This is what We do as Educators

by David Stovenour

November is Gratitude Month at The Worthy Educator!

This year, I’m entering my 32^nd year in public education.  And while I’m thankful for these years, and these experiences, that’s not the gratitude that I want to share right now.  In order to share my gratitude, I need to tell you something about my own journey through our field.

Upon my university graduation, I can clearly remember proudly announcing to anyone that would listen that I was going to be a high school history teacher, and I was going to spend my next 30 years in the classroom.   (Spoiler alert: NONE of that happened.)  What I didn’t know was that history teachers were a dime a dozen in the early ‘90’s, and the job just wasn’t there.  Through work in Recreation Departments, I found a new passion and eventually found my first teaching job in Special Education.  And thus, I began my teaching career.  Teaching emotionally disturbed high school boys was not where I thought I’d be, and it was hard, but it was always rewarding.  And here is where my underlying gratitude starts and continues to this day. 

Our program at the high school was challenging.  I was one of 5 staff members for 40 students (2 teachers, 2 paraeducators, and 1 crisis counselor).  Even in my third year, I was still green.  There was so much to learn about the students, about the law, and about myself.  Not knowing any better at the time, the program had no real “leader”.  We all collaborated and worked closely, but no one stepped up to take the reins.  That is, until a particularly rough week, when the department chair marched in and announced in frustration to the staff and the students that, “Mr. Stovenour is in charge.”  She had become a sort of mentor to me during that year, and as she told me later, she saw something in me that I was not even aware of at that time.  She was the first of many leaders and colleagues that believed in my ability to lead.  She left the school the next year, and when she did, the principal called me to his office and told me that I would be the new department chair.  No offer, no discussion.  Just a command that I was too young, stupid, or naïve to understand at the time. I made a lot of mistakes, but that principal and the next that came to the school, also gave me their time and wisdom to challenge myself, grow, and develop skills to move up and beyond that position.  In every place and position where I’ve worked, there has always been someone that was so committed to seeing others grow that they were willing to put up with my mistakes and hair-brained ideas; so much so that I have continued to learn and grow to this very day. 

As I sit in my current position, Director of IT Operations for Baltimore County Public Schools (22^nd largest school district in the nation!), I know that it is because of those individuals that took their time to teach, listen, and guide me on an often bumpy road. 

This is what we do as educators, and perhaps surprisingly, that is still how I refer to myself.  I spent 24 years in high schools as a teacher, department chair, and assistant principal.  I can only hope that I have continued what all of these others have provided for me.  As educators, our job is to care, in a world where it’s very easy not to.  I currently lead a group of folks who have never been in a classroom except for when they were students themselves.  I find myself giving the same time and advice to this group as was given to me. 

In a time when public education is looked down on, when teachers are working harder than ever, and when the forces that combine to hurt us seem so very powerful, we must stand for each other.  And that starts when we recognize the skills and abilities of those that we work alongside and engage them in activities and conversations that show them that they are more than they think they are.  Our students see this too, but let’s be honest, they really don’t know how to show it.  My gratitude is for the multitude of quietly powerful individuals that came before us in this work, and for the many that will follow that will benefit from our collective experience and belief in the power of our work. My gratitude is for the power of having someone believe in you.  My gratitude is for the work that each of us as an educator does every single day.

David Stovenour is a CoSN Certified Education Technology Leader and is currently the Director of Information Technology Operations for the Baltimore County Public Schools. In his 30+ year career, he has held positions as a paraeducator, teacher, department chair, assistant principal and director in Curriculum & Instruction. He holds master's degrees in both Special Education and Business Administration. You can contact David via email here.

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