The Root
I am an educator. I am frustrated. I am tired. I am worried. I am anxious. I am infuriated.
Feelings of helplessness and powerlessness constantly flood my body. To prevent me from getting overwhelmed I disconnect. Rather, I disconnect because I am overwhelmed. Every day I leave work feeling disempowered. Feeling like I am a part of a larger societal problem.
At work, I try to focus on my locus of control. My locus of control includes teaching math and giving my students a safe space to be themselves. Every day I am reminded that this is not enough. That I am a part of a complex and insidious system that is literally annihilating the black community. I am helping to perpetuate a system that keeps our children in bondage under the guise of achievement.
Locus of control. Focus on your locus of control. What if your locus of control is so small, so insignificant that it actually shows you how out of control you really are. How can we lead the youth when we have no clear idea of who is leading us?
I worry about what will happen to them in the future. I’m frustrated that their innocence is snatched from them at such young ages because of the oppression of society. The problem is that oppression is ingrained in the fabric of America. One cannot be separated from the other.
The people that suffer the most are my children. Sick parents due to preventable illnesses, gun violence that robs them of their loved ones, single-parent households that force them to grow up way too fast, drugs, imprisonment, gangs, the list goes on and on.
To do right by our youth we have to get rid of the system. We have to start fresh. Plant new roots. Education that focuses on acquiring knowledge but neglects the spirit, body, and soul works to keep our youth in bondage. We are so focused on building minds that we forget that people are whole beings made up of different parts. If one part is in disarray there is no equilibrium. We are spiritual beings—when we leave spirit out--- we are developing robots who are unable to empathize with others and love.
We tend to focus on the symptoms, but what about the roots? If the roots are bad, we will produce bad fruit. It’s time to start growing strong, healthy roots. It’s time to tackle the big issues--- generational trauma, nutrition, the broken family system, poverty, and the inaccessibility to quality healthcare. We’re good at making things look shiny. We’re good at looking like we’re working. But are we actually doing the work?
The work is not going to look neat. The work is gritty. Planting seeds takes hard work and dedication. It takes faith to believe that your hard work will produce a harvest that will nourish and provide. The work is not politically correct. The work cannot be done in silos. The work requires the expansion and in most cases the transformation of the ways we have been taught to think and exist. The work takes courage. The work requires real love. Not the love that we are used to. God’s love. The love that compels you to sacrifice. The love that compels you to carry the burdens and crosses of others. The love that urges you to Do.The.Work.
It’s so simple but it’s so hard. To love. To love unconditionally. To love in action. We need more love--- fewer leaders, fewer think pieces, fewer agendas. MORE LOVE.
