Sharing My Greatest Lessons Learned as I Bid Farewell

                                                By Lisa Martin

This journey has been a wonderful learning experience, and the really important lessons did not come from books. I feel as if I have been on this mission of self-exploration from the first class. Along the way, I met fascinating people who made me look closer and delve deeper. I entered this program knowing exactly what I wanted to do once I had my Master’s degree, but as I progressed and begin to really think about what was most important to me it was suddenly not so black and white. A valuable lesson for me was never think that you are so decided on something that you will not reconsider  or that you have things figured out so right that you cannot be wrong. It is always good to do some soul searching even if it might complicate things.

Another important lesson was passion is a lot like faith, without any works to show for it how can we be so sure we possess it. I constantly talk about my passion for early childhood but I have never done anything to act on it – besides pursue this Master of Science in Early Childhood Studies. Then I found myself surrounded by people who are equally passionate and putting that passion to work for children and families every day, and I felt like a fraud, a hypocrite. It was because of my awesome peers, people like Cindy, Mercy and Megan that I was ready to jump in with both feet and work to increase access to high-quality early education programs for the at risk children of Newark, New Jersey.

This brings me to another lesson learned the journey becomes so much easier and more enjoyable when you take it with the right people. Course after course I was in the company of incredible early childhood professionals, colleagues and professors alike. I felt it such an honor to be taught by those who have made and continue to make great contributions to the field. I am indebted to all of my classmates and professors for the inspiration and encouragement with which they provided me. I am grateful for the wisdom imparted and the sharing of their vast experience.  Each of these wonderful people has a passion and commitment that I can only hope to someday match.

Perhaps the greatest lesson learned for me, and one that I will share with others, is that you may never feel ready nor believe you know enough or are qualified enough to do the things you want to do or must be done. You will never know everything, which is why we should commit to lifelong learning. You can get a Doctorate and get published and have knowledge of pedagogy to rival Socrates, and still not feel up to the challenge. You cannot wait, you should not wait. No one is served or helped by your inactivity. Get off the sidelines, get out there and try to do what you see needs to be done. If you see children in a poor neighborhood need books, do what you can to make it happen. Do not go it alone; create a community of practice or insert yourself into an existing community, but get together with like minded people and start doing some works. Let your passion be evident in your actions.

I am confident that my peers and I will do just that with our Master’s under our belt. There were so many great ideas born of our Capstone projects that I have no doubt each of us will make our mark on the early childhood community in our cities and states, and then take our talents further away from home, and have the type of substantial and meaningful impact on the field we envisioned from the beginning. I am going to advocate for quality early education for every child, starting in my backyard and continuing on town by town and state by state. Hopefully, I will get to work for UNICEF and do it country by country. Before it is all over, I still plan to be the most powerful advocate of all as United States Secretary of Education. I know you guys are tired of hearing about that, but that is another lesson learned – dream big; this way if you fall short you have still accomplished some amazing things.

It has been an incredible ride and I could not have chosen a better group to take it with. I wish for young children everywhere to have greater access to high-quality inclusive programs. I wish for greater equity for children and their families, creating stronger communities. I wish for our field to become stronger and focused on always increasing quality. I wish for universal quality early education with equally qualified teachers. I wish for each of you much success as you follow your passion and realize your visions.  Only through you can we achieve the rest of my wish list. Keep me informed of your advocacy and social activism LisaMartin310@aol.com.

All the Best