I have been a professional educator my entire life, both on the elementary level and on the university level. Working with any age of student requires patience and creativity in order to get across the necessary content. There are many pieces of information that educators need to share with their students, but it is the incidental learning that is probably the most profound. It is the method of learning, the experience with other learners, the feeling of being valued as a person that stays with the learner.
Each person is born with a unique set of gifts, they come from unique family backgrounds and each has a set of unique experiences that provide a basis for their learning abilities and their focus. This unique background is the filter through which each person views the world and makes sense of their surroundings.
The talents within the individual are the special divine gifts that the person has come into the world to share. Years ago, I read an article that brought out the definitions of the Greek and Roman roots of some of our English words. In that article I discovered that the root of educator meant to bring out from within. I have referred to myself as an educator ever since. I see my role as guiding and helping to unlock the gifts that the student, the individual, has within them… their special and unique gift to the world. Of course, I would also add that, in my opinion, these are gifts from Spirit and that these gifts are their special service to mankind and to the world around them… their purpose.
With this in mind, I see each individual as a unique child of God. Each person has a gift to share and a service to bring forth and each of us has an opportunity to assist in unlocking these gifts and allowing each other to shine. This can be done in a classroom, a church camp or school setting or in the home, between a parent and a child.
How amazing to consider the beauty and the magnificence of helping another to unlock their potential and to discover their gift to life. Consequently, it becomes more and more important to look past our differences and to look within the individual and to see the light within each person.
In this world of challenges, division, and differences, there is a great need for conversation and encouragement between people. Each of us has a unique background and set of beliefs, but no matter what nationality or religious belief, we all have a gift to share. It seems more and more important, with each interaction, that we look past our differences and look within the individual and assist each other in bringing out the best within each heart and in bringing out from within… the gift of the soul.
