he enlisting in the Royal Army at the age of 17. I never really understood what he was trying to explain, until the day I became a Fireman.
Against my parents wishes, I applied to the fire department at 18 and after much consideration, my parents persuaded me that I need to attend college. My mom said that once I completed college I could do whatever I want. In 2006 I graduated SDSU and Fire Academy and persuade my dream of a fireman.
I was lucky! I had a college degree and was able to pursue the career of my choice. This is the opportunity I would like to offer all my students. That is my ultimate goal as an educator! For students to realize that college is available to all, even if you have to finance your students loans, as I did. Or through different means, create student experiences in high school that seek out the things that interests the student, so one day they can make the decision which will make them most successful.
I don't mean success in a monitory way, that is a bonus! To me success is that an individual is happy to wake up everyday, to go to work and positively contribute something to society. Moreover, the foundation for success is a loving school community which provides all the necessary opportunities for the students. Referring back to my grandfather, instead of having two different experiences via two different means, why not be able to combine the two and create a truly amazing and inspiring high school experience.
Cheers,
Nick