life beyond the well…

Category Archives: Education


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Question: Is “smart” something you ARE or something you GET?

As a teacher, I’m a firm believer that smart is something you get.  You can work hard, push your limits, read more books and become “smarter”.  It’s one of the reasons that I push my students so hard- because I’m understanding that there’s always more knowledge for them to acquire, thereby making them more knowledgeable and smarter.

However, when I posed this question to my students last week, their answers differed from mine.  This isn’t wholly surprising- I’m coming up on 30, and most of them are between the ages of 15-18; therefore our life experiences and thought patterns are different.  Nevertheless, I was surprised at the number of students who believed that smart was something you are inherently; in the sense of, either you have it or you don’t.  Quite the interesting mindset, to say the least.

So, I’m posing this question to you: Is “smart” something you ARE or something you get?


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Friday Favorites- Texts from My Students

I don’t think it’s a secret that I love my students and my alma mater dearly.  Both of them have a special place in my heart and receive a lot of my love and attention.

When God allows those two things to merge together, I feel even more blessed.  Especially when it comes in the form of receiving text messages like this:

Student 1: “I received my acceptance letter from UNC!”

Student 2: “I was just accepted to the University of North Carolin at Chapel Hill :-)”

I’m relatively emotional ANYWAY (another post for another time), but when you have the opportunity to work with students, share your love and passions with them, and then watch them pursue that on their own- and the result is successful- the feeling is overwhelming.

I’ve known many of these students since I’ve been at this school, so I’ve watched them grow over the past few years.  It is always my desire to see them excel; to have a life of choice, one full of “want-to” not “have-to”.  

I was in tears after receiving their text messages (and a few phone calls) because I’m so excited about the things to come in their lives. Every day these students trust me and other teachers at our word- that the hard work will pay off, that the struggles they’re facing are common AND that they will overcome them. And then there are days like this where they really, truly believe you.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to serve them.