The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.
~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
First, within the classroom she modeled impeccable leadership. She genuinely cared about each and every one of her students and she prioritized our personal growth every single class. At the time and more so in hindsight, I believe there was a group of mean spirited teachers who would gossip about their current or prior students and set them up for failure but Mrs. Campbell did not participate in such hatefulness. Each student was as valuable as the other. If she had a favorite, there was no visibility of it. She had seemingly infinite patience but if there was one thing that remotely tested that patience it was disrespect. She would not tolerate disrespectful behavior during class and she respected each one of us in that she knew what greatness we each had and she was determined to multiply it within us.
Second, she took us on the best field trips that celebrated our local community. Mrs. Campbell always told us if you want to make a positive difference then you have to act and local government is a major place to do that. We went on a field trip to our local government’s headquarters down the street from our school and got to meet the people that made our community great and witness all the work it takes behind the scenes that so few citizens get the opportunity to be so aware of. Some of the work seemed exciting, some seemed boring, but it was all important and it all resulted in a wonderful place to live.
On another field trip, we planted flowers on the surrounding outskirts of a local neighborhood. Those flowers grew and grew and looked absolutely beautiful for years afterwards and it was so rewarding to be part of planting them. It was such an exceptional effort that united my teacher, participating parents, and all of my class in one moment of pure outpouring into something that brought so much life to our home.
Third, Mrs. Campbell remembered that we were still young and needed to breathe once in a while. Sometimes part of our field trip included going to a park. There were no objectives to learn or facts to memorize, we would all just relax and be friends to each other in more easygoing ways than we were when we were in the comparatively higher pressure environment of a school building. The break and the fresh air and the lessened intensity of teenage politics brought out our best and it was fun for my peers and I to be so happy.
Mrs. Campbell lived out a vision for her students that was so large scale and yet so personal and individualized at the same time. Our class was always on the same team from her perspective. Instead of our differences dividing us, she believed our class was united in having an excellent destiny ahead of us that we needed to prepare our character for. To Mrs. Campbell and all the phenomenal teachers who bring out the best in each of their students – thank you so tremendously.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
