As part of the Oklahoma State University’s Writing Project Advanced Summer Institute, teacher consultants crafted “This I Believe” essays inspired by the organization’s call for people to write and share essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. At a time when teachers’ values are being called into question, teachers have consented to share their essays to shape the public narrative on who teachers are and what they believe. If you wish to share yours, reach out to Sarah Donovan or write your essay (or poem) in the comment section below.
This I Believe
by Tamesha Rayes
“Miss, you’re doing too much.”
I hear this phrase daily from my students. I am curious how I am too much and what they are comparing it to.
In my classroom, I believe everyone can rise above their comfort levels.
I believe it is hard to peek into the unknowns of the world and even more difficult to step out of my comfort zone.
I believe my students need someone to share that it is normal to be nervous, unsure, or even fearful of something new or different.
I believe the feeling is a human response, but you can’t get stuck there.
I believe my students can and will exceed my expectations even when they don’t believe they can.
I believe I show my kids that I am on a journey to be more than “too much” every day.
Some days I reach that expectation, but other days I fall short.
I believe when you fail or win, the prize is in the movement.
I believe you should never stop moving. You become a better person every time. What is wrong with too much?
I believe you should live out loud creating the world you want to believe in. What determines the correct amount? I do. I determine for myself and I want to guide my kiddos to be more than the bare minimum. “Am I doing too much or are you doing too little?”
I believe in breaking preset limitations and seeing where it takes us.
Author
Tamesha Rayes is an English/Language Arts teacher at Northwest Classen High School where she teaches eleventh-grade students. Before becoming a teacher, Tamesha served in the United States Air Force/Oklahoma Air National Guard for over eighteen years before retiring. Among her five college degrees, Tamesha graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in Education with a concentration in English Language Arts. In addition to teaching, Tamesha is the mother of a bright and loving son, Tysen. In her free time, Tamesha enjoys reading young adult novels to have personal experience to recommend books to her students. Her all-time favorite YA author is Jason Reynolds. She enjoys his work but admires his personal story of being unable to read a book cover until the age of seventeen and becoming an award-winning author a few short years later. Thanks to the Oklahoma Writing Project, Tamesha has developed her love of writing and hopes to inspire young writers in the classroom.
I just have a few things to say about “too much”: Keep bringing the positive energy, and the empathy and vision for students, but don’t burn out. Balance and self-care is key.
We need you. So take good care of yourself.
Tamesha! What a wonderful power you are instilling in your students for believing they can rise. Here’s to being too much, and if it doesn’t work out, still showing up the next time to keep being too much. You are changing lives for the better. Thank you for sharing this!
Tamesha,
You strike me as someone I’d love to have as a colleague. I found myself nodding in agreement as I read, beginning with “I believe everyone can rise above their comfort levels.” Too often I hear educators who love students talk in ways that keep kids in their comfort zones instead of stretching their cognitive skills. I taught speech many years, so I know all about pushing to “rise above.” Thank you for your words and for your service both in the military and in the classroom.