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| Dr. Pierre Orelus (Chair) & Sheena Graham 2019 CT Teacher of the Year, Harding High School |
Last night, Fairfield University was graced by the 2019 Connecticut Teacher of the Year during the Graduate School's Celebration of Teachers and Teaching. Here we honored student teachers, cooperating teachers, and their supervisors. It was a phenomenal event in which we were honored to host Sheena Graham, a 36-year veteran of Bridgeport Public Schools and a current music, performance, and drama teacher at Harding High School. Go Presidents! The talk was moving, inspirational, musical and poetic - so many in the audience approached her afterwards and reflected, "You were the light I needed to inspire me another year."
I asked Sheena Graham if I could have her remarks and she handed them over to me, minus a couple of places where she improvised and knew the story from heart.
I post her the opening here, because it was that special!
Congratulations Fairfield University student teachers and thank you, once again, Sheena Graham, for your time, wisdom, professionalism and expertise.
What a blessing to have you.
What do you see when you look at me?
Do you see me for who I am Or who you 'heard' I would be?
Am I too tall? Too short? Too Fat? or Too Thin?
(I just couldn't resist slipping that last one in!)
Is it my talk? My walk or my color at birth?
(That you've been trained to spot as a character flaw first)
Just what is it you see, when you first look at me?
Do you see me for who I am Or who you 'think' I should be?
Good Afternoon,
I am both humbled and honored to represent the thousands of Connecticut teachers who strive to educate, motivate, inspire and engage in today's young people. While doing so I've been asked too many times to count - why I teach in Bridgeport and is it challenging? Yes. I am 36 years in and the many obstacles that face today's youth seem to be never ending, but that is not something new. My freshman year in High School I wrote the following:
I like to dream,
I like to think there's a world in which I'm going places,
I like to think that the only thing that will hold me back
is when I don't have the true ability to go forward.
Yes...
I guess you can see I like to dream...
I can't help but dream.
I see a world in which love is colorblind
and true feelings never have to be kept hidden.
In my world friendship can be gained from anyone or anything
be he/she human or not;
And
each friendship is just as valuable as the one before.
But...
I'm still dreaming
DON'T WAKE ME UP!
Because there is happiness in my world.
People smile real smiles and not the kind that fade before your back is turned
DON'T TOUCH ME!
LET ME SLEEP!
For within my world I'm allowed to be me
I feel like I'm a page hidden away in a coloring book so that a child has yet
to find me and decide my fate.
Here I am free to do anything and everything with no mind as to ability.
And love?
Somebody loves me,
Loves me,
Loves me....
I stand here today as the 2019 CT Teacher of the Year, but that doesn't mean my life has been easy and I believe that may be true for many of the adults in this room. Today, you, and not your students, are my focus. You may have noticed that I brought an overnight bag with me. In there are 2 hats, a doll, a notebook, and a sash. What possible connection could all these items have...and this suitcase?
I brought these items because they are a reminder of where I've come form and most importantly a reminder of the first real steps I look towards my dreams! Teachers, like students, face many challenges and obstacles that can shake them to the core. Yolanda Adams has a song that begins with, "Shattered but I'm not broken."
I don't know if it is possible for everyone to see it, but this is my AHS graduation doll. It was a tradition in my family for each graduate to receive a ceramic doll made by Mrs. Cafaro a friend of my mom's. I'm one of six children. I was the fourth to graduate high school and I couldn't wait to get my doll. You might be wondering...Why do I still have it? Or even what would make me thing you care that I have it? Or (if you're close enough to get a good look at it) Wha the heck happened to it? This doll has more cracks than a downtown sidewalk. I still have her because she truly represents me. I too have been shattered, but I'm not broken.
Educators around the world need to hear her in person. My recommendation? Invite her to talk at your school. To meet with your administrators. To inspire those you work with.
It's Tuesday, but I'm reflecting on the Monday that kicked off my week. Sheena Graham! What a gem and how lucky were we to have her for the evening.
Congratulations to all who teach...those beginning, those hosting student teachers and those with 36 years of experience. We're all in this together!
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