From the President
Biology Has Been Secondary to the Life Skills I Have Worked to Impart Stephanie Davis Howard
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I hope that educators will continue to be catalysts for positive change and work to retain our place as true professionals.
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s I end this year as state president of PAGE, I’ve been reflecting on my 33-year educational career. My dedication to service has been shaped by many factors: faith, family, friends and my professional experiences in the military and education. I am grateful to have served two generations of students. I hope that the biology they gleaned from my classroom is secondary to the following life skills I tried to impart: • Confidence, self-respect and respect for others. (Integrity and honesty are the foundation of success.) • Personal responsibility and accountability. • Commitment to family. (We must model this important duty.) • Active citizenship in the community. • An attitude of acceptance rather than mere tolerance. (We encourage our students to think of themselves as global citizens, despite the campaign rhetoric that has brought the worst out in some of our nation’s populace.) • Environmental stewardship. (We understand our place in the world through caring for resources.) • An awareness of a higher power from which we draw our inherent sense of decency. (I often share with my students my family’s mantra: “Be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.”)
I am grateful to have served my country and to have instilled a sense of duty in others. I commend all educators, but I have a special place in my heart for military personnel who have transitioned into public education. I especially thank all of the JROTC instructors. Because of them, thousands of Georgia students have embraced the values of respect, honor and duty, and they have become productive citizens and leaders. I am grateful for the educators who speak out on behalf of our profession. We encourage our students to take initiative, be risk-takers and strive for their potential, but we sometimes accept “change” initiated on our behalf by federal, state and local entities. When a policy shift occurs, our districts respond by tirelessly developing strategic plans and training/retraining staff. However, a paradigm shift has occurred in recent years: Increasingly, educators want to be involved in the development of policies and programs that affect their relationship with their charges. In this way, educators are investing in their craft and livelihood, rather than taking a reactionary approach. I hope that educators will continue to be catalysts for positive change and work to retain our place as true professionals. As I move into the next phase of my life, it is my prayer that my former students practice the skills and values learned in their youth: respect, integrity, duty to others, stewardship, n virtue, acceptance and a little biology.
May/June 2016
