Chapter 11: Lessons Beyond the Lesson Plan: Joshua Parker’s Story

I believe in the promise of education despite what some might see as a low return on investment concerning those furthest from opportunity. I’m someone who wants to help people and solve problems. As a young middle school student, I had the opportunity to stand in front of a class to teach a math lesson. It was at that point that I started to appreciate how powerful and transformative it is to help someone understand something that can be continued into the future. With almost 20 years of educational experience, I believe more firmly than ever in the potential of the exchange of information to change something abstract into something concrete and shared amongst people to achieve an end and make us better. I also believe that I have become more realistic about the work it takes to get there. In my early career, I thought the distance between idea and implementation was just good intentions. Today, I understand that the distance between idea and implementation often is a combination of relationship-building, patience, and systems building. There are so many different pieces that are between taking an idea and making it into something that is effectively implemented. Now, as I look at educational issues connected to being a Black male educator (BME), I am more practical than idealistic in terms of what I want to accomplish in my work. While the heart of that first-year teacher from 2005 still beats, nearly 20 years later, the Joshua Parker of today is much more mature in his thinking.